http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/paradigms-new-and-used-tp7597352p7597371.html
Scientists have deeply held convictions of the "truth" inherent in mathematics.
In order for the "collective intelligence" to imagine an alternative paradigm (even Stephen G's genius can not do this alone), we have to start by gathering the critical mass of system thinkers that I believe exist now. They must put a stake in the heart of certainty and assuming mining the past can help very much. There are no real precedents for what we now face. Then, we must understand the boundaries defining the content of the system; understand the structure, the way the system is organized in its connected, dynamic relationships; recognize the feedback loops that provide emergent behavior in the system as well as the system's adaptation to change; take a look at Meadows' leverage points for intervening on behalf of emergent outcomes.
And finally--learn how to facilitate group processes so that new paradigms for a new future can emerge.
Diffusion of the innovative paradigm--I truly believe--requires a moral commitment to help facilitate self-organization through peer networks that are heterophilous, that is diverse and non-elite, as opposed to homophilous, networks where high-status individuals only confer with each other. Diffusion research began with E.M Rogers' work in 1962, and it's still the standard today (with a Fifth edition published in 2005). Rogers found that adoption of innovation takes place when information is exchanged through interpersonal relationships. The data are shown as a bell-shaped frequency curve or an S-shape cumulative curve, considered "normal". (See Rogers, "Diffusion of Innovation.") The advent of mass media and social media has evidently not made much difference, although there doesn't seem to be a lot of new research post-Rogers.
What's interesting for us today--and especially my own work as I develop a collaborative "Playbook" training manual for facilitators leading local community-based groups into an altered, but adjacent possible future world--is that Rogers' research looked at how shifts in agricultural methods came about. The "regenerative agriculture" movement is diffusing a new paradigm for how everyone might grow food in the future. The new agriculture is being promulgated and adopted through heterophilous methods and early adopters at a grass-roots level, NOT in the academy.
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