Sturgeon’s Law – 90% of Accountants

Sturgeon’s revelation – commonly referred to as Sturgeon’s Law, is an adage commonly cited as ‘ninety percent of everything is crap’. It is derived from quotations by Theodore Sturgeon, an American science fiction author and critic. The phrase was derived from Sturgeon’s observation that while science fiction was often derided for its low quality by critics, it could be noted that the majority of examples of work in other fields could equally be seen to be of low quality and that science fiction was thus no different in that regard from other art forms.

In 2013, philosopher Daniel Dennett championed Sturgeon’s Law as one of his seven tools for critical thinking. He said, ‘Ninety percent of everything is crap. That is true, whether you are talking about physics, chemistry, evolutionary psychology, sociology, medicine—you name it—rock music, country western. 90% of everything is crap.’

If we believe Sturgeon’s Law is true, then it goes without saying that 90% of accountants fit in that category too. The actual percentage may be debateable, but what is not, is that a large percentage are historical recorders of data and add very little value.