learning-unlearning LO10147

Dr. Scott J. Simmerman (74170.1061@CompuServe.COM)
24 Sep 96 14:04:29 EDT

Replying to LO10133 --

Guess I'll jump in on this learning / unlearning thing too. I've got no
problem with the notion of unlearning. And don't want to pick any more
flyspecks out of the pepper. But it seems unlearning operates.

You're in your kayak. And you're in a Big Rapid. And this Big Wave comes
at you from the right side. (Whoa! or Wheeeeee!!!). I learned to duck
away from things coming at me, like baseballs, darts, small arms fire, and
the like in order to protect my head. Maybe this is natural, genetically
predetermined even.

But lean your kayak AWAY from the Big Wave and you will clearly see what
the underside of the wave looks like as it spins you over to the left.
Lean INTO this Big Wave and it becomes a Big Part of the fun.

Now, I would say that one needs to Un-learn one's natural tendency to duck
away from danger and Learn to stick face in wave.

Same thing for rolling the kayak from upside down; the LAST thing to come
out of the water SHOULD be your face, while the tendency is to get it up
first (Rotational mass, that sort of thing). And it is the hardest thing
for a beginner to learn (and a tough thing to do in a panic'd situation
where you are upside down in the middle of a Big Rapid (don't ask how I
know this -g-).

So do you do what your "survival instincts" tell you or do you unlearn
that and produce an effective maneuver? I'd call this unlearning, I
guess. But it sure makes for interesting kayaking! And isn't what is
most important is staying upright in the whitewater of running a
business??

For the Fun of It!

-- 

Scott Simmerman Performance Management Company, 3 Old Oak Drive, Taylors SC USA 29687-6624 74170.1061@compuserve.com

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>