Comments on: Patterns and truth http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/ Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:03:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Chief Culture Officer, by Grant McCracken || February || 2010 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-309921 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Chief Culture Officer, by Grant McCracken || February || 2010 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:59:47 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-309921 [...] this order is a gift”. Seeing the right cultural trend splits the world in a useful way and illuminates events by giving a framework through which to view them. It gives us a meaningful story by which we can interpret what’s happening, and testable [...] [...] this order is a gift”. Seeing the right cultural trend splits the world in a useful way and illuminates events by giving a framework through which to view them. It gives us a meaningful story by which we can interpret what’s happening, and testable [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Getting the reps || January || 2010 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-305958 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Getting the reps || January || 2010 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:37:49 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-305958 [...] I need to be practicing on a daily basis are. Candidates include communication, synthesis and pattern building, which are all skills exercised by blogging, hence my attempts to get back into blogging [...] [...] I need to be practicing on a daily basis are. Candidates include communication, synthesis and pattern building, which are all skills exercised by blogging, hence my attempts to get back into blogging [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Everything is a Story || October || 2008 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-176853 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Everything is a Story || October || 2008 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:06:56 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-176853 [...] of my traits as a generalist is that I find patterns everywhere. This can be a strength, in that I can take a mass of data and observations and distill it down to [...] [...] of my traits as a generalist is that I find patterns everywhere. This can be a strength, in that I can take a mass of data and observations and distill it down to [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Branding || August || 2008 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-169222 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Branding || August || 2008 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:12:37 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-169222 [...] audience - an ability that would uncharitably be called spin doctoring, and could easily be seen as disregarding the concept of truth. At the same time, the foundation for much of my career success is this ability to consistently [...] [...] audience – an ability that would uncharitably be called spin doctoring, and could easily be seen as disregarding the concept of truth. At the same time, the foundation for much of my career success is this ability to consistently [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || True Enough, by Farhad Manjoo || July || 2008 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-166506 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || True Enough, by Farhad Manjoo || July || 2008 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:31:27 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-166506 [...] on my previous thoughts about the decline of Absolute Truth , it’s not surprising that I wanted to read a book that is subtitled “Learning to Live [...] [...] on my previous thoughts about the decline of Absolute Truth , it’s not surprising that I wanted to read a book that is subtitled “Learning to Live [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Playing the infinite game || March || 2008 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-140103 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Playing the infinite game || March || 2008 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:27:01 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-140103 [...] or that there is only one way of looking at a situation. This may be because that’s just how my brain works. But I think the infinite game is a powerful vision of how we should conduct our lives. It’s [...] [...] or that there is only one way of looking at a situation. This may be because that’s just how my brain works. But I think the infinite game is a powerful vision of how we should conduct our lives. It’s [...]

]]> By: Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Thinking by talking || April || 2007 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-35589 Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist || Thinking by talking || April || 2007 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:36:47 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-35589 [...] One of the ways in which the thinking types clash is in how they approach conversations. For instance, because I am a “talker”, I often throw out completely unformed thoughts just to see what happens. I see ideas in conversation as being malleable; they’re batted around, and new ideas are constructed in a cooperative effort. My post about patterns and truth indicates my disdain towards absolute Truth when compared to the joy of following ideas where they lead. [...] [...] One of the ways in which the thinking types clash is in how they approach conversations. For instance, because I am a “talker”, I often throw out completely unformed thoughts just to see what happens. I see ideas in conversation as being malleable; they’re batted around, and new ideas are constructed in a cooperative effort. My post about patterns and truth indicates my disdain towards absolute Truth when compared to the joy of following ideas where they lead. [...]

]]> By: Beemer http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-11847 Beemer Wed, 06 Dec 2006 08:20:16 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-11847 P.S.: E-Prime gives me hives. Interesting goal, highly dubious implementation. P.S.: E-Prime gives me hives. Interesting goal, highly dubious implementation.

]]> By: Christy http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-11836 Christy Wed, 06 Dec 2006 05:36:25 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-11836 I agree that it's hard to define Truth; most any idea or statement can be seen as deficient or less than fully rigorous in its details. By contrast, it's easy to find things that are clearly false; Sumana gives a nice example above. This sounds like the classic problem: it only takes one counterexample to prove a theory false, while no amount of supporting data can be as 100% persuasive. There's a name for this, I think, but it's past my bedtime. I agree that it’s hard to define Truth; most any idea or statement can be seen as deficient or less than fully rigorous in its details. By contrast, it’s easy to find things that are clearly false; Sumana gives a nice example above.

This sounds like the classic problem: it only takes one counterexample to prove a theory false, while no amount of supporting data can be as 100% persuasive. There’s a name for this, I think, but it’s past my bedtime.

]]> By: Eric http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-11777 Eric Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:11:35 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2006/12/02/patterns-and-truth/#comment-11777 Beemer, thanks for the reference. It reminds me of E-Prime, which I read about in <a href=http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2003/11/17/quantum-psychology-by-robert-anton-wilson/ rel="nofollow">the Quantum Psychology book</a>. E-Prime is defined as English without the word "is" in all of its forms, which forces one to use other constructions similar to the ones you describe to explain why we think an object possesses the characteristics that we are prescribing to it. It's really hard to use - I couldn't even make it through this paragraph without lapsing. Sumana, this may be an epistemological distinction. One of <a href=http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2005/05/08/politics-of-nature-by-bruno-latour/ rel="nofollow">Latour's points</a> is that we have a situation where certain prophets (aka scientists), go and consult the oracles (aka the truth) via their experiments, and interpret the results. Because of all the intermediaries, even if there were an existing unchanging eternal Truth, we can't access it directly, and therefore it functionally does not exist. If a tree falls in the forest, and all that. It sounds a little bit crazy because it removes the cultural assumption of the existence of absolute Truth, but I find that assumption introduces several logical inconsistencies, and we may be functionally better off without it. Otherwise, when two people have a dispuate, they will both be appealing to the Truth, which they feel to be absolute but are interpreting differently because of their different intermediaries, rather than acknowledging the different interpretations directly and working from there. Beemer, thanks for the reference. It reminds me of E-Prime, which I read about in the Quantum Psychology book. E-Prime is defined as English without the word “is” in all of its forms, which forces one to use other constructions similar to the ones you describe to explain why we think an object possesses the characteristics that we are prescribing to it. It’s really hard to use – I couldn’t even make it through this paragraph without lapsing.

Sumana, this may be an epistemological distinction. One of Latour’s points is that we have a situation where certain prophets (aka scientists), go and consult the oracles (aka the truth) via their experiments, and interpret the results. Because of all the intermediaries, even if there were an existing unchanging eternal Truth, we can’t access it directly, and therefore it functionally does not exist. If a tree falls in the forest, and all that.

It sounds a little bit crazy because it removes the cultural assumption of the existence of absolute Truth, but I find that assumption introduces several logical inconsistencies, and we may be functionally better off without it. Otherwise, when two people have a dispuate, they will both be appealing to the Truth, which they feel to be absolute but are interpreting differently because of their different intermediaries, rather than acknowledging the different interpretations directly and working from there.

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