[Grovenet] A Discovery of Note

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Thanks Bud! Interesting stuff.

While we're on the general subject of being qualified decision makers and
developing processes for formulating plans that work, I'd like to mention
"The Abeline Paradox" which also has a nice brief write up on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene_Paradox

It speaks to the tendency of people to engage in "group think" and come to a
unanimous and enthusiastic decision, then wonder why they ever did so later.
It's actually a very common phenomena among humans. The article notes:

"Researchers in this field have proposed various means by which groups can
avoid such dysfunctional behaviors. None have proven more effective than the
inclusion of people with diverse backgrounds in the decision-making process.
Groups so comprised tend to be more effective in avoiding "Abilene Paradox"
situations, and tend to be able to make much better decisions overall."

It's exactly why I don't think ANY administration in Washington D.C. can be
trusted to make good decisions about international affairs such as Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan... Shoot perhaps two dozen other countries by now. We're
too homogenous and of course the folks in D.C. all have one sacred charter:
look out for Americans. We might not agree whether they are doing it well.
We might think their concept of who is an American only involves a small set
of favorite friends. But I have no doubt most politicians in D.C. are
looking out for the old "red, white and blue" after their own fashion. And,
as long as that is their personal interest and commitment, we're not likely
to make good decisions that work for the world at large. 

If we want people to actually throw flowers instead of arming roadside
bombs, we'd better incorporate some pretty disparate points of view in the
decisions about what we will do next.

It's exactly why I'm such a strong supporter of the U.N. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 



-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Meredith Bliss
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:12 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] A Discovery of Note


Not invented here (or there) ... consider the origins of the words 
"bureaucrat" and "apparatchik." (cf. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureaucracy) 

It's also worth noting that while Europe was wallowing in the Dark Ages,
China 
had a long established system of education and exams -- those who hoped to 
land a government job had to pass the exams, otherwise it was life on the 
farm. You had to study hard and prove your achievement. But as Europe
climbed 
out of its morass, it seems to have created a civil replacement for the 
church bureaucracy.