Dear wise people,
Recently, I pitched into a friam bicker on the subject of gender inequality using the metaphor of an "attractor". The idea was that the basin of attraction we call childcare was broader and deeper for a woman than for a man because of the sequence of physiological events around parturition. Because of this fact, I argued, that if we wanted women to have equal opportunity, we had to work at filling the basin. (I made the same argument with respect to the inheritance of societal power, generally.) As usual, I got my ears boxed on the substance, but everybody gave me a pass on the use of the metaphor, "attractor and basin". It's been quite a while since I read any complexity literature and nearly as long since a complexity topic has graced these pages. So, I am wondering, if any of you would care to advise me on how to use that metaphor properly. If we were dedicated to "filling that basin", what would that look like? What does this "systems talk" contribute to a discussion, other than a whiff of modernity? Would I have said less or more if I had suggested that we "alter the incentives surrounding childcare for men and women", or the like. My best to you all, N Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
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