Nick and Steve- Will be happy to hold my mind open. This issue points out a number of clearly important points. David Logan, a professor of mine at USC in the master's program on management, investigated the importance of "rhetoric" in forming the dominant culture of an organization. The popular version of the findings in his research is found in "Tribal Leadership". The more difficult academic underpinnings are in 3 papers I can send to anyone who is interested. In them, he talks about the "terministic screens" we ALL use in viewing external reality.
The power, and the inherent danger, is that someone skilled in rhetoric can manipulate those screens and bring to bear latent "values" of individuals. On the positive side, it can be used to promote a "noble cause" and increase productivity enormously. On the negative side, it can produce the equally powerful, yet destructive, causes we saw in Germany and Austria in the 30's and 40's. Part of my reason for living in Austria was an attempt to understand that. The debate on this Arizona law has tweaked terministic screens on all sides of the ideologic spectrum. It strikes me as a tremendous validation of Logan's concepts, as the debate has far outstripped the actual provisions of the law. On the one side, it will do nothing to solve the underlying problems and is far from a magic bullet. Steve has exposed that quite well. On the other side, it is also a far cry from Fascism. Yet the actual problem: we have too much crime and it is draining our capacity in an unsustainable fashion, is lost in the rhetoric. The rhetoric has harnessed the "xenophobic, racist, bigoted" individuals to mindlessly support the bill, just as it has harnessed those who really, REALLY dislike George Bush to mindlessly oppose it. Through our terministic screens, of course, we only see the side that supports our ideology. THAT is the danger, IMHO. When one understands that, it is more easy to see how Adolph Hitler emerged though a mastery of rhetoric. I think the difficulty to "detune" our terministic screen is part of the reason we have problems dealing with Complex situations, and would much prefer to impose our brand of order on our external environment. Only through such a detuning can emergent order be recognized. The difficulty is part of the reason there are so few Bill Gates in the world. Our "first match" pattern recognition ability clouds the outliers and makes innovation such a rare event. Paradoxically, as pointed out by Argyris and Schön, smart people are the very ones who have difficulty in what they term "double loop" learning. We have learned a tremendous number of patterns, but "first match" can be quite a bit away from "best match". I'm not endorsing ignorance! Yet in looking at powered flight and the whole longitude question, it was not the "experts" who made the breakthrough. Smart people can detune their screen, but they have to make the conscious effort. Russ #3 Russell Gonnering, MD, MMM, FACS, CPHQ [email protected] www.emergenthealth.net
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On May 9, 2010, at 11:23 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > Russ, > > Well, presumably i got those facts from some left wing rant. They both > seemed like the kind of "facts" that would be difficult to fake, so I > believed them. I will do my best to back them up. Please hold your mind > open for a time while I do that. > > Nick > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > Clark University ([email protected]) > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] > > > > >> [Original Message] >> From: Russell Gonnering <[email protected]> >> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> >> Date: 5/9/2010 8:40:08 AM >> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Arizona meets the Facebook community >> >> Nick- >> >> Please cite the facts that support your contention re the Arizona law > empowering the police to ask for papers if you just happen to "look" > Mexican and the source of the heavy weapons flowing to Mexico. >> >> The idea that the types of military-grade weapons used comes from > smuggling civilian weapons bought in border states is refuted by: >> > http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2009/03/legal-us-arms- > exports-may-be-source-narco-syndicates-rising-firepower >> >> The 90% of weapons having a US origin figure quoted by the Obama > administration is called into question by that notoriously right-wing > organization, the Annenberg Public Policy Center: >> http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/counting-mexicos-guns/index.html >> >> Reading the text of the bill: >> http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.pdf >> I see no statute that entitles a "show me your papers" demand unless it > is in the course of investigation of a crime. The straw man argument that > police in Arizona (many of whom are Hispanic themselves) will harass people > because they don't like the way they look BECAUSE of this bill does not > seem logical. No doubt harassment occurs now, for a variety of