John England guest post
The Executive director and founder of Mindsystems
“DON’T BELIEVE ALL YOU READ”
I was recently reading an article by Jim Giles, in the New Scientist [May 2010] called “Giving Life to a Lie”. In it he quotes a story written by an Australian Journalist, Piers Akerman for the Daily Telegraph (2006) where Akerman claimed that global warming was exaggerated. Now it was not that fact that caught my attention but rather the reference he attributed to John Houghton, a former chair to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was “unless we announce disasters no one will listen”.
This reference was picked up by a journalist in Canada followed later by an academic in Michigan. Giles goes on the say that today there at least three books, 100 blogs and 24,000 web pages that in some way cite Houghton’s original book published in 1994. The really interesting thing is that Houghton seems never to have uttered those words in his life and they certainly do not appear in that book!!
Perhaps Akerman made a genuine mistake, perhaps he intentionally manufactured the quote … I do not know and do not really care. However, my point is based on the thought that I wonder just how common is changing a lie or a misrepresentation into a “known fact”? How many of the statements which are taken for granted and quoted as “proof”, really have a firm basis?
I know I have jokingly said, when watching a somewhat dubious documentary on TV: “Well it must be true because it is in colour”. A silly statement certainly, but it is really based on the premise that many of us have a tendance to believe a fact if it is printed and from an apparently reputable source. A good example is Wikipedia, which many people use as a first source of reference these days. However, you should remember that this excellent online resource can be edited by just about any Tom, Dick or Harry. Certainly, I do know there are editorial controls, but Wikipedia contents cannot, in reality, be guaranteed as accurate.
The theme of the whole New Scientist issue was “Denial” in various forms. Only thing is clear that often people will simply deny an inconvenient fact (or truth) as a way of refuting a particular point of view rather that offering persuasive counter argument. A perfect example of this was Copernicus’s trial by the Catholic Church when he offered evidence that the earth revolved around the sun. The Church’s response was an absolute denial that this could be possible as it went against current teachings.
The point is that we should be careful when reading or writing blogs for two reasons:
1. Question if an assertion we read or make is founded in fact or just “parroted” because it has become “conventional wisdom”?
2. To avoid or be very wary of flat, unsupported denials as they can be a smokescreen for either a subtext or even pure ignorance
Perhaps an additional guideline would be to reserve comment for times when such comments makes a positive contribution to the discussion.
Some food for thought
As both Visualmapper and Hypershifters are concerned with visual thinking, information handling and associated topics, here are some points worth considering:
1. Do diagrams aid understanding?
2. Is a picture worth a thousand words?
3. How important is colour and curved lines in left & right cortex linking?
4. Are mind maps the best way to represent the majority of business information?
5. Is Cloud computing the way of the future?
6. You cannot beat face-to-face communication
Can you think of some statements or “facts” which we take for granted?
John England: MindSystems
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Great Guest post John.
I certainly relate to 6 points worth considering. It seems to me, we are at some kind of junction relating to human consciousness regarding your points.
I'm going to digest your post and make a more informed comment later; great post though, and thanks for contributing to the Hypershifters community.
1. Do diagrams aid understanding?
2. Is a picture worth a thousand words?
3. How important is colour and curved lines in left & right cortex linking?
4. Are mind maps the best way to represent the majority of business information?
5. Is Cloud computing the way of the future?
6. You cannot beat face-to-face communication
Can you think of some statements or “facts” which we take for granted?
No brainer regarding diagrams aiding understanding; I firmly believe though, most visual thinkers need turnkey products that give the user a rich graphical experience with many options.
A picture is indeed worth a thousand words; only to the user who has the knowledge of his intended audience needs and wants; what products help us to do that?
Colour and curved lines have very limited appeal to the end result of communicating to an audience; that is, if they're all linear and you deliver a strictly non-linear visual presentation.
I am convinced multiple formats are the best toolsset to be made available to the visual mapper. Mind maps are very effective in the context of non-linear, but it is very clear Mind mapping as a graphical tool is extremely limited. Surely we've moved beyond mere Mind mapping and into multiple formats that skirt around Knowledge mapping.
Cloud computing is interesting for sure, but I believe it's merely an extension of the desktop that enables the user to collaborate instantly in the vein of what's coming down the pipeline regarding web 3.0
Face to face communication; ah this may be a lost art that we have to reconnect with, I agree that Face to face is and remains to be the most fulfilling and engaging aspect of communication. The new generations however have a differing view of face 2 face. Social media has IMO diluted the human need for personal contact.
Thanks for this article John; it has indeed challenged me to rethink many of my ideas for communication.
The original trigger for this post was an article in New Scientists. Well this months edition has also triggered a related thought based on the question “Is perception reliable?”
They quote the old Gorilla experiment in which a room contains two teams. Each team has a basketball which must be passed between team members. Observers are asked to count the number of passes of one team only. During this exercise a gorilla wanders into the room, beats its chest at the camera and then leaves. The amazing thing is that only 50% of the observers even notice the gorilla!! This a very interasting example of cognitive behaviour. ( If you are interested in further detail it is worth watching this YouTube film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_85Sn3vRoCU )
This effect has significant implications in a number of areas. For example:
• If an interface is too cluttered (e.g. a large mind map), what is the likelihood of important information being over looked?
• How reliable is a suspect line up likely to be considering the confusion of a crime scene?
• In a lively meeting will the participants capture all important issues?
I am sure you can think of many more examples. So again I ask the question: “Can we believe what we see?” and “How accurate is our perception of a situation likely to be?”
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