Ming the Mechanic:
Vicious to Virtuous Circles

The NewsLog of Flemming Funch
 Vicious to Virtuous Circles2002-12-15 23:58
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From Tom Munnecke Vicious Circles/Networks to Virtuous Circles/Networks:
"One of Senge's patterns is the general problem addiction loop. Quick fixes seem to solve a problem, but often feed back to create other problems. Fundamental solutions which take longer to understand and implement are ignored in the flurry of quick fixes, creating a vicious circle. The flurry of quick fixes then feeds some kind of assessment system which makes it appear that we are being productive, with all that activity going on. This is like trying to get out of a hole by digging it deeper, and measuring your productivity by how many shovelfuls you scoop each day.

The flip side of this is to create a virtuous circle, addressing the fundamental issue to create a solution-generating feedback loop. This dissolves problems rather than solves them, which appears to be infinitely unproductive to those who use problem-solving metrics..."
And let me add this quote which says the same kind of thing:
"It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants.
The question is: what are we busy about?"
- Henry David Thoreau



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1 comment

16 Dec 2002 @ 23:59 by strydg : vicious circles
I like this description. It explains how the human body adapts to its own drive to survive, and its extension the intellect which is always trying to make things better but only makes them worse, e.g. the better mousetrap.  


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