Flocking and Outliers
We see this operating in a flock of birds. This flocking serves as a protective device because a predator (such as a hawk) will swoop into the flock and find it hard to concentrate on any one bird. It is only when one of the birds strays from the flock that the hawk will find focus and can attack the lone bird. Among human beings we find a similar process operating as something called a “Gish Gallop.” The Gallop is engaged when one participant in a debate throws out many, unrelated lies and distortions. Their opponent (like the hawk) doesn’t know which of these lies should be the focus of their countering comments. The flock of lies serves as a protection for the debater who engages the Gallop. We saw this strategy on full display during a recent USA presidential debate (Richardson, 2014).
The flocking is particularly impenetrable when the parts of a system are not only independent of one another but also contradictory. It is one thing to convey a pack of lies. It is quite another thing to spew out lies or shout out policies that bounce against one another. This leader or political party is to blame one minute for taking the wrong action on a specific social issue and then is blamed one minute later for taking no action at all on this issue. Our government needs to leave people alone to make their own decisions on key issues in their life, yet our government needs to control the body of those wishing to make certain medical decisions. It seems that the Galloping politician is leaping down the Rabbit Hole to enter a wonderland of Serenity in which contradictions can easily exist next to one another.
How do we address these contradictions using the Lens of Essence? First, like the hawk, one can find the person or event that strays from the flock. On the one hand, the “outlier” (Gladwell) is vulnerable and is often the focus of attacks by those who are guardians of conventional wisdom or accepted practices. These convenient attacks are cowardly and destructive. They are often justified only by entering the wonderland of half-truths and conspiracies. We sacrifice any sense of humanity in order to find Serenity.
There is an alternative, Essence-based, approach to take in working with and on behalf of the outlier. We can focus on their welfare and find ways to support their distinctive perspectives and practices. I once served on a Board of Trustees at a college in the American South. While most of the Board members were staunchly conservative, they brought in a defeated liberal candidate for the US presidency to serve as the Commencement speaker. My conservative colleagues indicated that it is precisely at this point in US history that we need to be sure that both sides of the political spectrum are being honored. The liberal “outlier” was supported rather than being attacked by this Southern Board of Trustees. I was very pleased and honored to be a member of this Board as it applied the Lens of Essence to focus on the guardianship of political diversity.
Bias and Noise
A second approach in the engagement of a Lens of Essence centers on placing a cluster of contradictory outcomes or perspectives on a target. We can think of the display of desired outcomes or diverse perspectives being like the target on which we focus when shooting arrows or playing darts. The important point to make is that a target is not the bullseye. While a bullseye represents the center point, the target represents the broader setting in which a number of different outcomes or perspectives can be identified. Some of these outcomes or perspective reside very close to the bullseye – and might in fact reside inside the bullseye itself – being at the very heart of the matter. This would be the case in a system that is simple rather than complicated. The bullseye represents the Essence of this non-complicated system.
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