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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks Chris</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I;m meeting with a bunch of research scientists
this afternoon to plan an open space. For some people, mathematical or exterior
language helps them to feel at home with this concept.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And another musing thought about ... long links.
Certaiinly links among disparate groups/ people create a long link within the
current network, helping to energize it, create a living group from what
might have been disparate, unconnected people/groups. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I wonder if the facilitator is a long
link too. ie, by holding space, being invisible and deeply present, the
facilitator is energiziing a long link to - a potential outside the
network. . a space meta to the network?.. a link to enspiritng energy that
is the source of all new creative potential???</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And then I wonder too, why in so many
spiritual traditions, the link to the teacher is considered critical...
another long link?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Meg Salter</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>MegaSpace Consulting<BR>(416) 486-6660<BR><A
href="mailto:meg@megsalter.com">meg@megsalter.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chris@chriscorrigan.com href="mailto:chris@chriscorrigan.com">Chris
Corrigan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, September 09, 2003 12:21
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Fw: [searchnet] The Math of
Networks</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Welcome Alexander,
and thanks for your blog link too.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Several of us here have weblogs as well, including myself (<A
href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</A>
<SPAN class=GramE>) ,</SPAN> Michael Herman (<A
href="http://www.globalchicago.net">http://www.globalchicago.net</A>) and
Martin Leith (<A
href="http://www.martinleith.com/blog/">http://www.martinleith.com/blog/</A>).
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I like what blogging (keeping
weblogs and linking to sources) is doing in the wider world to connect people
and ideas and create networks. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I’ll add you to my list of
links.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As for the math of
networks, I like what David P. Reed has said on this. In this article - <A
href="http://www.epublicrelations.org/Reedlaw.html">http://www.epublicrelations.org/Reedlaw.html</A>
- someone has outlined his mathematical law of group
formation:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">“<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">The Group Forming Law (or, Reed’s Law)
calculates the number of groups of two or more people <SPAN
class=GramE>which</SPAN> can be formed a single group.<BR><BR>For example, how
many groups of two or more people can be formed with an initial group of
three? According to Reed’s Law is 2N-N-1. Substituting 3 for N the answer is
4. Not a very impressive number. However, the answer grows dramatically as N
grows. For example, how many groups of two or more people can be formed in a
classroom of 20 students? <SPAN class=GramE>The answer?</SPAN>
1,048,555!!!<BR><BR>More here: <A
href="http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?src=/archives/199903/DigitalStrategy.asp">http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?src=/archives/199903/DigitalStrategy.asp</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">I
sometimes like to do the math before meetings to use the figures to explain
the amount of potential in the room. Walking the circle, uttering the second
principle about whatever happens, I sometimes say “and if you don’t believe
me, understand this:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The twenty
of you in this room can form yourselves in over one million permutations, so
don’t be too worried about what might have been…work with what
is.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">And
</SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Harrison</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT
face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">,
I’ve often thought of responsibility not so much as an initial condition, but
more as a kind of boundary that both enables and bounds the passion. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Passion and responsibility have a
symbiotic relationship in Open Space, but my experience has been that people
discover their responsibility AFTER they tap their passion.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In other words, without passion as the
initial condition, it’s less likely that people will feel like they need to
propose a topic, much less convene a conversation or follow up.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But people motivated by passion can
seem to do anything.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Reminding
them that the CAN do anything (with the Law of Two Feet) certainly
helps.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; mso-no-proof: yes">---<BR>CHRIS
CORRIGAN<BR>Bowen Island, BC, Canada<BR><A
href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</A><BR><A
href="mailto:chris@chriscorrigan.com">chris@chriscorrigan.com</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
color=navy><SPAN
style="COLOR: navy; mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; mso-no-proof: yes">(604)
947-9236<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: blue 1.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">-----Original
Message-----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">On
Behalf Of </SPAN></B>Harrison Owen<BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Tuesday, September 09, 2003 5:23
AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B>
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: Fw: [searchnet] The Math of
Networks</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">At 11:58 AM 9/9/2003 +0200, you wrote:<BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"><![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"><![endif]><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Hi<BR><BR>Yeah, small world networks are definitely a
big part of why Open Space<BR>works. Actually it's a big part of why the world
works :o)<BR><BR>Mark Buchanan has written an excellent and highly readable
book called<BR>"Small world" on this very new and very promising science. I've
reviewed<BR>it here: <A href="http://www.kjerulf.com/journal/00000214.htm"
eudora="autourl">http://www.kjerulf.com/journal/00000214.htm</A>
.<BR><BR>Obvious parallels between small world networks and open space
gatherings<BR>include:<BR>* Small world networks are highly adaptable, yet
very stable - as are<BR>Open Space gatherings<BR>* The structure in small
worlds networks arises without central planning<BR>- as in OS<BR>* Bumblebees
can be seen as "weak connections" between tightly knit<BR>groups - one of the
main reasons that small world networks are tightly
knit<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>Right on! Despite the fact that some folks think
they actually organize networks, I think the truth of the matter is that they
happen all by themselves in the way of all self-organizing systems. The
critical point of initiation is the convergence of passion and responsibility
-- somebody cares about something and takes responsibility to talk to others
who might share the care. If the fire of passion ignites -- you have a
network. If it fizzles and goes out in a puff of smoke, you don't -- and no
amount of huffing and puffing will make any difference. Sounds a lot like Open
Space to me. All of which relates, I guess, to Artur's thoughts about
"essential conditions" . . . Chris put it neatly (although I am not so sure
how elegant I was) "As for the conditions that make Open Space really
hum, I go back to<BR>Harrison's elegantly stated four: passion, diversity,
complexity and urgency. The more of each, the better the process works."
I think it might work better if one were to say <I><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic">passion/responsibility -- </SPAN></I>but anyhow I
find the same essential conditions apply to all useful networks.
<BR><BR>ho<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"><![endif]><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P><X-SIGSEP>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center></X-SIGSEP><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Drive<BR>Potomac, MD
20854 USA<BR>phone 301-365-2093 <BR>207-763-3261 (Summer)<BR>Open Space
Training <A href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.com</A> <BR>Open Space Institute <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/"
eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</A><BR>Personal website <A
href="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm"
eudora="autourl">http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</A><FONT
color=blue><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><BR><BR><U>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR></U></SPAN></FONT>To
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style="COLOR: blue">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu<BR></SPAN></FONT></U>Visit:
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