Harold A. Linstone facts for kids

Harold Adrian Linstone (born June 15, 1924 – died July 8, 2016) was a smart German-American man. He was a mathematician, a consultant, and a futurist. He was also a professor at Portland State University. He taught about Systems Science, which is a way of understanding how different parts of a system work together. He was also an expert in applied mathematics, which uses math to solve real-world problems.

About Harold Linstone

Harold Linstone was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1924. Later, he became a citizen of the United States. He studied mathematics at two famous universities. He earned his master's degree from Columbia University. Then, he got his PhD from the University of Southern California.

His Career Journey

For 22 years, Linstone worked in big companies. He had jobs at Hughes Aircraft and Lockheed Corporation. At Lockheed, he helped plan how the company would grow. He also worked as a consultant for many groups. These included the US House of Representatives and the State of Alaska. He also advised large companies like IBM and United Airlines.

Later, he became a professor at Portland State University. He taught Systems Science there. From 1970 to 1977, he led the PhD program for Systems Science. He also directed the Futures Research Institute. He was a visiting professor at other universities too. These included the University of Rome and Kiel University in Germany.

Harold Linstone also started a special journal in 1969. It was called "Technological Forecasting and Social Change." He was its main editor. This journal is still published today. In 1993 and 1994, he was the president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. In 2003, he won an award for his great service. He passed away on July 8, 2016, in Pasadena, California.

Harold Linstone's Ideas

Harold Linstone was known for his work on how people make decisions. He wrote important books about this.

The Delphi Method

In 1975, Linstone and Murray Turoff wrote about the Delphi method. This method helps groups of experts agree on things. It was first developed in the 1950s by the RAND Corporation. They wanted to get the best ideas from experts. They used a series of questions and shared feedback.

The Delphi method is useful when it's hard to get exact information. It's also good when getting information is very expensive. For example, it can help when experts need to guess about future events. It's still used today in many areas, like healthcare.

Multiple Perspectives for Decision Making

In 1984, Linstone wrote another important book. It was called Multiple Perspectives for Decision Making. He wrote it with Ian Mitroff. This book talked about looking at problems from different angles. This helps people make better choices.

They suggested three main ways to look at a problem:

• Technical Perspective (T): This way focuses on facts, numbers, and models. It tries to simplify problems to find the best solution. It looks for order and uses logic.
• Organizational Perspective (O): This way looks at how things get done. It asks "What needs to happen?" and "Who will do it?" It understands that solutions need support from everyone.
• Personal Perspective (P): This way looks at the problem through one person's eyes. It includes feelings and personal connections to the situation.

Linstone continued to work on these ideas. He wrote another book in 1999. It was called Decision Making for Technology Executives. It showed how using these different views can help leaders make better choices.