D
Ding Dong!
Guest
By Jonathan Dickau
For OpEdNews: Jonathan Dickau - Writer
If there is one belief I cling to fervently, it is the idea that we are all in this together. There are no truly isolated systems. Everything is connected, in some way or other. And to an increasingly large degree; the actions of any one individual, corporation, or government, can affect all the rest of us on this planet. Human beings are quick to assign blame but slower to address the underlying problems and one of the greatest difficulties we face is that we need to work together, to solve those problems. We try to find scapegoats, and then allow problems with our systems to remain, once we have rooted out the individuals or groups within the community who 'caused the problem.' But this does nothing. That's the problem with the 'blame game,' it doesn't solve anything and certainly does not implement any solutions, repairs, or fixes. What's worse; it results in a situation where many people, companies, and governments, spend more time and effort guarding or defending themselves against blame, than they do creating positive change.
The end result of this process is what can be called 'us against them' thinking; and its insidious effects touch almost every area of human endeavor. The worst thing about this mentality is that it prevents or forestalls the kind of cooperation which can solve problems. Perhaps this is part of what Mr. Einstein was talking about; when he said that we can't solve today's problems with the same mentality that created them. But research into the human brain's function indicates a deeper connection as overuse of the 'blame game' and 'us against them' thinking may inhibit our use of the neocortex from which innovation springs, and instead favors the activity and development of the older brain structures in the so-called lizard brain. The saying 'use it or lose it' definitely applies here, as brain pathways put to use frequently are maintained and amplified, while brain structures that are too infrequently used tend to atrophy over time. Maybe some people's brains are too far gone, lacking the capacity to change by moving from this posture despite the fact they are functioning adults, who have their full mental faculties and flexible minds otherwise. But I think most of us retain enough freedom of choice needing only compelling reasons to do so.
The fact is that combating or defending against what is bad or evil uses a different part of the brain than creating what is good, right, and proper. Only the neocortex can explore possibilities and make complex associations. And only a sense of playful exploration and openness turns this faculty on completely, while learned inhibitions and defensive posturing tend to have the opposite effect. When people engage in the "blame game' it matters little which side of the coin they are on. Whether your role is blaming others or defending against blame, taking on this role puts the 'lizard brain' in charge, to some degree and this reduces the capacity for the greater intelligence of one's higher brain and frontal lobes to assert itself. Likewise with 'us against them' thinking. It is simply an extension of the 'blame game,' and perpetuates the notion that we need to find a culprit or scapegoat, rather than addressing the conditions which were ripe for wrongdoing. Sometimes; it matters little who is in charge, as it is the office or station that is mal-appropriate. And sometimes it matters little to folks whether the person who takes a fall is actually the one at fault, so long as there is someone to take the blame when wrongdoing is observed.
Of course; this is somewhat adolescent behavior. But the alternative, rising above the 'blame game' and 'us against them' thinking, is a difficult proposition even for mature adults. The problem is that too many of our role models and leaders engage in this behavior, and it leads many to conclude that it's futile to attempt injecting more maturity into the situation or our discussions about it. I feel strongly that however difficult it may be rising above 'us against them' thinking is likely our only way out of the mess the world is currently in. To say that another way; solving some of the problems we have created will require massive cooperation and collaborations between entities that have regarded each other as opposites, competitors, or enemies, in the past. Without this kind of teamwork, there is little hope for us to make some problems go away. The oil well gushing undersea and spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico is a perfect example. While I think perhaps someone else should be put in charge of the scene than the people who created the oil spill and have failed to cap the gushing well, just blaming BP does nothing to make matters better, and may in fact prevent the clean-up effort from being completed. Some folks want to 'stick it' to BP, but if the corporation is bankrupted they will be unable to help.
In another article, I focused on how the oil spill was the result of false determinism, where folks were misapplying deterministic projections resulting in unrealistic risk estimates and inadequate preparation for worst-case scenarios, like the one we now face. I tried to guide people away from blame-casting, and get them to focus on how our actions and industry practices got us into trouble instead. But people seem intent on hanging as much blame and liability on BP as possible, rather than on getting our government to work with BP in a way that compels them either to engineer a swift solution to the problem, or to yield control and render assistance, so that others can get the job done. By comparison the blame and liability are irrelevant. Fix the problem first! Cap the gusher, and clean up the Gulf. Then figure out why the fail-safe mechanism didn't work and how it needs to be made differently so it can function even under extreme variations of pressure or when compromised and regulate that every deep water rig must have one with the newest design, or adequate over-engineering.
