CONTACTS 
0201 - Texas Tech University                806 742 3275
020101 - Mr. Joseph M. Ransdell; Associate Professor
020102 - joseph.ransdell@ttu.edu
020103 - Department of Philosophy

SUBJECTS
NWO Ideas, Aristotle Half-truth, Deviation Source of Creativity
Truth Deviations Multiplied by Time - Com Metrics Risk Management
Creativity Lucky Accidents Deviations from Truth
Time Multiplies Deviations from Truth
Ransdell Deviation from Truth Multiplied by Time
Creativity Recognizing Patterns from Life Experience
Risk Communication Main Factor of Management Success
Entropy in Communications/Information
NWO Book (uses manual language)
Creativity Recognizing Patterns from Life Experience

1912 -    ..
1913 - Summary/Objective
1914 -
191401 - Follow up ref SDS 93 0000, ref SDS 92 0000.
191402 -
191403 - Joe offers good ideas to provide examples of the telephone game effect
191404 - that can strengthen the core premise of the new world order of
191405 - information overload, leading to meaning drift.  He proposes that
191406 - spontaneous, stream of conscious, thought is creative.  Experience
191407 - using SDS indicates creativity can be enhanced, and, also, reduce
191408 - errors.
191409 -
191410 -  ..
191411 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0001 to Joe with a link to this record. Thank Joe
191412 - for peer review, and ideas to improve NWO...  Expressed hope that,
191413 - before too long, we can look at idea for solution of adding time to
191414 - alphabet technology to produce knowledge management, ref DIT 1 3510,
191415 - per the letter, ref DIP 1 1500, to Joe on 000719. ref SDS 90 7488
191416 -
191417 -     [On 000726 called and left message to follow up. ref SDS 94 0001
191418 -
191419 -     [On 000727 Joe called back. ref SDS 95 0001
191420 -
191421 -
191422 -
191423 -
191424 -  ..
1915 -
1916 -
1917 - Progress
1918 -
191801 -  ..
191802 - Communication Metrics Supports Creativity by Search for Truth
191803 -
191804 - Follow up ref SDS 93 0005.
191805 -
191806 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Joe commenting on section 1 of the NWO,
191807 - ref OF 2 0001, particularly the observation by Aristotle that the
191808 - least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied by time.
191809 - ref OF 2 4564
191810 -
191811 - Generally, need a publisher and/or editor to assist in incorporating
191812 - changes, and then publish NWO.
191813 -
191814 -      Problem is how to demonstrate in a conventional printed
191815 -      publication the benefits of a new way of working that adds
191816 -      "intelligence" to information, which among other things includes
191817 -      linking, as Joe notes on 000717, ref SDS 87 3825, yet many people
191818 -      aver links.
191819 -
191820 -          [On 000811 Eric Armstrong wants existing email methods
191821 -          without links to bring benefits of a new way of working
191822 -          intelligently. ref SDS 97 0001 and again a few weeks later on
191823 -          000824. ref SDS 98 FJ5H
191824 -
191825 -       ..
191826 -      Maybe we could publish online, as reported today by a prominent
191827 -      author.
191828 -
191829 -  ..
191830 - Joe offers analysis and feedback to edit POIMS and NWO that guide
191831 - development of KM, which aligns with Jack Park's call on 000504 for
191832 - OHS/DKR team to ponder POIMS. ref SDS 63 6082
191833 -
191834 -    a.  Telephone Game
191835 -
191836 -        Cite telephone game to illustrate the problem about deviations
191837 -        from the truth that cause problems, noted by Aristotle.
191838 -        ref DRT 1 0003
191839 -
191840 -         ..
191841 -        This is discussed in NWO explaining alignment for accuracy by
191842 -        avoding meaning drift. ref OF 2 XF5H  POIMS uses telephone game
191843 -        to explain how paraphrasing makes communication the biggest
191844 -        risk in enterprise. ref OF 1 3943
191845 -
191846 -         ..
