It's About Learning

Challenging But Worthy Path Toward Resilience

Dwayne Harapnuik — January 6, 2020 — Leave a comment

Apart <—> Connected
Hierarchy <—> Lattice
Them <—> Us
Winning <—> Interacting
Brittle <—> Flexible
Just in time <—> Slack
Excluded <—> Included
Willful <—> Perceptive
Fearful <—> Honest
Static <—> Bandwidth
Facts <—> Stories
Barriers <—> Bridges
Final <—> First
Shadows <—> Light
Consumption <—> Sustainability
Retribution <—> Justice
Once <—> Again

The list above was copied directly from Seth Godin’s post Toward Resilience. There are few email list messages I read on a daily or regular basis and most messages get deleted if I don’t find the subject interesting. I seldom delete Seth Godin’s messages because he has an amazing economy and elegance with words. In the 18 pairs of words, which include the title, Seth conveys the notion and importance of moving toward resilience. He also lets you decide where or in what you believe you should be resilient. These 36 words are worth pondering.

I don’t always agree with Godin. While it is true that resilient systems can be more effective and efficient I don’t agree that their impact is always calming and that they provide consistent or calming stability. Due to the ever-changing nature of our digital world, the work of maintaining these resilient systems will never be calming nor complete. But these systems are worth the effort.

In Change Change, resilience, resilient systems, systems

Seven Laws of the Learner

Dwayne Harapnuik — December 17, 2019 — 2 Comments

In the Seven Laws of the Learner, Bruce Wilkinson (1992) offers the following learner maxims:

Teachers are responsible for causing students to learn.
Teachers will stand accountable for their influence.
Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style, and speaker.
Teachers should judge their success by the success of their students.
Teachers impart more by their character and commitment than by their communication.
Teachers exist to serve the students.
Teachers who practice the Laws of the Learner and Teacher can become master teachers.

References
Wilkinson, B. (1992). The seven laws of the learner: How to teach almost anything to practically anyone. Colorado Spring, CO: Multnomah Books.

In Learning learner, Learning, teacher

Sleep Experts Debunk 15 Sleep Myths

Dwayne Harapnuik — December 12, 2019 — Leave a comment

In Health, Video - Wednesday Watchlist myths, sleep

Why Do Stupid People Think They’re Smart? The Dunning Kruger Effect

Dwayne Harapnuik — December 4, 2019 — Leave a comment

In Video - Wednesday Watchlist estimate, ignorance, knowledge, smart

Feeling Machines that Think

Dwayne Harapnuik — December 2, 2019 — Leave a comment

We are not thinking machines. We are feeling machines that think

In his book Descartes Error the renowned neuroscientists Antonio Damasio makes the argument that humans do not make decisions by relying solely on the purely rational cognitive, or reason-oriented, parts of their brain. He points to research using MRI scans of real-time functioning that reveals there is an interplay of the emotional which is centered in the limbic system, primarily the amygdala and the more evolved area of contemplation and pre-frontal cortex.

Damasio is not alone in this claim that we are feeling machines that sometimes think. Dan Ariely, an economist at M.I.T in his book Predictably Irrational points out that we not only are more emotional than we are rational we hold on to the following three myths: