What is THE problem? LO26851

From: Mark Spain (mark.spain@bigpond.com)
Date: 06/22/01


Replying to LO26809 --

Dear LOers

At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> asks in good faith:

> How about a little more "immersion in potential thought"?

after my attempt to engage in the problem of the apples and pears that I
don't understand and that At had written about earlier:

> To understand what I mean by the consternation, here is a simple (and
> thus not a good MonCat) example.
> . Solve the problem, given three apples and the
> . price of pears is 50 cents each.
>
> (I wish you knew more chemistry so that I could give you an actual example
> rather than this apples, pears and price thing.) What would your reaction be?
> * This is not a problem.
> * The problem is a joke.
> * The problem is not clear.
> * The problem cannot be solved.
> * What is the problem?
>
> These are the kinds of reactions which I got from the students. However,
> not even one student offered a solution in even the tiniest sense. Some
> came to my office and asked me to give them more information. I did not.
>
> The outcome of this experiment stunned me. Problem-solving involves far
> more than what a teacher ever can articulate with even the most powerful
> problem-solving procedure. I will say no more. I rather want you fellow
> learners to say more..

Greetings dear At

Thankyou for also inviting Goethe and Polanyi into our current
conversation to explore THE problem. My life experience has meant that I
do not know these folks well enough to bring their views into my own
thinking. I can though agree with Jan Lelie <janlelie@wxs.nl> when Jan
writes:

>People swim in a river of problems. As an operational
>definition of a problem i use: a problem is the difference
>between (internal) expectations and the perceived
>(external) reality.

I enjoy swimming in this river despite often taking mouthfuls of water. To
solve my problem of living a life of fulfillment it means I am constantly
applying my energy and resources to close the gap between my internal
aspirations, expectations and imagined possibilities with my perceived
interpretation of the external reality. Vision vs Current reality.

Although I may not be aware specifically of each of the many human
travellers in history and today who have approached this challenge (THE
problem) and some I do know who have written uplifting words about it, I
infer that this is a common challenge for all humans. Each of us may
express our meaning of this problem (or truth - Goethe) in different ways.
I understand you to say that Goethe saw these internal expectations and
external perceptions as the same world. I see the tension between these
two perspectives of the same world and then to act and to live with
integrity with this tension, as THE problem. I could then infer that this
problem is universal to all of us humans but I'm happy to leave it as just
my point of view and allow you to have your own problem and point of view.
Like you say of Polanyi I fully agree that this is both a personal and
social process. Can my behaviour in the world (including people) match my
intention and ongoing reflection when I don't get the results I expect?

I also don't think I have engaged in all the dimensions of your invitation
for immersion in potential thought but I think I've just explained why I
run out of momentum sitting here by myself staring into the screen and
trying to imagine you and the other LOers.

On another dimension

I appreciate the energy you put into communicating and clarifying the
history and construction of words in different languages to ensure meaning
is conveyed by this medium of electrons and letters on a screen. I find it
difficult to maintain a dialogue within myself and express it onto the
screen to convey meaning this way. My impression of you, from the
interface I have with the LO list via my screen, is that you have an
unbounded source of enthusiasm and commitment to communicating in this LO
community and (I then assume) in other communities in which you live. I
often get lost in your words, unsure of the meaning for me, although I
also often equally enjoy your stories and analogies from the rich world
around you eg Africa, the people, the leaders, the desert, the animals,
the relationships. For me to write for this long takes considerable time
and reflection so I am impressed by the time and energy that you put into
sharing your thoughts on this list.

Thank you

Time for bed on a starry, frosty, cold night in Australia. We all share
this world.

Life is good!
Love
Mark Spain

-- 

Mark Spain <mark.spain@bigpond.com>

Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>


"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.