Nick -- You may also be familiar with Charles Handy's book "The Gods of Management", which expands the Apollonians and Dionysians to a couple of other dimensions: Zeus, to express the "power" cult of personality around a founder/visionary, and Athena, the idea of a distributed meritocracy based on creativity.
http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Business/Management/?view=usa&ci=9780195096170 - Claiborne - On Jun 21, 2011, at 14:03, "Nicholas Thompson" <[email protected]> wrote: > "our respective lenses" > > You have your Apollonians and your Dionysians; Apollonians are your > planters, your gardeners, your planners. They can defer pleasure because, > for them, the future seems assured. Dionysians are your impulsive types: > they grab pleasure and excitement now because the future is not assured. > There are a LOT of Dionysians in the sfComplex. I think it's because > advanced technology is so self-undermining and ephemeral. Opportunities > come fast and are lost in a wink. Who can really plan? > > According to one complex sociobiological theory, these two personality types > are laid down in infancy by the attachment relation. Were the circumstances > that surrounding your primary caregiver (usually your mom) stable enough so > that you could form a firm attachment to her? Or sufficiently unstable, > that that attachment was in doubt. If the first, you are an Apollonian; if > the latter a Dionysian. These two kinds of folks really cannot talk to one > another because their assumptions about the future are so different. > > One of the most alarming features of our current political discourse in the > united states is the way in which the modern Dionysians (libertarians, etc.) > have tried to bridge the gap between these two personalities by asserting > the Dionysian philosophy as a form of planning for the future. Ayn Rand; > objectivism. It's kind of the reverse of the equally horrifying religion > thing in which people without hope (who SHOULD be Dionysians) are recruited > for Apollonian values by getting them to believe in an after-life. Both > versions I deplore. They are confusions. Corruptions of the two basic > approaches to life, both of which make Darwinian sense in their pure form. > > This sort of email is what happens when you put Thompson beside his > weed-filled garden and then prevent him from doing anything about it by > busting his knee. You probably will hear more from me in this vein. > > Ugh! > > Nick > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Richard Harris > Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 1:02 PM > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] The Uncertainty Tax > > I know we all have our respective lenses through which we view the world and > that these lenses determine the explanations to which we are most receptive, > but if Mr. Friedman is talking about an inability to switch house as a > reason some people aren't able to take new jobs, it would seem appropriate > to also mention that many of the houses built during the last bubble were at > the outer accretion layers of suburbia and not particularly close to any > jobs. Its as if the people building these houses and the politicians > maintaining policies that support their build assumed either (1.) oil will > always be cheap and people wont mind spending 2 hours a day in their cars > every working day or (2.) these houses wont ultimately be paid for by wages. > One aggravating factor of the bust a few years ago which never gets as much > mention as obscure financial instruments or banking malfeasance relates the > spike in oil prices in 2007 to the initial wave of defaults in these outer > suburbs. Granted, the people moving into these marginal outer layers were > probably the most marginal credit risks, but its conceivable that any change > for the worse could be all the more likely to put them over the edge and > into default. > > I guess my bias is that I attribute too much to resource and energy > scarcity. When I see an explanation for either the start of our current > troubles or why we can't see an end, I expect it to ultimately reference > these things. Although there are a few brief mentions of energy efficiency > as it relates to productivity gains and as a possible source for new jobs in > construction, this is pretty paltry when you consider how world energy > production has basically flatlined, but there are many, many more consumers > driving up its price (think of all the new cars sold in China each day). > > When I think of the U.S., I think we're almost uniquely disadvantaged by how > spread out our cities have become in the last 60 years and how the only > option for getting around that has been faithfully and consistently > supported and encouraged is the personal car. > > > > On 20 Jun 2011, at 17:08, Owen Densmore wrote: > >> Tom Friedman's Op Ed >> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1&partner >> =rssnyt&emc=rss >> >> He starts with shocking mortgage statistics, but then discusses >> unemployment and its causes via this report: >> http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/us_jobs/index.asp >> >> Quote: McKinsey Global Institute released a long study of the >> structural issues ailing the U.S. job market, entitled: "An Economy >> That Works: Job Creation and America's Future." It begins: "Only in >> the most optimistic scenario will the United States return to full >> employment before 2020. Achieving this outcome will require sustained >> demand growth, rising U.S. competitiveness in the global economy and >> better matching of U.S. workers to jobs." >> >> Interestingly enough, they still feel education is important but >> stress areas of current need. >> >> BTW: The tech bubble folks are afraid of is likely NOT to be one. Marc >> Andreessen (admittedly a techie) has compiled P/E ratios of the new >> tech market and shows them to be well under traditional values. They'd >> please any conservative investor. >> >> Tom is concerned about the Uncertainty Tax .. our loss of production >> due to fear of downturn unknowns, but ends: Any good news? Yes, U.S. >> corporations are getting so productive and sitting on so much cash, >> just a few big, smart, bipartisan decisions by Congress on taxes and >> spending (and mortgages) and I think this whole economy starts to >> improve again. Workers with skills will be the first to be hired. >> >> -- Owen >> >> ============================================================ >> 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
