Givens -- Again : some comments

[Chris Corrigan]

In a complicated way, I think givens can be very empowering.  But they
have to be real givens.

I think the last time I talked about this a couple of years ago, I
used the story of people inventing the airplane.  The Wright brothers
had a good sense of the givens of flight: gravity, air pressure, lift
and power etc.  They knew that they had to combine a certain set of
technologies in a way which allowed them to exceed these givens in
order to fly.  And they did it.

Coincidentally, the week before the Wright brothers flew their plane,
the editors of the New York Times published an editorial which stated
in essence that powered human flight was an impossibility.

Also coincidentally, the editors of the New York Times did not invent
the airplane.

What I have always taken from this story is the value of using givens
to transform one's thinking.  By studying and understanding all the
things that prevent humans from flying, the Wrights produced a
solution that permitted flight.  The Times editors on the other hand
were pitching a belief as a given and they were proved wrong almost
instanly.  A story like that will keep you on the ground for ever.

I have no problem identifying and naming real givens in order to
overcome them.  I don't like to "create" givens that limit the
endeavour in order to maintain the illusion of comfort and control.
People are capable of the most amazing transformations.  Telling them
otherwise is disingenuous.  They'll prove you wrong everytime and take
to the air while you remain rooted on the ground.

Chris

-------------------------
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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