Ian Weinberg

7 years ago · 1 min. reading time · ~10 ·

Blogging
>
Ian blog
>
A cathartic outpouring of wisdom

A cathartic outpouring of wisdom



ddf56226.jpgMany people are writing a great deal about much. Unfortunately if the motivation for all this writing is self-interest, then the writing about a great deal amounts to very little. We are being buried by an avalanche of self-interest driven information which is invariably aggravated by repetition – a developing veritable Tower of Babel! This makes the mining of useful information increasingly difficult. In the world of science it is the ‘publish or perish’ syndrome which drives this self-interest process.

Real value from this unprecedented outpouring of personal wisdom can only be achieved if we aspire to the concepts of ‘context’ and ‘integration’. Context and integration arise initially from a real awareness of what others are saying or have said. Thereafter with respect and acknowledgement, the information is incorporated, if appropriate, into our contribution to the expanding collective of understanding.

Self-interest and this associated cathartic outpouring of endless wisdom is also fragmenting the prevailing collective of understanding. As a result, concepts are either lost or repeatedly re-investigated because they were never integrated into context in the first place. I would suggest that if we are to evolve as a collective we need to really apply the principles of dialogue. Fulfilling the requirements for genuine dialogue we would need to:

· Engage in conversation with awareness and respect (incorporating sensitivity) for what the other is saying or has said.

· Avoid forming an opinion until clarity has been attained.

· Ensure that the violations of deletion, distortion and generalization are minimized so that personal limiting beliefs do         not compromise the engagement.

· Play the ball and not the player!

"
#outpouring #self #information #interest #wisdom
Comments

CityVP Manjit

6 years ago #16

I draw much from the observation made by Clay Shirky that we are not suffering from information overload but from "filter failure". Along with context and listening (dialogue) how we filter is an important part of how we manage our own attention. There are other factors like discernment that come into play and also purpose, but the overall observation here is very sound and pertinent in the context of content and our relationship with others.

David Navarro López

6 years ago #15

#20
I keep wondering myself: What would it take to change this trend? I think I will ruminate some more about it....

Ian Weinberg

6 years ago #14

#19
Indeed David. If we just made an effort to dialogue across 'silo's' of interest and manage self-interest needs, we would enter a far more productive space - the whole would be much more than the sum of the parts.

David Navarro López

6 years ago #13

Thank you, Ian, for another challenging post which awakens a thought I have been having lately. Even if I am just a mechanical technician, I like to read and to think about anything related to the brain and human behavior. It amazes me, as you point out, the huge amount of available information, books, studies of any issue. I have the feeling that most of the prominent scientists who are investigating/publishing are not really interested in making the science to advance, but to give a push to their own careers. Otherwise, they would put together their efforts with other scientists, and get a better result. For example, you, as an expert on the issue, know that there are many scientists who are looking for the cure for Alzheimer. Many scientists are dedicating their lives to it, using huge resources, but most of them are working practically isolated from each other. I can't believe that a cure would not be found if they only worked together, putting aside their own will of fame and success. But it seems to me that for them is more important to be able to say "I found the cure" than to really find it, no matter who did the last step to it. We have a lot to learn from insects and their capability to face common tasks. But this is just the opinion of a worker bee.

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #12

#16
With all due respect, Ian, what other than that are you doing when you say, "...we generalize at subjective belief level continuously - usually unconsciously..."? I submit that one should not conflate unfounded generalizing with generalizing, as the former is only a subset of the latter. The same goes for "being judgemental". As we make judgments all the time, indeed, we need to exercise judgment all the time. Sometimes our judgments are based on irrational or highly subjective biases, but that does not mean that we should never "be judgmental". We may not always be "right" or correct in our generalizations. We may not always be "right" or correct in our judgments. But drawing generalizations and making judgments is the lifeblood of intelligent life. So what we need to do is embrace the principles of intelligent generalization and judgment, not pre-judge that all such activity is fruitless because we are the prisoners of our emotions and subjective perspectives. IMO. Cheers!

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #11

Just a footnote Phil Friedman - Every component of our perception is colored by our unique subjectivity and every motor act is initiated and influenced by our deepest subjectivity. We can never escape our subjectivity but we can effectively modulate its influence by becoming consciously aware of ourselves and our environments and applying the process of reason. The aim of course is to transcend our limiting beliefs and their negative influences which, if left unchecked, may result in counter-evolutionary consequences.

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #10

#7
Phil Friedman Indeed a sound angle in an ideal world where all generalizations are based on reason/research. In the world of mere mortals where we live most of the time, we generalize at subjective belief level continuously - usually unconsciously. In this context the generalization is a reflection of personal limiting beliefs eg 'When he was young he saw 2 kids attacked by Alsation dogs. Therefore he believes that all Alsation dogs are dangerous regarding kids.' (subjective generalization). If however this was formally researched and it was indeed shown that Alsation dogs attacked kids often and more than any other breed, then it is no longer a belief-based but a justified research-based generalization. But if maintained at subjective belief generalization level and in fact it is untrue, you've perpetrated and injustice against all Alsation dogs!

