Mike talks about the "emergence" of technology. He mentions the study of
complex adaptive systems (cas).
When I first subscribed to this list I found Mike's comments to be
succinct, but frankly I had no idea what he was talking about. His
language was different. I could sense there was a lot of meaning to the
words he used, but I didn't know what it was.
I took it upon myself to write down questions from Mike's messages and
seek out the answers. I reviewed his posts from Rick's homepage, and
answered a few of them. I then bought his book, "The Intelligence
Advantage," and learned a lot more. I've read the book twice, actually,
and plan to read it a third time just to make sure I've integrated it into
my thinking.
And so if you feel overwhelmed by some of the messages on this list, I'd
suggest reading the books written by some of the people. Another book I
learned about on this list that has profoundly impacted me was Art
Kliener's "The Age of Heretics."
Other books I've been introduced to on this list that I find valuable
include:
1- Hidden Order, by John Holland
2- The Web of Life, by Fritjof Capra
3- Chaos, by James Glieck
4- The New Science of Leadership, by Margaret Wheatley (the subject of
dialogue a couple of months ago)
5- The Art of the Long View, by Peter Schwartz
6- The Knowledge-Creating Company, by Nonaka and Takeuchi
7- Learning as a Way of Being, by Peter B. Vaill
8- The Age of Unreason, by Charles Handy
And the list could go on. I joined the list in April or May and since that
time have read these books, and others, and learned a tremendous amount in
the process. Without participating on this list, I'm certain I never would
have bought any of these books.
And so I would suggest that while there may be comments on this list that
are hard to understand at first, there's much to be learned by sticking
with it. I know many new subscribers might feel intimidated or confused by
some of the language used. You get used to it after a while, and pretty
soon you find that you start thinking in the same language and in similar
ways to those on the list (at least those whose contributions you value).
For me this list is a learning community. I had to change and grow to feel
like part of the community, however. And I recognize how much more
learning and growth I need to operate at the same level of many of the
people here. Learning Organizations -- or communities of learning -- has,
for me, become more than merely an interesting topic ; it has become a way
of life; it has come to be a curcial part of my hopes and dreams. It has
changed the course of my life, and I believe for the better.
--Benjamin B. Compton bbcompton@aol.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>