About Science of Quality
Science of Quality is an independent research project devoted to investigating Quality as more than a matter of taste, preference, or philosophical speculation.
Robert Pirsig argued that Quality is directly perceptible and that it precedes and supersedes many of the divisions through which we ordinarily understand experience: subject and object, mind and matter, art and technology, reason and feeling. His work suggests that Quality is not merely something we assign to the world after the fact, but something active in the creation, maintenance, and perception of things.
The aim of Science of Quality is to explore whether this insight can be developed more rigorously and brought into conversation with science, mathematics, information theory, education, design, and other fields. The project does not begin with the assumption that Pirsig supplied a finished theory. It begins with the conviction that the questions he raised deserve sustained and careful investigation.
Why a Pirsig concordance?
The Robert Pirsig Concordance began as a research tool.
Pirsig often develops an idea across many passages rather than defining it once and leaving it fixed. Words such as quality, care, scientific, reason, value, and reality may acquire meaning through repetition, contrast, and context. A concordance makes it possible to examine those patterns systematically.
Unlike a simple quotation search, the concordance is intended to support close reading. It shows occurrences within their surrounding text and identifies their location in the work, allowing readers to compare passages, test interpretations, and discover connections that may otherwise be difficult to see.
The first searchable work is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Lila and additional Pirsig-related materials are planned.
About the researcher
Science of Quality was created by David Long, a researcher and software developer with a background in mathematics and computer science. He is currently pursuing graduate study at the University of Nevada, Reno.
His research is concerned with the possibility that Quality, goodness, intelligence, order, and meaning are not merely human projections, but real and consequential features of experience. He is particularly interested in moving discussion of Quality beyond the boundaries of philosophical commentary and into serious engagement with scientific, mathematical, technological, educational, and practical questions.
The concordance grew out of repeated consultation of Pirsig’s writings during that research. What began as a private scholarly tool is being developed for use by Pirsig readers, researchers, students, and others interested in the nature and applications of Quality.