Hank Heath comments:
>Many of the models for thinking and working that we compose
>are based upon two dimensional diagrams...
>...the business and educational world is still stuck with 2-D...
>...has (this) restricted the ideas of the model-makers?
I believe this 2-dimensional paradigm has, in part, restricted the ideas
not just of model makers, but more importantly, decisionmakers.
Shifting the number of dimensions that people can look at is critical to
looking at systems from a new perspective. For example, we have had
significant success in having our cleints work with 3-D models of fitness
landscapes (part of a processe in which we model and analyze how well
their products can compete against other configurations of similar types
of products). This is part of the work that we are doing in the area of
modeling change in technological systems, and I don't think our results
would be as clearly understood if we worked with 2-dimensional images.
But I think there is another dimension entirely that is very poorly used
and understood.
In the computer models that we develop, an emphasis is put on the
dimension of time. The models we create are designed to help us understand
the dynamics of complex systems over time -- what are the underlying
rules, how do they affect the evolution of the system, etc.
In one project, we've used computer models to look at the evolution of
products over a 20 year time period in order to begin to understand some
of the dynamics involved. As a result of this, we've gained a significant
understanding of some key characteristics of the evolutionary process of
this particular line of products.
In my opinion, the more dimensions we are able to model and represent, the
more insight are likely to gain into organizational systems.
Regards,
Peter von Stackelberg
Applied Futures, Inc.
-- e-mail: PeterVS1@aol.com WWW: http://www.neosoft.com/~appfutr/