I’m not a big fan of the entire article, as it’s saying anyone who doesn’t understand the left’s reaction to the removal of the FBI director, doesn't understand context and not empathetic. I don’t buy it.
I agree that someone could feel he needed to be fired, and still shocked/worried when it happened. Why? Because this has been going on a for quite a while, and yet when the firing happened, no succession plan was in place. Given current events and probes, this seems rather incompetent and ill-advised. If you are going to make a play, draw it up first and take your team through it.
I also agree that someone could shake their head at someone who calls for a firing, then laments the act when it happens. It comes back to consistency.
Now, the real point of me bringing up this article, is it references this summary (written by Kim Hartman) of the book A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink. Yes, I do eventually get to the point. It’s over 10 years old now, but looks to still have some legs.
This book works under the assumption that there are multiple stages in our evolution - efficiency, then facts, and then on to context. And, if your wondering, we’re moving from facts to context at the moment. To be successful, one must go beyond left-brained attitudes focused on micro-attentions on minutia, and move into the realm of right-brained holism. It’s not good enough to just know the things. You need to know why the things.
With the internet, anyone can access any bit of information available within seconds (well, I guess that only goes for about half the world, sadly, as many are still without access, whether due to lack of infrastructure or lack of funds, but that’s a different topic). There’s no value in simply knowing facts anymore. No value in rote memorization.
Quick poll: How many of you, over the age of 30, can recite your parents’ landline phone number? Now, how many of you can recite your best friend’s cellphone number? Or your child’s, or your siblings’, or you boss’s?
There’s no value because everything is at our fingertips - quite literally. So, this idea of moving up to the next layer of intellectual consciousness seems to make sense. What else are we to do with our brains if we no longer need to memorize multiplication tables?
Out of the 6 new “aptitudes” Pink outlines, one stood out to me - “Symphony” (others being design, story, empathy, play and meaning). This was also the section brought out in the aforementioned article. Symphony is the idea of synthesis over analysis. Being someone with an engineering/CompSci background, this piqued my interest. I’ve always believed, at least to this point, that analysis was the end goal and how you synthesized data. I didn't know they were different.
You get your data sets together, you look at them, make a decision and boom - you're off and running. Classic analysis. So, what what is different with "synthesis"? Not quite sure I see the difference just yet. I guess I will have to read the book! Which I will and I will do a classic book report when I'm done! You. Are. Welcome (eventually).
I’m assuming they are essentially two sides of the same coin. Analysis is more passive - you wait to see what the data tells you. Synthesis, however, is active - you take and mold information and data together to create new insights.
Maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Regardless, I absolutely love the terminology used. This visceral idea of a symphonic convergence of information, context and understanding. Looking at the basis of core innovation as a collection of strings, woodwinds, percussion and brass instruments, being conducted into one complete harmonious movement that conveys it’s own deep unique meaning. A group of brass, or percussions alone do provide music, but fail to provide the level of richness that a full symphony does. Singularly focused ideas miss out on some of the nuance and texture that is found when used in a larger context.
Maybe I need to think less singular thoughts and branch out into grand symphonic ideas. Oh, to be such a talented conductor to achieve this very thing!
Maybe I will buy that baton... this symphony thing is resonating with me..
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