191847 -        Telephone game is given as an example in the letter on medical
191848 -        mistakes, ref DIP 4 6048, in the record on 990924. ref SDS 32
191849 -        3955
191850 -
191851 -
191852 -        On 971230, "telephone game" was reviewed as part of a training
191853 -        film on management communication. ref SDS 22 1526
191854 -
191855 -
191856 -         ..
191857 -    b.  People continually compensate for error
191858 -
191859 -        Joe argues that Aristotle's proposition that deviations from
191860 -        truth are multiplied by time, is only half true, because a
191861 -        living being, considered as a process in constant change across
191862 -        time, compensates continually for error. ref DRT 1 5664
191863 -
191864 -         ..
191865 -        This compensation ability is efficient only to the extent that
191866 -        the process maintains a constant overall unity given by a goal
191867 -        state toward which it is striving. ref DRT 1 3774
191868 -
191869 -            The second part needs clarification, an example, scenario
191870 -            to flesh it out.  Sounds like it relates to objectives,
191871 -            needs, desires, which in SDS are "subjects."
191872 -
191873 -             ..
191874 -            Continually compensating for error may reflect the inherent
191875 -            process of cognition is "guessing," per Landauer on 960324,
191876 -            ref SDS 15 0083, which necessarily is in danger of error,
191877 -            and so the mind is constantly on the alert for error in
191878 -            order to sustain itself.
191879 -
191880 -                Reflects Campbell's explanation of Baker Street
191881 -                reasoning, that people do not think logically, but
191882 -                rather rely on experience, reviewed on 900303.
191883 -                ref SDS 1 4856  This point came up in discussion with
191884 -                Bill DeHart and Morris Jones on 000709. ref SDS 80 0004
191885 -
191886 -             ..
191887 -            The difficulty is that errors from information overload are
191888 -            a secret, i.e., they are overlooked due to limited span of
191889 -            attention, complexity and speed of events, as set out in
191890 -            POIMS. ref OF 1 V8P1  Some of these errors gather force
191891 -            that cannot be compensated when finally noticed by the
191892 -            conscious span of attention, because the notice comes in
191893 -            the form of a costly, tragic mistake.  See for example on
191894 -            991001. ref SDS 33 3192  Often the boss flys into town from
191895 -            a business trip, and is full of excitement about getting
191896 -            new orders.  He wants a briefing that tells him what he
191897 -            wants to hear, and if he doesn't hear it, he may hear it
191898 -            anyway, i.e., he hears what he is predisposed to hear,
191899 -            based on a lot other stuff he has on his mind. See example
191900 -            on 950412. ref SDS 10 5933
191901 -
191902 -             ..
191903 -            Possibly, this should not be presented as a "difficulty,"
191904 -            but merely as an opportunity for proactive management by
191905 -            adding "intelligence" to informtion.
191906 -
191907 -            This is the classic front-end investment issue that says
191908 -            don't bother with the little issues, wait until they start
191909 -            to hurt, or cost money, then fix it.  This works for some
191910 -            stuff, but larger forces cannot be held back, if a remedy
191911 -            is delayed too long, which leads to the discussion on
191912 -            wisdom, from yesterday. ref SDS 93 5022
191913 -
191914 -             ..
191915 -            NWO tries to make the point that a faster paced world is a
191916 -            material change that exceeds normal biological correction
191917 -            mechanisms, which Joe has in mind today, ref DRT 1 5664,
191918 -            because the historical environment has changed.  The impact
191919 -            of error was formerly contained by time and distance, but
191920 -            today. technology is rapidly reducing the containment
191921 -            buffer of time and distance, ref OF 2 3300, with the result
191922 -            that the potential for a critical mass of error to escalate
191923 -            out of control is increasing rapidly.  This risk requires a
191924 -            system of "metrics" for discovering with the microscope of
191925 -            SDS a greater share of problems when they are still small
191926 -            enough to turn back, or otherwise accomodate to avoid harm,
191927 -            as called out in NWO. ref OF 2 4925 and ref OF 2 9441
191928 -
191929 -
191930 -         ..
191931 -    c.  Communication saves community by lessons from individuals...
