Ben mentions using science and artistic performance to help create
understanding and change. I think folklore (or cultural anthropology)
could make a good addition to this conversation.
"Dilbert" cartoons are texts that reflect cultural performances (deep
play) occuring in a context and exhibiting unique texture. Such
performances are concerned with testing boundaries and negotiating roles
in a changing environment. In a sense, I think that Dilbert is showing us
ideas from the fringe (where Schwartz advises a scenario planner to look).
To get at these ideas, an "applied folklorist" might ask questions about
texture and context as well as text:
- (texture) What does the medium -- cartoons -- add, take away, make
possible?
- (context) What meaning is there in the placement _and movement_ of the
physical copies in the social space (workplace)?
- (text) Reading the cartoons as if they were the only artifacts from a
previous age, what was the role of authority in that culture?
- (context including our posts) Judging from the debate around Dilbert's
message and role in the workplace, what is the adative challenge facing
knowledge workers in the 90's?
Bo Warburton
Systems Analyst, Intellectual Wanderer
bo@warburton.com
W (702) 295-6196
--"Warburton, Bo" <warburton@nv.doe.gov>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>