Rikus, I am grateful for your commentary.
Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([email protected]) http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > [Original Message] > From: Rikus Combrinck <[email protected]> > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> > Date: 10/13/2009 5:13:56 AM > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Criticism and feedback (was Re: Theory and practice) > > I'm comfortable with detailed criticism and familiar with the strange > activity patterns of online forums. What disturbed me was the notion that > knowledge, discussion or inquiry without immediate, direct application is > undesirable. I find such a stance shortsighted, to say the least, and was > taken aback that it seemed to be able to survive in intelligent, educated, > experienced minds. Human knowledge is a vast web that only occasionally > supports application, but it needs the whole web (well, most of it) to carry > the weight of need and use in such instances. Frequently, it's impossible > to tell ahead of time which strands may take up the weight years later. > > I lumped a post of yours (Glen) with some others in my rant, because it > seemed to support said stance by casting the unused as unreal, and hence -- > in my mind, at the time -- unsuitable for discussion. That was probably an > unfair interpretation. > > Steve mentions good-natured ribbing among friends; this is valid and I'm > aware that a large part of the FRIAM membership has face-to-face interaction > and enjoys a consequent sense of social awareness and cohesion that may cast > conversations in a different light. I should probably be more sensitive to > this. > > No need for saccharine, only respect for a sincere desire to know, to > understand and to share insight. It underpins all human achievement and it > riles me to see it trivialised. > > Having said that, it is also true that capable minds and the bandwidth that > connects them are valuable resources. I acknowledge that signal-to-noise > ratio and opportunity cost become relevant at some point and that opinion on > optimal focus, volume and quality may differ. > > Rikus > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "glen e. p. ropella" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 7:22 PM > To: "The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group" <[email protected]> > Subject: [FRIAM] Criticism and feedback (was Re: Theory and practice) > > Thus spake Rikus Combrinck circa 09-10-11 01:53 PM: > > What the hell? [...] > > If there is the possibility of > > additional insight, any insight, how about some applause when people spend > > their own resources to advance their understanding, and share it for free > > as > > they go! > > Well, the thing you might be missing is that detailed criticism _is_ > applause in scientific circles. Online media are difficult to > understand. Detailed criticism is usually a sign of _respect_ and > should be interpreted as an "atta boy". But ignoring someone's post is > NOT a secret message for that person to stop contributing. Sometimes, > the impact of a post is quite large even if there is no response. These > things are occult. But one thing is for sure, if a person takes the > time to actually read and respond to what you've written, then it is a > sign of RESPECT, even if (or perhaps especially if) the response is very > critical. > > Now, while I agree that self-indulgent mocking in the form of "Oh no, > not again", without any detailed criticism is bad form (because it's > mostly useless), I don't think we need saccharine back-patting. But > then again, I've been accused of total failure in my attempts to > encourage people after doing a good job. ;-) So, what do I know? > > -- > glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://agent-based-modeling.com > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
