Re: How to bring out mental models?
Jon West Gabany (jwgabany@iquest.net)
Mon, 16 Jan 95 18:55 EST
>... my teacher took off his watch and placed it on the floor in from of me.
>He asked the simple question, "What is it?"
>
>Now, neophyte that i was, i knew enough to know that the purpose of this
>interview was to help me step outside of thinking as a route to
>enlightenment. But i was stunned as i sat there trying to figure out a very
>creative (totally missing the point) answer as to what this simple, everyday
>object was in front of me. My mind was racing (which should have been a BIG
>red flag right there) and i was visibly squirming. And he had the nerve to
>just sit there patiently with a smile on his face! After i blurted out
>something totally incomprehensible, he calmly picked up the watch,
>looked at its face, and said, "It's 8:45."
>
I can guarantee (ok hypothesize strongly) that in all the manufacturing
plants I have worked in that 95% or more of the operators and maintenance
personnel would have said "'it's 8:45" (or "it's a watch", etc.) and then
look at the guy as if he was an idiot for asking the question.
The reason I say this is we may be overlooking input from those who have not
been blinded by education (that is traditional higher education) and see
things as they are. Instead of the enlightened developing mental models to
lead people into the future should not the people be developing the mental
models WITH the enlightened? IMO you will gain wider acceptance and
ownership as well as gain new insights into the concept of L-O and mental
models.
Jon West Gabany
jwgabany@iquest.net
Phone : (317) 581-1041
Fax : (317) 668-0700