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W. Edwards Deming
(14 Oct 1900 - 20 Dec 1993)
American statistician who taught quality control through the statistical control of manufacturing processes.
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Science Quotes by W. Edwards Deming (12 quotes)
Everyone doing his best is not the answer. It is necessary that people know what to do.
— W. Edwards Deming
In Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position (1982), ii. A similar quote often attributed to Deming, but without citation, is “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”
Experience teaches nothing without theory.
— W. Edwards Deming
In On the Management of Statistical Techniques for Quality and Productivity (1981), 86.
I read them. Not to grade them. No, I read them to see how I am doing. Where am I failing? What don’t they understand? Why do they give wrong answers? Why do they have some point of view that I don’t think is right? Where am I failing? Where do I need to build up.
— W. Edwards Deming
In The Essential Deming.
If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.
— W. Edwards Deming
Widely quoted, without citation. If you know a primary source, please contact Webmaster.
If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.
— W. Edwards Deming
Widely quoted without citation. If you know a primary source, please contact Webmaster.
Sometimes a hunch, right or wrong, is sufficient theory to lead to a useful observation.
— W. Edwards Deming
In On the Management of Statistical Techniques for Quality and Productivity (1981), 86.
The aim of education should be to preserve and nurture the yearning for learning that a child is born with. Grades and gold stars destroy this yearning for learning.
— W. Edwards Deming
Letter to David Bayless (6 Feb 1992).
Theory is a window into the world. Theory leads to prediction. Without prediction, experience and examples teach nothing.
— W. Edwards Deming
In The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education (1993), 103.
There is no substitute for knowledge.
— W. Edwards Deming
The New Economics: For Industry, Government, Education (), 17.
Where there is fear you do not get honest figures.
— W. Edwards Deming
Without theory, experience has no meaning. Without theory, one has no questions to ask. Hence without theory there is no learning.
— W. Edwards Deming
In The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education (1993), 103.
You can learn a lot about ice and still not understand water.
— W. Edwards Deming
Transcribed from video of Four-Day Seminar (1992).
See also:
- 14 Oct - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Deming's birth.
- The Man Who Discovered Quality, by Andrea Gabor. - book suggestion.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
