Tania.co.za

Earth Hour

I think the whole thing was a great idea for getting people to talk about what can be done collectively around the world to conserve energy and preserve the environment.

I decided not only to switch off my lights, but also my radio, geyser and computer -- all my appliances except for the fridge -- and get into bed. After a while I heard some of my young neighbours shouting, "Skakel die #@$%&! ligte af! Ek smeeeeek julle!" Eventually the group seemed to grow, chatting loudly in great spirits.

I decided to emerge from my flat at about 21:23 and could see through the windows that most of the denizens of the other flats had indeed turned off their lights too, and that some were watching TV or working on laptops in the dark. I found the source of the noise, too: a small crowd of students had gathered for a spontaneous party in the corridor, and were dancing and setting up a hablis. To the annoyance of the security guard, they had not only switched off their own lights but also gleefully figured out where to switch off the corridor lights for our section of the building.

"Great! More people!" they called out as they saw me approaching.
"My name is Ania," said a girl wearing frayed Winnie the Pooh pyjama pants, "and this is my best friend, Zania."
"My name is Tania," I replied. "We should probably hang out together, even if only for the fun of introducing ourselves to strangers."

Some of the partygoers were wearing luminescent accessories, the kind one might find at a trance party.
"Daar behoort 'n bankie hier te wees om op te sit," said Ania, frowning. Since there was no bench, she and Zania each whipped out a coloured drinking straw as though they had done this many times before, and waved them as wands, instantly creating an imaginary bench, and sat down on what someone whohad not been subjected to the spell would call the floor. I complained that they did not make the bench big enough for three, but they insisted that it was indeed big enough, and moved closer to one another so that I could fit in. When they saw that this would not be a comfortable fit, they conjured up a seat for me, facing them, against the opposite wall of the corridor.

09:30 came, and with a shout the others switched on the lights, but it spoiled the mood, so they turned them off again.
"We should write to the United Nations and ask them to make it Earth Night next year. An hour is not enough!" said the 21-year-old Ania, fully determined to continue with the festivity.

When I realised that some of the girls were contemplating going to the smokkie for some booze, I decided to spare them the danger, and offered them a bottle of ship sherry which I had bought earlier with the intention of using it in seafood bisque. They were delighted at the opportunity of getting smashed risk-free, and promised to replace it. Then I left them and went dancing.

Like Meat Free Mondays, I think one can certainly build in an Earth Hour into one's schedule once a week. It's a good opportunity to just think without so much sensory clutter. Now imagine if all accoross the globe large numbers of people held an Earth Hour once a week, 52 weeks per day. Wouldn't that have some cool results?

Thinking democracy

A moral and ethical imperative

In order to make sound decisions and to devise workable solutions, it is necessary not only to be guided by moral values and ethical principles, but also to be in possession of good thinking skills, because the implementation of good intentions comes from good plans and appropriate responses to sudden change. Those of us who want to be good are thus morally obliged to develop our thinking skills.

The principle of democracy also places an ethical obligation on those who vote, to nominate and elect candidates responsibly, and this once again requires good thinking skills, as a good understanding of current realities and solutions for the future are all products of good thinking.

What thinking skills are required?

Essential thinking skills include:

Classification skills: The ability to (a.) say that this thing is like that thing, but not like that other thing, and to deduce that the things which have common characteristics may thus be subject (or subjected) to common rules; and (b.) To see that this group of things belongs to this other, larger group of things, and that they could therefore possibly be managed together.

Analysis and synthesis are an extension of classification skills. Analytical skill is the ability to identify discrete components of a system, while synthesis is the ability to put them together as a whole.

Logic: The ability to analyse a statement or argument and thereby to determine whether it could be true; the ability to formulate true statements or develop arguments based on facts.

Abstraction and conceptual thinking: The ability to formulate general ideas and principles independently from references to specific, discrete objects or events.

Systems thinking: The understanding that things are dynamically interconnected. Important aspects to be understood include an appreciation for complexity (which reduces the dangerous tendency to seek a single entity onto which to project hope or blame); the dynamic nature of systems (i.e., that even stable systems can gradually change); the concept of overshoot, and the ability to discern when a system requires repair and when it requires replacement. It is also extremely important to understand the difference between the current future and the ideal future, and the principle that the logic of the problem is not necessarily the logic of the solution -- and that in larger and more complex systems, strategies to bridge the gap between the present situation and the ideal future situation require project management.

Thinking skills alone are not enough

Important companion skills include the skills of observation and communication.

Observation (or more broadly speaking, empirical examination or investigation) is extremely important in preventing the imposition of preconceived ideas on problems -- that which is commonly called “jumping to conclusions”. It is possible to come to a perfectly logical, but incorrect conclusion about a problem, and thus to develop an equally logical but inappropriate solution for it, if your perception of the problem is skewed, inadequate, or not in accordance with the facts.

Observation sometimes requires standing back from a situation (objective observation), but at other times it requires immersion in the experience (subjective observation). It is the latter, rather than the former which tends to be lacking amongst problem-solvers -- people are not willing to feel what it feels like to live with the problem for which they profess to have the answers.

