[OSList] Designing an OS way

[Michael Herman]

yes, thanks, john.  and... where does os practice drop into either of
these?  in bateson terms, it seems open space meetings would be an
alternative state that organizations are unconsciously working to prevent?
how does something like working in an open space way become part of the
equilbrium state that is then automatically preserved by continually
returning from anything that's alternative to that way of being in
organization?  in lemke terms, there seems a place for operating in open
space, but will it always require what sounds like a crisis, choice-point to
be helpful?  how does working in an open space way become normal in systems
that are storied in this way?  m



--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://ManorNeighbors.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org





On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:06 PM, John Watkins <johnw536 at mac.com> wrote:

> Michael,
>
> I think Gregory Bateson addressed the question of equilibrium most
> eloquently a long time ago in his great book, Steps to an Ecology of Mind!
>  And I've seen some great analysis of it in Jay Lemke's book, Textual
> Politics.  Let's see if I can find the relevant quotes...
>
> Bateson: Systems “…maintain a dynamic equilibrium or steady state…
> [through] maximiz[ing] the chances against the maximization of any single
> simple variable” (124).  “The steady state is maintained by continual
> nonprogressive change” (125).  What Bateson noticed was that allowable
> levels of fluctuations in some subset of a larger system were used to create
> relative stability in the larger system, but that those fluctuations never
> led to fundamental shifts in the architecture of the system, as they
> continually shifted out of and then returned to a kind of dynamic
> equilibrium.   It is a “corrective action… brought about by [the awareness
> of] difference” (Bateson, 1972:381).  A social system “…does not elect the
> steady state; it prevents itself from staying in any alternative state”
> (381). Or, “[T]he constancy and survival of some larger system is
> maintained by changes in the constituent subsystem” (Bateson, 1972:339).
>
> Lemke calls that a “meta-stable non-equilibrium” (Lemke, 1995:11).  He
> goes on to argue that as social systems develop, they become more ordered
> and differentiated, increasingly complex, and as such, demonstrate
> irreversibility.  At some point, in various layers of their hierarchy
> (hierarchy in systems theory is not the same as hierarchy of authority or
> knowledge, e.g., bureaucracy; it is a concept of scale, in scope, time, or
> space), open, complex systems begin to demonstrate non-symmetry, or the
> possibility of bifurcation (branching, “choice” points), due to the
> amplified, interacting oscillations of various sub-systems.  Bifurcation
> in larger systems can enable larger out-of-equilibrium fluctuations in, or
> unpredictable interactions between, sub-systems to result in evolutionary,
> or adaptive, change in the larger system...
>
> Does this help?
>
> John
>
>
>
> On Sep 19, 2011, at 9:36 AM, Michael Herman wrote:
>
> i want to echo florian's appreciation for your story, john, thank you.  and
> i have a question about "equilibrium."
>
> in financial markets, gene fama won a nobel prize for his theory of
> "efficient" markets, suggesting that markets always reflected all current
> information, immediately returning to "equilbrium" after every news release,
> so that above-normal returns were not possible.  many now question or
> dismiss this.
>
> so, in a world that is always moving, what does the theory you described so
> nicely have to say about equilibrium?  does it then lead into questions
> about locality and "self" ...the department might be in equilibrium but the
> company is falling apart, or vice versa... so the boundaries of the "self"
> that is being invited to organize or re-organize really matter.
>
> mostly i'm just wondering if you can say more to map the open systems,
> thermodynamics, and esp equilibrium story to what we have all seen happening
> in organizations and open spaces.  is "equilibrium" the same as "normal?"
>
> m
>
>
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>
> http://MichaelHerman.com
> http://ManorNeighbors.com
> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org
>
>
>
>
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