It's self observation: I am far more likely to become pessimistic over
abstractions.
Example: Santa Fe Police. Looked pretty grim in terms of capabilities
and editorials in the news paper. Yet working with them showed them
to be far more professional than I had thought. And I was told
specifically by the police chief that, yes, they get bad apples and
they fire them asap.
Similar the court system. On jury duty, I was amazed at the
understanding and care that Judge Michael Vigil showed, and the joint
programs he had set up with the police and judiciary to cure rather
than punish.
Ditto with the fire department in wild fire and evacuation work: they
are far more professional than I had expected.
I can go on for quite a while, but you get the picture.
-- Owen
On Feb 17, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Douglas Roberts wrote:
Can you point to a study which validates this contention, Owen? Or
is it more of an opinion?
Mine (opinion) is that pessimism is largely born out of experience.
--Doug
On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 10:22 AM, Owen Densmore
<[email protected]> wrote:
Most pessimism comes from abstractions, not close personal
experience.
-- Owen
On Feb 16, 2010, at 2:34 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Americans: Neither Ugly nor Dumb
I have enjoyed the plethora of Wisdom apropos contemporary mores
and innovation from Friam correspondents: finally a reply is
irresistible. But I can respond only with banal facts I have
personally experienced and know to be true.
On dumth: I have earned a living in Africa, New Zealand, England
and USA. During my years in the US I have found people to be
generous, open-minded, honorable and mainly smarter than me. And
folks here are significantly more civilized and humane than those
in any other continent that I have worked in. So I am surprised at
Friam correspondents’ apparent contempt for our fellow citizens -
mebbe they know whereof they prattle, mebbe not.
On innovation: the sage advice is all correct - and all
irrelevant. I have spent decades working professionally with
DARPA, NASA, DOD, US Renewable Energy Institute, many aerospace
corps, and as a consultant for patent applications . I
continually witness a brilliant, humbling, kaleidoscope of new
ideas. I reckon, before pontificating, pundits should establish
qualifications of their own creativity: patents issued, original
papers and articles, senior managerial accomplishments. Perhaps
they are too modest to list these.
I love reading the Friam stuff as fiction. I think Joyceans call
it Stream of Consciousness. It would be very nice if people
provided specific support for their assertions.
Peter Lissaman, Da Vinci Ventures
Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.
1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505,USA
tel:(505)983-7728
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