In many cases, observation requires a fair amount of time, as long as is necessary to determine the most salient characteristics of a system which need to be considered for systems change or for establishing communications with stakeholders -- but not so long as to permit the system to change significantly during the period of observation, unless it is change itself which is the subject of the investigation.

Communication should not be construed merely as “getting your message across” (although this is important too), but as a process of flux in which the sender and receiver keep switching roles, accommodating at times a commitment to change and at other times to stasis, and sometimes to both. In practical terms, such a commitment could be put into words in a statement like, “I still care about our relationship (stasis) and I am willing to do things differently (change) if that will help us to reach our mutual goal.” (Such things are, of course, not always stated in words, but can be conveyed in other ways as well -- the communications medium should suit the situation and the needs of the participants.)

The skills described as being part of observation above, form an important part of effective communication. If the communication is verbal, they will be referred to as listening skills.

Why thinking skills are essential in a democracy

In an enlightened dictatorship (a term so unfashionable now that many citizens of democracies do not even know what it means), the population is led by a wise ruler, because the common people do not have the knowledge or discernment to take responsible decisions on matters concerning the nation as a whole. This, at least, is the theory. It was the form of government practised by Biblical rulers (successfully, it would appear, by the likes of Hezekiah and Josiah, and in a less “enlightened” manner by others such as Ahab). It is also the essential reasoning behind the theocratic form of government to be found in some present-day Islamic states.

The lack of appropriate thinking skills within an electorate is the reason why even the modern Western philosopher Remington Norman suggests that a democracy is not a good form of government even today, if all the people’s interests are to be properly served. People have an idea of what they want, but they may not know what is good for them; and even if they do, they rarely have a good idea of how it can be achieved through government, and it is from this basis of ignorance that they choose their leaders. The notion of democracy’s inappropriateness to modern government is seconded by the contemporary systems thinking theorist, Dr. Elisabeth Dostal, but for different reasons.

The danger in a democracy is not that your neighbour will vote for someone else, but that you and your neighbour will not care about each other’s well-being (moral problem), that your respective rights and duties will not be adhered to in terms of your actions towards one another (ethical problem, or in its extreme form, criminal problem); that you will not observe a situation long enough with the necessary objectivity or subjectivity (perception problem); that you will not communicate effectively (communication problem) and will not be able to assess your situation sensibly or conceive of possible solutions (thinking skills problem). As a result of all these things, you will make poor choices.

Along with all these other aspects required to be a good person in society -- adherence to justice, open-mindedness, and healthy communication -- well-tuned thinking skills are therefore essential to the enactment of the good intent produced by good values.

In short, from a moral point of view, neglecting thinking skills in our education and self-education is, therefore a sin; and in a democracy (which is based on the principle that the will of the majority should ensure the good of all), such neglect is unethical -- and if left unremedied, a crime against the constitution.

As a citizen in a democracy, it is not your duty to persuade your neighbour to cast his vote for this or that party, but to develop your ability to think, and wherever it depends on you, to ensure that others do the same.

All that money spent on market research, but no interface with loyal customers

Dear Nokia

Your Web site does not provide me with any way of communicating with the people who could help. I am one of thousands of cell phone users, mostly between 40 and 70, who have chosen not to upgrade to anything else in many years. Many of these people have given their brand new contract phones to their children or grandchildren whilst continuing to use the Nokia 6310 or 6310i. If you had some way in which your customers could interface with you, you would be able to learn that nearly ten years after its release, people are prepared to pay more than the original price for this phone. If you were to re-launch this model, you could make the money which is currently being made by users on the various auction sites or by cell phone repair companies. If you really wanted, you could add more features to appeal to younger users. Pity you can't hear me.


Dear Sloggi

If you had chosen to respond to the mail I sent you via your Web site, I could have explained to you precisely why that product which you continued could still sell if only you understood the niche and its product loyalty. I would have explained to you what I was prepared to do, free of charge, to help you sell it to the rest of humankind if only you would continue manufacturing it. Pity the positive experience people have with your products is broken down by the negative experience with your responsiveness.


Dear Nike

Thank-you for following up on my request for the no-longer-produced Rhythm Lace range. It's a pity that I had to leave messages all over Facebook and that your Web site still doesn't have a way for me to reach the right people. It is equally a pity that there is no way of communicating the reasons why I think this range should be continued. People are still visiting my Web site in search ot this range, and in search of a way of contacting you via the Web. After all the trouble you went through in reacting to my request once I found you, it's a pity that other customers still have so much trouble in finding a way of reaching you.


Dear Froggie


Ugh. Never mind. I have decided not to buy Froggie shoes again even though I once liked them so much that I ran the only Froggie fan page on the Internet for some years. Too much of my time was taken up by being your middleman simply because you told me in no uncertain terms that you were not prepared to spend even the price of a pair of shoes to provide a way for your customers to reach you via the Internet.

I guess you are all just too big to talk to the little people -- your customers.