Planetary Level CPS and the Gator Brain

CPS. To most readers here, it means Creative Problem Solving. Before our Partner Bob Eckert came into this field, he was the director of Drug Abuse Services in the Northern Adirondack mountains -- to him, CPS meant Child Protective Services. Now, he would tell us that we need to do CPS to do CPS at a  societal Level. Heck, even at a planetary level. If you're curious about how to do that, read on:

If we want to protect our children, and our children's children we will need to apply our innovation skills, among which Creative Problem Solving stands out as pertinent, to the gnarly issues of our world.

Part of the challenge, however is the fact that we have diverse world views. We are sometimes so different from each other that we argue whether certain things are problems. One man thinks it's OK to beat his wife if she has "overspent" while another thinks beating anyone is fundamentally evil. Another thinks that we are over-consuming and damning our descendants, while another believes the idea of limiting consumption is just a symptom of a naive liberal agenda.

Of course, each of us feels our point of view is the correct one, and we tend to surround ourselves with people who share our viewpoints. Unfortunately, that's not a very innovation producing behavior. So Here's an exercise: There is a provocative video making the rounds called "Story of Stuff" and people tend to have a powerful reaction to it, pro or con. If you have not seen it, watch it here:

If you have seen it, watch the critique here:

Watch either video (or both) and listen for challenges that it points to. Pay particular attention to the one that skews away from your viewpoint. Frame those challenges in the form of a provocative question starting with the stems: How to... How might... What might be all of the... or In what ways might we...

Add your list to the comments section. Let's see what challenge questions we can come up with. Watch your gator brain. You score points for coming up with challenge questions you do not want to see solved as well as those that you do. 

Remember: you'll kill your creativity if you allow defensiveness to inhabit your mind.

The second video challenges those who agree with the point of the first. Provoke your self, and see what creative thinking shows up for you!

Comments

[Bob & his Evil Twin]

I remember from back in my therapist training days, studying the work of Jean Piaget, a Swiss Psychologist. He had these 4 stages of development, the last two of which were:
Concrete Operational which shows up between 7&11 typically. He said 50% of the adult population never really gets past this stage which shows evidence for organized, logical thought. There is the ability to perform multiple classification tasks, order objects in a logical sequence, and comprehend the principle of conservation. thinking becomes less transductive and less egocentric. The child is capable of concrete problem-solving.

The next stage, showing up between 11 & 15, is evident in 50% of adults. (And required to do what we are talking about in this thread) is "Formal Reasoning, and is characterized in part by the ability to generate abstract propositions, multiple hypotheses and their possible outcomes.

You can view a QUICK, FUN MASHUP VIDEO OF HIS STAGES (3.5 MINUTES) HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yhXjJVFA14

Of course, there are viewpoints on learning & development that are different than Piaget's, notably Vygotsky's concept of getting people into the "Zone of Proximal Development"
Another short (2 Minutes) video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY-SXM8f0gU

IWWMW develop more formal reasoning skills in our population?

[Bob & his Evil Twin]

You nail the fundamental issue, Cheryl. Somehow, we have to re-engage people in being able to hold opposing ideas in their head at the same time. To be willing to live inside the polarity, at least for a while. I'm struck by watching my daughter be randomly assigned to a school debate on gay rights as a way of developing this skill of holding multiple (disparate) views at once. Unfortunately, she ended up with the position she agreed with, but at least needed to be able to understand the logic of the opposing view to argue her own.
Might debate create an improvement in this skill?

[Cheryl Nee-G.]

This is a great exercise for exploring dialogue too. Listening to the argument of the position I don't agree with definitely unleashed my gator brain. I immediately wanted to attack each point rather than listen let alone reframe issues into IWWMW questions. This pointed out to me how challenging it is to have a productive dialogue when I already "know" the answers, or at least my position. There is a greater opportunity for understanding what's really "bugging" the other position if I stop and ask question rather than fly into combat mode.

IWWMW engage in real dialogue about controversial issues?
IWWMW over come fear of loosing our "position"?

[Bob & his Evil Twin]

How to make consumption Appropriate?
H2 share our toys better?
How might we dig deeper into the earths crust?
HM we find additional resources?
What might be all of the ways to create 100% recyclable products?
WMBAT ways to not have to replace the ENTIRE computer?
In what ways might we get people to consume more?
IWWMW get people to consume less?