Thoughts on Gleick's "Chaos" LO4466

GMBrady@aol.com
Thu, 28 Dec 1995 17:10:52 -0500

Replying to LO4454 --

Williard concludes his latest and as-usual-challenging posting with:

>So is it possible for us to help others see this interdependent reality
>which will enable them to interact differently with their situations and
>thereby create results that add value for a broader set of stakeholders
>without subtracting value from some other set?

I certainly hope so. If it isn't, then I'm wasting my time fashioning
curricula for students with that goal in mind. I'm reassured somewhat
when I look in my files at student-generated flow charts with scores of
elements stemming from a single change I've postulated.

(Maybe someone might be interested in what kinds of change I postulate. I
write mostly for secondary level students, so don't expect my stuff to be
very high up on the wall:

- A ten-gallon-per-day limit on fresh water consumption.
- A foolproof, $10 VSA (Voice Stress Analyzer), about the size of a pack of
cigarettes, that senses lying in face-to-face encounters, on the telephone,
on television, etc.
- A law designed to conserve resources that prohibits the fair-weather use
of automobiles for commutes of less than a mile.
- A mandatory year of public service for all at age 18 or after completion
of high school.
- A heavy tax on cars, houses, rental storage space, etc. based on the total
square feet of their "track" on the earth's surface.

[As you can see, the above are designed to touch teenagers in some
sensitive areas.]

I usually require that flow charts show multiple and cumulative causation,
and that they "continue" until there's likelihood of change in one or more
societal premises/mental models.

--
Marion Brady
gmbrady@aol.com