191932 -
191933 -        Joe proposes a strong notion of communication for informing the
191934 -        life-process to enable the whole to benefit from what occurs in
191935 -        a part of it. ref DRT 1 3774
191936 -
191937 -         ..
191938 -        Communication Metrics strives to enable the community to learn
191939 -        with fewer "hard" lessons for individuals, and to avoid larger
191940 -        crises that threaten the whole.  SDS makes it faster and easier
191941 -        to identify lessons before disaster strikes by organizing
191942 -        history and continually applying "lessons learned" into daily
191943 -        life.  Of course avoiding error, crisis and ultimate calamity
191944 -        is impossible in the aggregate, so all we are really doing is
191945 -        reducing the frequency of hard lessons for individuals and
191946 -        community, recognizing that in 100 years big problems will
191947 -        occur.  In 1,000 years we may all be gone by the vary vagaries
191948 -        of chance we seek to contain.  In a faster paced world, this
191949 -        probably keeps us about even, such that without specialized
191950 -        tools to leverage human acuity, the likelihood of imploding
191951 -        escalates.
191952 -
191953 -
191954 -         ..
191955 -    d.  Paradox Communication Causes Error and Enables Creativity
191956 -
191957 -        Joe points out that communication seems to be at once the cause
191958 -        of the problem and the solution to it. ref DRT 1 6164
191959 -
191960 -            I think I disagree.
191961 -
191962 -            Seems more likely there is a single problem:  the process
191963 -            of human thought which gets fragmented over time, causing
191964 -            meaning drift, as a result of constant information that
191965 -            overwhelms span of attention.  Unrelated information is
191966 -            then commingled in assembling memory because it seems
191967 -            related enough in the time available for consideration, and
191968 -            there is no feedback action in immediate circumstances that
191969 -            leads the mind to make a correction.  This is effectively a
191970 -            secret deception the mind has from itself.
191971 -
191972 -                 [On 000729 mental "secrets" called undiscovered
191973 -                 mistakes require proactive aligment to disclose
191974 -                 meaning drift before problems arise. ref SDS 96 7593
191975 -
191976 -             ..
191977 -            That being, so it becomes a fresh memory, and if the matter
191978 -            arises again, this fresh memory occurs with conviction. It
191979 -            is not a problem when information flows slowly, because
191980 -            thinking fits the pace of life.  Up until recently, the
191981 -            ability to assemble an adequate understanding from memory
191982 -            worked okay, because most activity occurred within a
191983 -            near-term time span before fragmentation could impact
191984 -            performance.  Thus, a nimble wit, is by no means a "bug" or
191985 -            defect, it is a key feature that enables a small, weak,
191986 -            slow creature to master a complex, dangerous world, by
191987 -            quickly expanding a little bit of information using schemas
191988 -            and paradigms from experience, to look ahead of its
191989 -            competitors, who are far less nible witted.
191990 -
191991 -             ..
191992 -            The "problem" is that native ability to think quickly which
191993 -            works wonders in a natural world, gets easily overwhelmed
191994 -            in the faster, more complex world of its own making because
191995 -            feedback metrics, called "mistakes," are disconnected from
191996 -            the occurance of error (see also explanation of medical
191997 -            mistakes, ref DIP 4 6048, from the record on 990924.
191998 -            ref SDS 32 5576  Since the mind has engineered beyoned
191999 -            native capacity, a new design is needed to avoid
192000 -            self-destruction, and to take the next step in the long
192001 -            march of civilization.
192002 -
192003 -             ..
192004 -            This leads inexprably to the...
192005 -
192006 -
192007 -                         paradigm shift of the millinneum
192008 -
192009 -
192010 -            ...in that our most powerful asset for implementing the
192011 -            underlying cognitive machinery now makes....
192012 -
192013 -
192014 -                   Communiation is the biggest risk in enterprise
192015 -
192016 -
192017 -         ..
192018 -        Joe proposes distinguishing communication that...