Part 2 next post
For OpEdNews: Jonathan Dickau - Writer
If there is one belief I cling to fervently, it is the idea that we are all in this together. There are no truly isolated systems. Everything is connected, in some way or other. And to an increasingly large degree; the actions of any one individual, corporation, or government, can affect all the rest of us on this planet. Human beings are quick to assign blame but slower to address the underlying problems and one of the greatest difficulties we face is that we need to work together, to solve those problems. We try to find scapegoats, and then allow problems with our systems to remain, once we have rooted out the individuals or groups within the community who 'caused the problem.' But this does nothing. That's the problem with the 'blame game,' it doesn't solve anything and certainly does not implement any solutions, repairs, or fixes. What's worse; it results in a situation where many people, companies, and governments, spend more time and effort guarding or defending themselves against blame, than they do creating positive change.
The end result of this process is what can be called 'us against them' thinking; and its insidious effects touch almost every area of human endeavor. The worst thing about this mentality is that it prevents or forestalls the kind of cooperation which can solve problems. Perhaps this is part of what Mr. Einstein was talking about; when he said that we can't solve today's problems with the same mentality that created them. But research into the human brain's function indicates a deeper connection as overuse of the 'blame game' and 'us against them' thinking may inhibit our use of the neocortex from which innovation springs, and instead favors the activity and development of the older brain structures in the so-called lizard brain. The saying 'use it or lose it' definitely applies here, as brain pathways put to use frequently are maintained and amplified, while brain structures that are too infrequently used tend to atrophy over time. Maybe some people's brains are too far gone, lacking the capacity to change by moving from this posture despite the fact they are functioning adults, who have their full mental faculties and flexible minds otherwise. But I think most of us retain enough freedom of choice needing only compelling reasons to do so.
The fact is that combating or defending against what is bad or evil uses a different part of the brain than creating what is good, right, and proper. Only the neocortex can explore possibilities and make complex associations. And only a sense of playful exploration and openness turns this faculty on completely, while learned inhibitions and defensive posturing tend to have the opposite effect. When people engage in the "blame game' it matters little which side of the coin they are on. Whether your role is blaming others or defending against blame, taking on this role puts the 'lizard brain' in charge, to some degree and this reduces the capacity for the greater intelligence of one's higher brain and frontal lobes to assert itself. Likewise with 'us against them' thinking. It is simply an extension of the 'blame game,' and perpetuates the notion that we need to find a culprit or scapegoat, rather than addressing the conditions which were ripe for wrongdoing. Sometimes; it matters little who is in charge, as it is the office or station that is mal-appropriate. And sometimes it matters little to folks whether the person who takes a fall is actually the one at fault, so long as there is someone to take the blame when wrongdoing is observed.
Of course; this is somewhat adolescent behavior. But the alternative, rising above the 'blame game' and 'us against them' thinking, is a difficult proposition even for mature adults. The problem is that too many of our role models and leaders engage in this behavior, and it leads many to conclude that it's futile to attempt injecting more maturity into the situation or our discussions about it. I feel strongly that however difficult it may be rising above 'us against them' thinking is likely our only way out of the mess the world is currently in. To say that another way; solving some of the problems we have created will require massive cooperation and collaborations between entities that have regarded each other as opposites, competitors, or enemies, in the past. Without this kind of teamwork, there is little hope for us to make some problems go away. The oil well gushing undersea and spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico is a perfect example. While I think perhaps someone else should be put in charge of the scene than the people who created the oil spill and have failed to cap the gushing well, just blaming BP does nothing to make matters better, and may in fact prevent the clean-up effort from being completed. Some folks want to 'stick it' to BP, but if the corporation is bankrupted they will be unable to help.
In another article, I focused on how the oil spill was the result of false determinism, where folks were misapplying deterministic projections resulting in unrealistic risk estimates and inadequate preparation for worst-case scenarios, like the one we now face. I tried to guide people away from blame-casting, and get them to focus on how our actions and industry practices got us into trouble instead. But people seem intent on hanging as much blame and liability on BP as possible, rather than on getting our government to work with BP in a way that compels them either to engineer a swift solution to the problem, or to yield control and render assistance, so that others can get the job done. By comparison the blame and liability are irrelevant. Fix the problem first! Cap the gusher, and clean up the Gulf. Then figure out why the fail-safe mechanism didn't work and how it needs to be made differently so it can function even under extreme variations of pressure or when compromised and regulate that every deep water rig must have one with the newest design, or adequate over-engineering.
Part 2 next post