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #9

#8
Puck the player and play the ball!

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #8

#6
No real fun in playing a balless player!

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #7

#5
Thanks for that Harvey Lloyd What you've stated is indeed correct. However, as I've said in a previous post, we exist in the doing of things ie everything that we think, say and do reflects us - our IQ and our EQ. And we will always be held accountable for what we do/say. The responsibility of what we say and how we say it in the electronic media becomes even more critical since we've lost all the other visual cues of communication that we have in face to face engagements. By example therefore, a driven, no bullshit individual may manifest in the electronic media as a aggressive, judgmental narcissist. However in personal engagement would be modulated by interactive cues. Therefore we need to respect this medium by taking a little extra care and responsibility in electronic communication.

don kerr

7 years ago #6

#8
That's the ticket.

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #5

Ian, I would say that, for the most part,'these are wise words. However, I cannot subscribe to "Ensure that the violations of ... generalization are minimized." For I believe that, often, the goal of rational examination and discussion is the formulation of well-reasoned and sustainable generalization(s). It is all well and good to study the trees, but unless at some point we can form an idea of the landscape of the forest, we make no advance in seeing our way through it. (A metaphor worthy, don't you think, of Dr. Anani?) Cheers!

don kerr

7 years ago #4

"Play the ball and not the player!" Ian Weinberg Agreed (although sometimes a good bodycheck is in order!)

Harvey Lloyd

7 years ago #3

"Engage in conversation with awareness and respect..." A small sentence but a mouthful. Engagement calls on us to use our high functioning brain. All to often it engages our lower functioning brain. Where words come easy and they flow to the keyboard at amazing speed. Not to say intellect is not present, but is a choice to use it or not. Our brain has a choice to write/speak from a position we have held on to or try and see the writers position (Not it's effect on us.). But to see the writers position we would have to spend some time discovering outside of what was written. The broadband inputs of media into our brain though, would dictate a huge investment of time to engage at that level. Real dialogue would point towards a conclusion within a time frame. A general understanding if you will. This is difficult to achieve within social media as everyone has an opinion, but no risk. In the real world of daily living, dialogue almost always has an agenda, sometimes benign sometimes not, but how we dialogue is directed by our perspective of the risk. All day we dialogue within our perspective work life. We even discuss this work life at home. Social media is a tempting place where we can kick off the shoes and without thought or risk, engage. Should you find yourself totally without activities one afternoon, seek out some ambassadors here on BeBee. Read some of their early posts vs their post ambassador designation. Some of the changes due to risk are subtle, some are amazing transformations. Dialogue will almost always drift pointlessly until risk is introduced. We can introduce risk ourselves or it can come from outside. Thought provoking as usual Ian Weinberg.

Ian Weinberg

7 years ago #2

#2
Thanks for that input.

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

7 years ago #1

thanks for re sharing this great content !

Articles from Ian Weinberg

View blog
4 years ago · 5 min. reading time

The life of Bob the blob

This ought to set a cat among the pigeons - my hypothesis on the integration of Relativity with neur ...

5 years ago · 2 min. reading time

Just a roll of the dice

Is happiness a state which occurs when there’s no sadness or are happiness and sadness two primary p ...

3 years ago · 4 min. reading time

Cornered by Corona

I guess this Annus Horribilis can be characterized as the year of shock and awe! Unpredictable event ...

Related professionals

You may be interested in these jobs

  • Spur

    Digital Manager

    Found in: Talent ZA C2 - 4 days ago

    Spur Cape Town, South Africa

    Spur Corporation is a growing multi-brand restaurant franchisor, headquartered in Cape Town. The group currently has Ten brands, namely, Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory's Fish Grill Sushi, RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Casa Bella, Nikos Coalgrill Greek, Doppi ...

  • CallForce

    Operations Manager BPO

    Found in: Talent ZA C2 - 3 days ago

    CallForce Cape Town, South Africa Full time

    Work with a well-established telecommunications brand to lead, mentor and coach contact Centre Teams to create and deliver amazing customer experiences. Support and motivate your team to ensure they're on track to meet client goals. · Responsibilities: · • Develop and implement p ...

  • beBee Professionals

    Hospitality Project Supervisor

    Found in: beBee Professionals ZA - 5 days ago

    Direct apply
    beBee Professionals Krugersdorp, South Africa Project Management Freelance

    Job Offer: Hospitality Project Supervisor – beBee Professionals, Krugersdorp · beBee Professionals is looking for an experienced Hospitality Project Supervisor to join our team in Krugersdorp. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing the planning, implementatio ...