The Sins of Omission (not doing something you should have done)

Dr. Russell Ackoff died last year at 90. He was a wise man who understood the problems as they are currently addressed (analytical) and brought a synthetic mindset to the table.

In my continued studying of sustainability and how we get there, I am getting much deeper into systems thinking. I will be attending some workshops on same over the next month. Systems thinking is a team effort. I do not have a lot of community for this effort, so I am going out there to find it and then bring it home. I do have a small still loosely connected community of faculty and students who are beginning to think sustainably, but not enough to push me into my uncomfortable zones. that is why i am going to these workshops. they are where I am weakest and I need to gain confidence and experience in those areas.

Ackoff begins the above interview with 5 types of content in the brain. Each level is built on the preceding level.

Data, information, knowledge, understanding, wisdom.

I buy into that and hope someday to attain the heights of that hierarchy, but for now, I want to ask, where are we in our general education today? We are BIG on data. We call ourselves the information age. Undoubtedly there are many with a lot of knowledge, but I think the drop off begins at understanding.

One of my repeatable quotes (Einstein, Ben Franklin?) is: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

I see our society as insane for these reasons. I see the education system as insane. We have to take a chance FAIL to find the right way.

The path to success is paved with failure.

We have a broken system in so many ways and yet as Ackoff says: we aren't rewarded for our failures, we are penalized. The way to success today is through NOT taking chances.

The sins of omission. Don't address the problem but sweep it under the rug. Do nothing- not do something you should have done (like a population policy?).

I find what he had to say in this interview very wise. He got to the top of the hierarchy. He took chances to do it (he was kicked out of several schools along the say), but his understanding of the problems and his willingness to address them, made him wise.

I look forward to taking the chances in the coming months. I hope to succeed, but expect to fail along the way.