Re: Metaphor and Mental Models

Eddy Steenbergen (esteenbergen@acslink.net.au)
Tue, 10 Jan 1995 23:03 AEST

Hello Sean <gawnesm@songs.sce.com>

We seem to be going off at a tangent here - a circular metaphor? :-)
I'll respond to some of your points - but it might also be useful to see if
we can draw any lessons from this.

>Eddy - There is a flaw in your logic, you know. The fact that the gap is
>widening does not mean this is win-lose. It is entirely possible for BOTH
>the rich and the poor to be winning, but the rich winning a little more.
>Don't you agree?

I agree.

>Or do you really think the overall standard of living in the countries you
>list is not increasing?

This would make a great debating subject which I think might be more
correctly be discussed in another place. There are a host of issues wrapped
up in your question, one being the definition of the "overall" standard of
living.

>And by the way, who says economic measures are the only measure of
>"winning" and "losing"? The way I see it, life is a game where _I_ decide
>the scorekeeping. And for me at least, money isn't everything.

I agree completely that each of us can have different measures of victory
and loss. But to slightly modify something you said above, "perhaps only the
well off have the luxury of looking at life in the way you do".

Since you mention the game metaphor, maybe the introduction of various
aspects of games might help an organisation learn.

After all, in playing games one can learn a great deal about people,
strategies and outcomes.

And maybe we are treating this whole business of learning much too
seriously. Just maybe, if we can get the people in an organisation to
lighten up then learning may be more likely to occur and information more
likely to be shared.

Eddy

IMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM;
: This message comes from either Eddy or Roxanne :
: Steenbergen of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. :
: Ph +61 02 726007 :
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM<