Dear Organlearners,
Mark Rolfson <Mark.Rolfson@lovelace.com> writes
>I suspect that LO ideas, much like biblical writings,
>can be used to reinforce mental models almost as
>effectively as they can be used to question them.
Greetings Mark,
Wise words.
That is why we have to go out of any system without any "farewell forever"
-- why we have to tour the other side to learn once again.
People think that the Bible is the only source of truth. But the Bible
itself says at many places that it is is our source of thruth by special
grace of God. Furthermore, it says also in many other places that outside
the Bible there are many sources of truth by the general grace of God. The
Bible itself often makes use of these sources of truth.
It is when I tour outside the Bible in everyday life with my Bible
experiences when I learn more about the truths of the Bible. Furthermore,
it is when I tour inside the Bible with my everyday experiences when I
learn more about the truths uncovered in everyday life.
Mark, you also write
>So, these examples illustrate a systems principle:
>More structure = less choice = easier to use,
>and less structure = more choice = harder to use.
>The "use" of these systems I am taking to be
>"finding a solution" or "creating meaning."
Again, wise words.
But here I have to qualify once again something. The "structure" which
your refer here to, is for me not the structure of merely the system, but
the structure of both the system and its environement (which is the total
of all other systems). If you say it is the structure of only the system,
it shows how foolish it is to say "wise words" before we have painted a
picture rich enough with the dialogue
>On the human side of the mammalian experience,
>I feel that same kind of energy from you, At. You
>are a welcoming, playful, and wise presence, and
>I thank you.
Thank you for the kind words Mark, as well as those expressed by everybody
else. It is impossible for me to than everyone as it should have been
done.
But I want to tell you all a strange thing when I began to study again the
life of Eugene Marais a couple of years ago. Exactly what you and others
have said of me recently, and much more to be said, I saw in the life of
this man. But strangely, it happened for the first time ever with respect
to Marais. It happened before, since my childhood, with respect to other
people. But it never happened before in all my readings of Marais, even
though I learnt much from him. Why not, I cannot say. This is a strange
puzzle which I must sort out.
I have already refered a couple of times to Eugene Marais. Once it was to
mention that his most remarkable book "The soul of the ant" is, if we make
that immense paradigm shift required, a study in NONHUMAN Learning
Organisations. Strangely, nobody took up my challenge and read this book
to see the five disciplines operating in a nonhuman environment.
Obviously, you must not expect the five disciplines to be even mentioned
because the book was published roughly 3/4trs of a century before Senge's
book. You must look for correspondence between what the five disciplines
stands for and what is reported in the book.
The last time I have mentioned Eugene Marais, was in
"Empowerment LO18408"
< http://www.learning-org.com/98.06/0172.html >
Best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>