192019 -
192020 -            1.  helps by enabling cooperation that increases the chance
192021 -                of success relative to the inherent goals of the life
192022 -                process. ref DRT 1 6912
192023 -
192024 -            2.  harms by producing chaos, which is often avoided by
192025 -                point 1
192026 -
192027 -             ..
192028 -            NWO tries to make this point by distinguising between long
192029 -            and short term aspects of communication. ref OF 2 8218,
192030 -
192031 -            Traditional communication practices work for short-term
192032 -            action, but not in an increasingly long term environment,
192033 -            where impacts are disconnected from causes, per letter on
192034 -            medical mistakes. ref DIP 4 6048  That is where the danger
192035 -            and the opportunity lies.
192036 -
192037 -
192038 -
192039 -
1921 -

SUBJECTS
Creativity Lucky Accidents Deviations from Truth
Creativity Experiment Better Methods Cost of Business
Trial and Error in Product Development, Marketing Take Time to Develo
Pilot Test Solves Innovation Loop Resisted Fear Accountability

2507 -
250701 -         ..
250702 -        Creativity from Spontaneous Deviations
250703 -
250704 -        Joe argues spontaneous deviation is the source of creativity.
250705 -        New ideas occur by chance.  What makes a new idea a creative
250706 -        factor is that the deviation is taken advantage of as
250707 -        presenting a possibility, which in the context of a process
250708 -        structured as an inquiry, can mean a possible solution.   In
250709 -        other words, spontaneity can be and should be exploited as the
250710 -        basic resource for the production of hypotheses about a
250711 -        solution.  ref DRT 1 8019
250712 -
250713 -            [On 001122 John Maloney seems to promote creativity through
250714 -            chaos, random activity. ref SDS A0 NZ3L
250715 -
250716 -        --  If, however, there is no inquiry structure to draw upon
250717 -        then the possibility is not only of no value but is actually a
250718 -        negative factor because it simply functions in the service of
250719 -        disintegration, as illustrated in the telephone game.
250720 -        ref DRT 1 1998
250721 -
250722 -
250723 -             ..
250724 -            Creativity is a deviation, but not a secret.
250725 -
250726 -            Spontaneous insight can suggest strking out on a new path
250727 -            with appropriate caution relative to risks, and securing
250728 -            resources and circumstances to aid success.
250729 -
250730 -
250731 -             ..
250732 -            Information overload makes deviation a secret.
250733 -
250734 -            Spontaneous, cursory consideration that misses key factors
250735 -            and commingles causation due to information overload is
250736 -            secret, which is much different from an overt act by an
250737 -            artist or engineer to try a new path,  Still, in the
250738 -            ferment of human thinking, mental "secrets" can bubble out
250739 -            as inspired creative ideas; or, they can cause inexplicable
250740 -            bumbling, as Kissinger notes in his book "Diplomacy,"
250741 -            reviewed on 940609, where people spread error, without
250742 -            awareness. ref SDS 6 4238  Since it is difficult to spread
250743 -            good ideas, under the rule that anyone can say no, but
250744 -            everyone must say yes to a new idea, this nominal advantage
250745 -            of spontaneous response is at a disadvantage relative to
250746 -            the harm caused by information overload.
250747 -
250748 -             ..
250749 -            As a result, mental mistakes are generally more harmful
250750 -            than helpful, because error is easier to spread under
250751 -            information overload than is creativity.
250752 -
250753 -             ..
250754 -            SDS seems to offer a new source of creativity that
250755 -            compliments traditional reliance on chance for discovering
250756 -            good idea from spontaneous deviation, but with less risk of
250757 -            harm.
250758 -
250759 -             ..
250760 -            Writing up the record is not "spontaneous."
250761 -
250762 -            This morning, after reading Joe's letter I started to dash
250763 -            off a response.  Then, thought further, and decided to use
250764 -            the regular SDS approach, esplained in the record on
250765 -            000720, ref SDS 91 0007,  This required thinking about
250766 -            subjects which yielded 15 different ideas culled from 100s
250767 -            of related subjects in the SDS organic subject structure,
250768 -            which currently has about 40,000 subjects. The record so
250769 -            far has 19 citations, which entails looking closely at
250770 -            related stuff, and noticing correlations that require
250771 -            assessment of alignment. That process leads to more ideas
250772 -            about taking the original material in a lot of different
250773 -            directions, which might be called deviations, and some of
250774 -            it creates ideas.
