Why Good Intentions Still Lead to Bad Outcomes

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Correction history

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1. 28 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   Corrected one attribution: the precise phrasing 'when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure' is anthropologist Marilyn Strathern's 1997 reformulation of Charles Goodhart's original, more technical 1975 statement about monetary policy indicators, not Goodhart's own words as commonly attributed. The cobra-bounty story referenced in the tracker was not present in the current version of this article.

   Before

   The article attributed the well-known precise phrasing of Goodhart's Law directly to Charles Goodhart as a quotation.

   After

   Added the correct attribution to Marilyn Strathern's 1997 reformulation, distinguishing it from Goodhart's original 1975 statement.

   Why: This precise wording is commonly but incorrectly attributed directly to Goodhart; it is Strathern's later reformulation. Correction fixes the attribution rather than adding new sources.

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Full contribution timeline

1. Correction 28 July 2026

   Emir Baycan: Corrected one attribution: the precise phrasing 'when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure' is anthropologist Marilyn Strathern's 1997 reformulation of Charles Goodhart's original, more technical 1975 statement about monetary policy indicators, not Goodhart's own words as commonly attributed. The cobra-bounty story referenced in the tracker was not present in the current version of this article.

   Proof record →