 Why doesn't Caswell expect the Watashaw sewing club to grow astronomically?
Wilton Caswell, Ph.D., was head of my Sociology Department, and right then he was mad enough to chew nails. He bit off each word with great restraint: "Sociology is the study of social institutions, Mr. Halloway." He had a book in his hand and I was expecting him to throw it, but he spoke instead: "This department's analysis of institutional accretion, by the use of open system mathematics, has been recognized as an outstanding and valuable contribution to—" The words were impressive, whatever they meant, but this still didn't sound like anything that would pull in money. "Well, sociology has been valuable to business in initiating worker efficiency and group motivation studies, which they now use in management decisions. They consider its value debatable, if you know what I mean. If they got the idea that sociology professors are giving advice and guidance—No, we have to stick to brass tacks and leave Washington out of this. "Fundamental research doesn't show immediate effects, Mr. Halloway, but its value is recognized." The other departments were popular with donors and pulled in gift money by scholarships and fellowships, and supported their professors and graduate students by research contracts with the government and industry. "All through the ages, it has been a matter of wonder and dismay to men that a simple organization—such as a church to worship in, or a delegation of weapons to a warrior class merely for defense against an outside enemy—will either grow insensately and extend its control until it is a tyranny over their whole lives, or, like other organizations set up to serve a vital need, will tend to repeatedly dwindle and vanish, and have to be painfully rebuilt. Such simple questions as, 'Is there a way a holder of authority in this organization can use the power available to him to increase his power?' provide the key. But it still could not be handled until the complex questions of interacting motives and long-range accumulations of minor effects could somehow be simplified and formulated. "By these formulations, it is possible to determine automatically the amount of growth and period of life of any organization. The UN, to choose an unfortunate example, is a shrinker type organization. Its monetary support is not in the hands of those who personally benefit by its governmental activities, but, instead, in the hands of those who would personally lose by any extension and encroachment of its authority on their own. "My equations are already being used in the study of limited-size Federal corporations.
 Caswell has underestimated the ingenuity of the club members.
 Caswell has underestimated the female population of Watashaw.  Caswell has underestimated the popularity of sewing.  Caswell has underestimated the ingenuity of the club members.  Caswell thinks only women enjoy sewing.