Learning Servers? LO21737

Richard Charles Holloway (rholloway@outsights.com)
Tue, 25 May 1999 22:03:06 -0700

Replying to LO21728 --

Steve,

I have experienced the ability to store something that I've experienced or
something about which I have some "knowledge" in such a way that another
person can retrieve that "experience" or "knowledge" and make some use out
of it, without a significant use of their time to find a response to their
inquiry. Often the response simply provides them with an approach or
perspective...much the same way memory provides a means to resolve a
situation.

I've also watched organizations store their technical knowledge and
experience in the same system, to provide one another (and their customers
and designers) with an "electronic" memory of how to fix a problem that's
come up before--as well as a means to solve new problems (much the same
way memories of how I've solved a similar problem can help me solve this
problem).

Now, I can't talk about what you've experienced. However, I can tell you
that from my very humanistic viewpoint, there are electronic applications
that can extend and enhance our ability to interconnect (as human beings)
within organizational systems AND improve our business practices. There
are no guarantees here either...just as there are no guarantees how
effectively anyone will use their natural senses. And, just as in other
new ideas, not everyone will get this one either--until they experience it
for themselves.

regards,

Doc

>From: Swan, Steve R. SETA CONTR <SwanSR@ftknox-dtdd-emh5.army.mil>
>
>Certainly, however the context of the discussions I've seen are in the
>arena of electronic systems: computer generated interactions, feedback and
>storage. All well and good for someone to pull and provide "knowledge."
>However, "human (or organism) systems" do not plug-in and download. They
>obtain information through a variety of motivations, their own and of
>others. The recording of an experience, that provided some level of
>learning and growth, does not have a guaranteed level effectiveness in
>providing the same learning experience as the originator had. If that were
>true, we need only read a text, a novel, or a non-fiction biography and be
>able to garner from them the same level of ability as the author or
>subject. They provide information we build upon or ignore. Sharing
>experiences is very important for learning more effectively, but to each
>of use, raw data means different things. Human interest and interaction
>can not be replicated by an electronic system.

"Living systems are drawn to the edge of chaos because that is where the
capacity for information processing and learning and, therefore, growth is
maximized." -Dee Hock

Richard Charles Holloway -
P.O. Box 2361, Olympia, WA 98507 Telephone 253.539.4014
OutSights <http://www.outsights.com>

-- 

"Richard Charles Holloway" <rholloway@outsights.com>

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