Active Thinking Topic 97 - Why Outsiders Are Needed Recommended Viewing : Neil Theise (Nov 2024) "The Surprising Role of Randomness in Ant Behavior" The Human Centered Design Network @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5u8VqQxHYg [6 minutes] Talking Points 1. "Are you a team player"? This is one of the most common job interview questions. Why do they ask it? 2. Google gives these as synonyms for "outsider". How do their connotations (deep meaning) differ? => stranger / visitor non-member / odd man out / foreigner / alien / outlander / immigrant / / emigrant / émigré / incomer / newcomer / parvenu / arriviste / interloper / intruder / gatecrasher / outcast / misfit / individualist /nonconformist / free spirit / unorthodox person / original / bohemian / eccentric / maverick / rebel / dissenter /dissident / loner / ratbag [Australian slang] / devil's advocate/ eccentric / Frodo Baggins, or Tom Bombadil (from The Lord of the Rings) /. 3. Outsiders might be considered mad, bad & dangerous to know. This might or might not be true. Outsiders might be considered disloyal. This might or might not be true. => think of some examples from your own life experience or from history. How would you evaluate these individuals? 4. Outsiders are of at least two types: a) those who deliberately influence a group / society / company / school / country etc. ; and b) those who have chosen to operate alone as entirely independent characters. What is a particular (but different) contribution that a) and b) can make? 5. America's cultural self-image is strongly tied up with the lone, heroic gunman who rides into a town scared by bad guys. He strolls into a saloon (bar) and challenges the worst bad guy to a shootout (duel) at high noon. The town is saved. American politicians (not least, Trump) often paint a picture of themselves in these colours. So do some businessmen (like Elon Musk), and even some Youtube medical doctor celebrities (Dr Oz). How does this sort of thing work out in real life? What about Australia's version of this narrative? 6. Even the most organized insect swarms like ants and bees have wandering outsider individuals who lead the group to new food sources. This is a variation on bounded randomness, and is found right through nature. For example, it is the reason that languages constantly change. It is also the reason that "perfect" totalitarian political systems fail. Can you see why? How many outsiders do human groups need to thrive? 7. Britain is famous for having a tolerance, and even fondness for harmless eccentrics. (For example a few years ago one man walked then entire length of England completely naked. Police arrested him a couple of times, then gave up. He became a sort of public pet). Is this kind of tolerance of eccentricity valuable in a society? What is the price of intolerance? 8. Modern scientific research suffers from a paradox. Original scientific discoveries and breakthroughs usually come in unplanned ways, and often from individuals who are outsiders. However to get research grants, administrators and politicians want to see detailed research programs (like a business plan) and a history of respectable publication. It doesn't work. What is a solution to this problem? 9. A true entrepreneurs is somebody who successfully starts a kind of business which has never been thought of or attempted before. By their nature and temperament these individuals stand out from the crowd and are unconventional in their methods. As the business grows and hires regular, average managers, these founders often no longer fit. Examples? What is a solution to this paradox? 10. Military forces by their nature are highly organized with strict hierarchies and fixed doctrines. This looks great in peacetime. Why does it often fail in wartime? What role have outsiders, non 'team players' often played in leading one side in a conflict to ultimate victory? ------------ Extra Reading & Viewing Neil Theise (Nov 2024) "The Surprising Role of Randomness in Ant Behavior" The Human Centered Design Network @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5u8VqQxHYg [quote: "#ScienceInsights - Discover how randomness influences ant behavior and colony organization. We'll explore the intriguing balance between structure and chaos, revealing how these tiny creatures adapt and find food sources through seemingly erratic actions"]. => TM Comment: Bounded randomness seems to be a key adaptive mechanism right through nature, and for that matter in human affairs. Look at language change for example. Or, at a crude political and economic level, look at why rigidly controlled societies and companies either wither or have to steal ideas to survive .... Sabine Hossenfelder (17 Nov 2024) "Science is in trouble and it worries me." @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxjatbVb7M [Thor, comment: This is an important issue. Sabine is a physicist, and a brilliant communicator] Rob's Real Stories (24 Sept 2024) "5 Eccentric Inventors Who Changed History in the Weirdest Ways!" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3sdU8hdDsU Leon Hendrix (14 Feb 2021) "Why Ambition Makes You Lonely - If you're someone with ambition who wants more out of life then you're probably pretty lonely. Trust me, I've been there." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xzEUQg3LDo ----------------- Why Outsiders Are Needed (c) Thor May 2024
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