"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Are you ready to simplify the mission of taking good care of the world?
In elementary school, I remember a simple lesson we were taught about using the right tool for the right job. You know, using millimeters to measure tiny details of life, like seeds, using centimeters to measure small details of life, like flowers, using meters to measure big things of life, like trees, and using kilometers to measure really big things of life, like how long it is from where we are now to wherever we want to go on this planet.
And in the social innovation tips collection from our first mission, Amy Smith suggests:
When we are precisely as simple and as sophisticated as we need to be with our tools (including the most important tool of our thinking!) we become as efficient and effective as we possibly can be given the situation. Which is precisely why understanding the following set of levels of simplicity~complexity is so powerful, as it gives us a way to start at the most general approach to social problem solving or to move down into a more detailed approach of human problem solving, depending on what's most appropriate for the situation.
The top level is the simplest, most broad way of thinking about solutions, akin to, perhaps, a light year in measuring terms.
The second level down is the next simplest way of thinking, more like measuring the world in kilometers.
The third level down is the more architectural scale of solving problems, similar to measuring life in meters.
The fourth level of detail is where things get practical, where people's solutions are broken down into specific, but still basic, elements like so many ancient cultures speak of the powers of the Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, and this level is where we humans spend most of our time looking at life, essentially using the centimeter to measure the things we encounter in our daily explorations.
The fifth level is how we start to look for solutions when there're any kinds of sickness or serious deficiencies going on, and this is the level that doctors, biologists, engineers, and other specialists measure things in real detail, like the millimeter option of rulers.
And the levels can keep going, for even more detail, as more clarity of understanding becomes valuable for looking at how to best take care of the world and all the individuals in it.
So, the next time you are looking to take care of the world, consider using the right tool for the job, based on what level of simplicity~complexity seems most appropriate for the problem. Is it simply more love, in general, that is needed to solve the problem? Or is it a more specific kind of love that's going to do it? Where do you think your thinking would be for the most simple solution?
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This post is part of a collaborative series on Changing Mindset, with the goal of helping people understand how to think more skillfully.
And in the social innovation tips collection from our first mission, Amy Smith suggests:
Do the hard work needed to find a simple solution. As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”—and it is the key to this type of design work.
When we are precisely as simple and as sophisticated as we need to be with our tools (including the most important tool of our thinking!) we become as efficient and effective as we possibly can be given the situation. Which is precisely why understanding the following set of levels of simplicity~complexity is so powerful, as it gives us a way to start at the most general approach to social problem solving or to move down into a more detailed approach of human problem solving, depending on what's most appropriate for the situation.
The top level is the simplest, most broad way of thinking about solutions, akin to, perhaps, a light year in measuring terms.
The second level down is the next simplest way of thinking, more like measuring the world in kilometers.
The third level down is the more architectural scale of solving problems, similar to measuring life in meters.
The fourth level of detail is where things get practical, where people's solutions are broken down into specific, but still basic, elements like so many ancient cultures speak of the powers of the Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, and this level is where we humans spend most of our time looking at life, essentially using the centimeter to measure the things we encounter in our daily explorations.
The fifth level is how we start to look for solutions when there're any kinds of sickness or serious deficiencies going on, and this is the level that doctors, biologists, engineers, and other specialists measure things in real detail, like the millimeter option of rulers.
And the levels can keep going, for even more detail, as more clarity of understanding becomes valuable for looking at how to best take care of the world and all the individuals in it.
So, the next time you are looking to take care of the world, consider using the right tool for the job, based on what level of simplicity~complexity seems most appropriate for the problem. Is it simply more love, in general, that is needed to solve the problem? Or is it a more specific kind of love that's going to do it? Where do you think your thinking would be for the most simple solution?
...
This post is part of a collaborative series on Changing Mindset, with the goal of helping people understand how to think more skillfully.
Views: 60
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Comment by Ezra Ho on April 2, 2010 at 3:24pm
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I don't have anything against the Prime Directive, in fact, I think my behaviour revolves around similar attributes based on values that TVP promotes. I admire this solution which you have come up with. However, this solution attempts to work within the system which has as its primary driver, profit. Given that situation, it's hard to envision the power of love overcoming the love of power. But I agree that following such principles will definitely make the world a more beautiful place to live in.
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Comment by Turil Cronburg on April 2, 2010 at 4:02pm
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The Prime Directive naturally eliminates the profit system. The more you follow it yourself, the less you, and the people around you, will care about profit.
If you have an alternate way to eliminate the profit system, that is easier than the three steps of the Prime Directive, then I'd love to hear it!
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Comment by Michael Texeira on April 2, 2010 at 4:28pm
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I love this conversation. Elimination of profit can only begin with the individual. Karma Yoga is work done without thought for the fruit of the action. The work is dedicated and enshrined as being energy transmuted through you for the higher good.
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Yes, you are right. For people like you and me, the Prime Directive is definitely an effective way to gradually break down the profit system. But how about the people who have a stake in this system, for instance corporate executives? Or the political elites in your country? There's this saying that you cannot get a man to understand what his job depends on him not understanding it. In this regard, I see critical mass supporting TVP and TZM to be the the leading solution.
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If you think you have an alternate way to get the world to a more enlightened stage, by all means, take that path. I'm still curious as to what your plan of action is, though. You say that education is the priority, and I'm wondering what kind of education you might offer the 5 year old twin boys I teach, as a primer on being the enlightened leaders of the future. Can you simplify your message so that they will learn it right from the start and not have to be reeducated later on? I'd be happy to give them whatever lessons you offer me here.
And from my own work on developmental growth, I've seen that when people have their basic needs met, they naturally grow into the higher stages of awareness, becoming more skilled emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, as they also mature physically. Eventually, as long as their needs are met reasonably well, they automatically grow to the point of enlightenment and transcendence where they are inherently motivated to take care of the wh*** of life itself. Thus, the more people like us take care of others who are not so fortunate, the more they will naturally become fortunate, like us, and then be able to take care of others, like we do.
It's a feedback loop - where the power of a signal you're putting into the system increases exponentially. When you see someone else who is deficient in some way, and you have the resources to help them become more proficient, then you help them, and they will "repay" you by being more enlightened, compassionate, intelligent, and effective.
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Turil, I so deeply appreciate your presence on Evoke.
as for educating 5 year olds, I have often contemplated how one might teach extremely young children the kinds of concepts which are taught in calculus and quantum physics, qabbalah and other sacred sciences, through visual imagery (fractal in nature) and stories. I'll be honest, that I've done no developmental work on the idea, but it has never left my head since it entered there in 2005.
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As far as children are concerned, they are able to learn new languages, concepts etc better than adults. Why do we pollute their minds with b******* like Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwalfs and other crap from fairy tales? Given the appropriate environment, children have the ability to master any disciplines from modern science.
In a way, this is a catch 22. You say that people become enlightened when they have their basic needs met, which has a price tag in our current system; which might explain why our world is so distorted. On the other hand, I need people to achieve a similarly elevated consciousness in order to create the vision of TVP, which would allow unimaginable human growth when we give everyone access to the world's resources.
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the fairy tales aren't all bad...it would be good to separate the baby from the bathwater before we go to disposal time.
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Comment by Conor Drums on April 3, 2010 at 2:18pm
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Occam's Razor at face value, learn it, live it, love it! Great job.
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