Malcolm Burson in LO10546 wrote:
"For me, one of the most powerful learnings in the whole notion of a LO is
no longer to take "common language" for granted, but rather to use the
tools so elegantly provided by Argyris and others to unpack assumptions
and inferences, and step by baby step to create shared language."
You are right on, Malcolm. Each of us use the words and phrases in our own
way and they mean very different things to each of us. I had been working
with a colleague of mine for past six months on a project and one of his
intentions in working together with a client was to create a balance in
the way we work together. The word 'balance' meant different things to me
than to him and for past six months we have been exploring what it means
to each other. In doing so, we learned so much about each other, our
assumptions, and our past experiences. In the end, we both came to
understand that what we think the 'balance' is and the dictionary meaning
of 'balance' don't have to match for us to get into trouble and it is
important to inquire when a new phrase or word is introduced into the
conversation what one means by it and what he/she intends to communicate
through it. By such exploration, we go beyond the language to have a
deeper understanding of where one is coming from and have a greater
appreciation for ones perspective.
Having worked in computer industry for a while, I would like to use the
language that I had been familiar with (and I am sure most of you think
like me (grin)) to explore language.
Data (more precisely datum) is just basic unit of language or you can say
the letters or alphabet is the basic unit. By themselves they don't mean
anything but when the data are put together, according a set of agreed
upon rules, yields information. Of course, we should remember that the
rules that we agreed upon (let us say English grammer, or syntax) are not
universal and are different for different groups of people. Ex: How do we
spell mold? Should it be mould? (English spelling vs. American spelling).
Hence, information is data + (a set of filters through which we look at
collection of data). For example, each word that is in this memo is
information and not data from the perspective of language. (Though most
people mistake between data and information!)
Information + inference or interpretation leads to knowledge. Ex: I say 'I
love you!' What does that mean to you? What did you infer or interpret
from my statement? It is no longer a set of words that follow the rules of
grammer but it means something and points at something. Why? Because we
have memory and past experiences and those experiences shape how we
interpret the phrase 'I love you.' When you hear those words, you mind
immediately goes back to all the stuff you experienced in the past and you
are no longer a passive observer but sucked into the understanding game.
That is why knowledge is never objective. It always has the subjective
component in it and it is very difficult to have common language. It is
not possible for people to understand language objectively (alone) and we
always have to dialogue or inquire what others mean?
Such inquiry brings shared meaning and when we are open to their
interpretation even when it differs (sometimes conflicts with ours) from
our interpretation, we develop a new perspective and a different point of
view and that is developing wisdom. Wisdom is about distinguishing
different kinds of interpretations and is a perspective that evolves
shared meaning.
(I should say that observations like 'Paul responded to his mail at 9 pm,'
and 'Prasad ate his breakfast' are also data but that is another
conversation).
This has been a long memo but it clarified for myself why common language
has to be explored, and to be more precise, through dialogue to develop
shared meaning between people and that alone can create shared vision.
Gene: Hope this suffices your interest my interpretation of the words
data, information, knowledge and wisdom. I have built a pyramid around
these four cornerstones and if you like I can mail you a GIF version of
it.
--Prasad Kaipa, Ph. D. (408) 866-8511 Mithya Institute for Learning & (408) 866-8926 (Fax) Knowledge Architecture 4832 Pinemont Drive Prasad@Mithya.com Campbell, CA 95008-5714 Pkaipa@AOL.com
Welcome to Mithya Institute Web page: http://www.Mithya.com Topic of focus for the fall of 1996 on website: Unlearning
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