On Wednesday morning my partner called up and said she was having one of
those days where familiar words looked strange and so on. She was
preparing for a short workshop with a group of folks who were unfamiliar
with many of the terms we throw around on these lists.
So she simply said, explain to me the difference between assumptions and
mental models in common words. After I failed to convince either of us, I
gave up too. Now I am convinced that the opposite of collective
intelligence is a discrete possibility.
I noticed that I might be using the terms interchangeably at times without
thinking. If I first describe mental models, when I go on to talk about
assumptions, or sets of assumptions, it begins to sound the same.
I did notice that I use "assume" (or "make an assumption") to convey the
idea that someone arrived at a "truth" by ignoring (or not utilizing)
something that was "reasonably" accessible. But when I say "suspend your
assumptions," it sounds more like suspending the use of mental models --
and I'm not sure how controllable that might be. Am I saying suspend
judgement?
I'll shut up now and listen.
Thanks,
John
[PS -- what would an LO message look like if the mailer filters took out all
buzzwords and proprietary lingo?]
--John Dicus | cca@ourfuture.com Cornerstone Consulting Associates | http://www.ourfuture.com Growing Learning Communities Through Whole-System Experiences Consulting | Facilitation | Workshops | Seminars | Speaking 2761 Stiegler Road, Valley City OH 44280 800-773-8017 | 330-725-2728 (fax) ** Experiences in Stewardship -- April 26-29 and Oct 25-28, 1998 **
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>