Posted by Yogesh Malhotra on February 04, 1998 at 18:49:22:

In Reply to: Re: Complexity, Complex Systems & Chaos Theory posted by Tom Sudman on February 04, 1998 at 11:27:42:

Tom,

I tend to share your view about the 'critical' importance of developing shared meaning. All the precision and accuracy provided by a 'scientific' discipline may be ineffective if it lacks 'communication' outside the boundaries of that given discipline. However, the key intent of my post was not to stress the importance of precision or accuracy - I think this may have its limitations if it is overemphasized, particularly when it is more interesting to 'loosen' the rigidity inherent in the 'given assumptions.' Hence, I was pointing at the 'constructive' nature of language (and words therein), observing that the same words may have various personal constructions depending upon the human who is constructing meaning in them. Hence, to really understand any specific word one has to know more about the surrounding context: in other words develop a better understanding of the human frame of reference within which the 'tacit feel' surrounding that construct is embedded. [In the development of @BRINT, this has been the 'tacit' process underlying translation of theories from various disciplines within the context of contemporary issues that is more easily communicable to practitioners who apply those theories.]

Being a scientist, I think there is value in understanding the precision and accuracy of a given construct when exploring a specific domain within which its meaning is embedded. Being a practitioner, I believe there is value in being able to communicate the 'meaning' to audiences outside that discipline. This is where 'communication' may initially need modes such as storytelling and abstractions much more than the more arcane issues of reliability and validity specific to the discipline [much like the storytelling in @BRINT issues]. In essence, it is essential to communicate the 'tacit feel' before we start talking about the reliability and validity of constructs.

Here are some 'nuggets' from the Gold Mine of Knowledge that relate to the above discussion:

Naiveté of a Scientist... (Wiener)
On Individuals, Stimuli, and Sensations (Kuhn)
Of Humans and their 'Central Concerns'? (Simon)
East vs. West: On Creating 'Useful' Knowledge

- Yogesh

• The Gold Mine of Knowledge

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Follow Ups:

• Re: On Science: Scientific and/or Human Perspectives Tom Sudman 20:00:52 2/05/98 (1)
  • Re: On Dialog and Bohm (in Senge's Fifth Discipline) Yogesh Malhotra 08:52:20 2/06/98 (0)

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