I recall from Douglas Adam's "Dirk Gently's holistic detective agency" novel from 1987 which shows that the liking of the US for this cart-before-horse was recognised over 30 years ago:"Gordon Way is the owner of WayForward Technologies II a British software start up company that has often been likened to a British Microsoft, mainly by Gordon himself.
WayForward has two fabulously lucrative products.
Reason allows users to specify in advance the decision they want it to reach, and only then to input all the facts. The program's task was to construct a plausible series of logical-sounding steps to connect the premises with the conclusion. The only copy was sold to the US Government for an undisclosed fee.
WayForward's other key product is Anthem, a spreadsheet programme that turns corporate accounts into music. This facility has enlivened countless corporate meetings and accounts for its enduring popularity."
