Let us begin by describing some of the characteristics that people attribute to the world we live in. It is not an all-inclusive list, and its components may actually conflict with one another, but people use each of these descriptions in describing the world. To some, the world is God-given, fixed and stable. To others, it is slowly evolving. To still others, it is alterable by man … filled with the unpredictable, emergent, chaotic or random. What Kind of World Do We Live In?
· God Given, Fixed and Stable· Slowly Evolving· Alterable by Man· Filled With the Unpredictable· Emergent· Chaotic· Random
This list can be separated into categories. These categories are distinguishable on the basis of the models that we use to simplify reality. To managers, to people concerned with organizations, the list breaks down such that they are most comfortable with the top four items. The world might be God-given, fixed and stable. Maybe it’s slowly evolving. Clearly, if something happens it’s alterable by man. The challenge of management, the thing they hate the most, is that it’s filled with the unpredictable. Complexity theory suggests that the bottom four elements seem to be more applicable. The emergent, chaotic and random can be added to “filled with the unpredictable”. There is thus a divergence here between what complexity theory suggests is important and what managers believe is important. Remember, this difference is not about truth claims. It is about how we cope with reality.
March 2, 2008 at 4:31 pm
OK, I’m with you. This is the fork in the road.
March 3, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I would encourage you to omit “God-given.” For some readers, this will trigger many things that I think you don’t intend. For me, what it triggers is that I would just as readily put God-given with the bottom characteristics than I would the top. I don’t really know of sincere Christians, for example, who would characterize the world as “fixed and stable.” For those who read the Bible, for example, it clearly indicates a dramatic “conclusion” to the world.
The only descriptor in the bottom set that wouldn’t fit for many Christians would be random. They would accept local randomness, but not universal randomness.
March 30, 2008 at 2:13 am
Perhaps life occurs in states that can be associated with your levels analogous to quantum physics. In such a model, what might induce a state change? Knowledge transfer in the form of experience?