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<br>
<br><br clear="all"> <br>--<br><br>Michael Herman<br>Michael Herman Associates<br>312-280-7838 (mobile)<br><br><a href="http://MichaelHerman.com" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br><a href="http://ManorNeighbors.com" target="_blank">http://ManorNeighbors.com</a><br>
<a href="http://OpenSpaceWorld.org" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><br><br><br><br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:06 PM, John Watkins <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:johnw536@mac.com">johnw536@mac.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><font face="Arial">Michael,</font><div><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial">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...</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial">Bateson: Systems “…maintain a
dynamic equilibrium or steady state… [through] maximiz[ing] the chances against
the maximization of any single simple variable” (124).<span> </span>“The steady state is maintained by continual
nonprogressive change” (125).<span> </span>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.<span> </span> It
is a “corrective action… brought about by [the awareness of] difference”
(Bateson, 1972:381).<span> </span>A social system
“…does not elect the steady state; it prevents itself from staying in any
alternative state” (381).<span> </span>Or, “[T]he constancy and survival of some
larger system is maintained by changes in the constituent subsystem” (Bateson,
1972:339).<span> </span></font></div><div><span><font face="Arial"><br></font></span></div><div><font face="Arial"><span>Lemke calls that a </span>“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.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>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...</font></div><div><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial">Does this help?</font></div><div><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><font color="#888888"><div><font face="Arial">John</font></div>
</font><div class="im">
<font face="Arial">
<span> <br></span>
</font><div><br></div><div>
<br><div><div>On Sep 19, 2011, at 9:36 AM, Michael Herman wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite">i want to echo florian's appreciation for your story, john, thank you. and i have a question about "equilibrium." <br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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?"<br>
<br>m<br><br><br clear="all"> <br>
--<br><br>Michael Herman<br>Michael Herman Associates<br><a href="tel:312-280-7838" value="+13122807838" target="_blank">312-280-7838</a> (mobile)<br><br><a href="http://MichaelHerman.com/" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br>
<a href="http://ManorNeighbors.com/" target="_blank">http://ManorNeighbors.com</a><br>
<a href="http://OpenSpaceWorld.org/" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><br><br><br></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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