reasons, > but it would seem to be isolated incidents caused by bad cops, just like > everywhere else in the US (or Mexico, for that matter). >> >> The Arizona bill provides for a fascinating study in emergence to anyone > interested in complexity theory in the sociologic context. The current > situation of increased crime, massive expenditure of Arizona capital and > lack of federal responsibility in dealing with the situation has placed the > situation at the "edge of chaos". The attractor wells are now insufficient > to stabilize the situation, and something needs to change. It strikes me > that introducing political ideology and straw-man arguments into the mix > clouds the opportunity to learn something from the situation. David > Snowden has eloquently shown, in his Cynefin Framework, what happens when > an attempt is made to treat a complex domain as though it were simple, or > even complicated: it drives the domain into chaos. The Arizona law can be > viewed as a probe. The key is to now sense for the emergent order and > respond. >> >> Or we can just sit back and watch the situation devolve into chaos..... >> >> I usually do carry my driver's license when I go to the mall, even when I > ride my bike. I sort of like the idea of someone knowing who I am if I'm > hit by a bus. If I happen to buy an adult beverage, I have to "show my > papers", and that isn't to a cop, or even because I am being investigated > for breaking a law. I don't feel imposed upon. When I lived in Austria, I > had to carry my Ausweis all the time, and show it upon occasion when I went > to a hotel, cashed a check and once, to "the man", when I attempted to > ride the streetcar without paying and was caught. >> >> Russ #3 >> >> Russell Gonnering, MD, MMM, FACS, CPHQ >> [email protected] >> www.emergenthealth.net >> >> >> On May 9, 2010, at 1:04 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: >> >>> Hey, guys. Isnt there already a law in Arizona that requires > employers to check the papers of anybody they hire and gives them a website > to do it? I understand that that law is not enforced, because, obviously, > it would interfere with employers exploitation of illegal aliens. If it > were enforced, much of Arizona's problem would be solved without the > application of racial profiling, wouldn't it? >>> >>> Owen, would you really be happy to have your papers demanded every time > you went to the Plaza because you happen to wear a pony tail? I really > find it hard to imagine any FRIAM member being happy to have to carry and > show papers every time she or he goes to the mall. You Defenders of Net > Freedom, you! >>> >>> Also, a lot of illegal traffic coming from mexico would be curtailed > if we would stop the flow of heavy weaponry from the US TO Mexico. >>> >>> Nick >>> >>> >>> >>> Nicholas S. Thompson >>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, >>> Clark University ([email protected]) >>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ >>> http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: Owen Densmore >>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>> Sent: 5/8/2010 9:24:17 PM >>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Arizona meets the Facebook community >>> >>> Nicely said. >>> >>> It does seem to me that the nation itself is waiting for the > immigration reform that should naturally be coming from the grid-locked > congress/senate. I hope Arizona forces us to act in unity. >>> >>> Its fine to revert to "don't ask, don't tell" but it's dishonest. >>> >>> Clearly the endgame will have to be amnesty plus a work visa plus a > means towards citizenship if desired. >>> >>> Unfortunately, the republicans have found a negative game strategy that > guarantees at worst a stalemate, and at best, a win in the next election. >>> >>> -- Owen >>> >>> >>> On May 8, 2010, at 8:45 PM, Roger Critchlow wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 7:45 PM, Russ Abbott <[email protected]> > wrote: >>>> It's not Arizona. Arizona was simply the first state to have the guts > to act. More than 50% of Americans apparently approve the Arizona law. We > should boycott the entire country--except perhaps enclaves like Sante Fe > (?) and Los Angeles (where I live). Do you know what the statistics are > with respect to how people in Sante Fe feel about the new law? >>>> >>>> >>>> Those statistics were before major league baseball started organizing > to move the all-star game out of Arizona. >>>> >>>> Arizona was also the only state that had the guts to dis Martin Luther > King Jr's birthday as a holiday. Until the NFL moved the Super Bowl to > Pasadena from Phoenix. >>>> >>>> I also believe it's been demonstrated that you can get "more than 50% > of Americans to apparently approve" anything if you phrase the question > right. >>>> >>>> -- rec -- >>>> ============================================================ >>>> 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 >> >> > > > > ============================================================ > 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