250775 -            ..
250776 -            This suggests that SDS is a creative idea that
250777 -            enables more creativity, while also discovering and
250778 -            correcting errors, that would otherwise cause harm.
250779 -
250780 -
250781 -         ..
250782 -    e.  Email provides efficient delivery of mail...
250783 -
250784 -        Joe observes my belief that email supports knowledge work,
250785 -        including management.  He indicates email provides, spontaneous
250786 -        introduction of new ideas at the most basic level, and
250787 -        perspectives which a well-designed management plan will exploit
250788 -        as possible contributions to solutions. ref DRT 1 6192
250789 -
250790 -            Doubtless email brings useful creative ideas; this benefit
250791 -            can be exploited by integration into the record for
250792 -            assessment of correlations and implications.  Information
250793 -            overload makes it hard to accomplish this task, absent the
250794 -            tools of SDS, due to limited time, as discussed in the
250795 -            record on 000720. ref SDS 91 0007
250796 -
250797 -             ..
250798 -            Email, regular mail, or information from a call, meeting,
250799 -            article, television broadcast, or looking at the sunset,
250800 -            can all generate spontaneous ideas, which are strengthened,
250801 -            expanded and lead to further ideas by integrating with
250802 -            objectives, requirements and history to organize, analyse,
250803 -            align, and summarize to provide "intelligence" that guides
250804 -            response.
250805 -
250806 -             ..
250807 -            Judgement is exercised.  Not every situation requires great
250808 -            care, and so some can be handled spontaneiously. SDS makes
250809 -            it faster, easier and cheaper to handle a greater share of
250810 -            daily working information a little more thoroughly, and
250811 -            this enhances creativity above present practice, for the
250812 -            reasons discussed above. ref SDS 0 2100
250813 -
250814 -
250815 -         ..
250816 -    f.  Innovation, creativity entails trial and error
250817 -
250818 -        Joe makes a good point that there must be a lot of wastage, a
250819 -        lot of possibilities introduced which just aren't pertinent or
250820 -        feasible and are immediately discarded.  But this wastage is
250821 -        more than compensated for if it also produces an idea that
250822 -        makes a strong contribution toward the solution of a problem.
250823 -        ref DRT 1 3692
250824 -
250825 -            [On 001221 Paul Fernhout may make a similar argument that
250826 -            supporting those who are non-contributors, may later yield
250827 -            a significant contribution. ref SDS A1 X16G
250828 -
250829 -        He notes overall efficiency can require inefficiency:  the aim
250830 -        is not to make everything efficient but rather to make the
250831 -        overall process efficient, and there should be a recognition of
250832 -        the importance of playfulness, spontaneity, and waste in
250833 -        certain aspects of the process. ref DRT 1 6072
250834 -
250835 -        --  There is, by the way, much backing for this both in Peirce
250836 -        and in the later development of cybernetic theory, and I think
250837 -        there must be a lot to draw upon in computer science to this
250838 -        effect, too, which would show up in game simulations in
250839 -        particular but elsewhere as well. ref DRT 1 8840
250840 -
250841 -             ..
250842 -            This is another way of saying the....
250843 -
250844 -                  long way around is the short way there
250845 -
250846 -            On 990527 Clay Christensen explains in his book, The
250847 -            Innovators Dilemma, that introducing new ideas in the
250848 -            market place is largely a trial and error effort.
250849 -            ref SDS 30 5258
250850 -
250851 -              [On 001106 Eric Armstrong submitted ideas on creativity
250852 -              that implicitly calls for trial and error. ref SDS 99
250853 -              0001
250854 -
250855 -
250856 -
250857 -
250858 -
250859 -
250860 -
250861 -
250862 -
250863 -
250864 -
250865 -
250866 -
2509 -