Malcolm Ocean's roamblog

March 22nd, 2024

edited 2024-03-23 · open in Roam
  • making sense / sensemaking
    • What does the expression, "It doesn't make sense," mean? (Quora)
      • one answer
        • I agree with other answers about the context being very important:
        • The vague referent “it” could mean many different things in different categories or thought where but generally means is not intelligible, coherent, sensible, and results in cognitive dissonance or immediate questions.
        • It doesn’t make sense could be said of:
          • someone else’s behavior (out of character)
          • a design, as in engineering or architecture
          • a process, such as a series of operations to achieve an end
          • a theory, as proposed
          • an argument that is unsound or invalid as the conclusion does not follow logically from the premises
          • an ideology
          • a complex or convoluted system whose internal workings are not apparent to observers
          • a contradiction
          • the expected results or outcome are not attained or fail to be realized with existing knowledge or observations
    • When learning something and it 'doesn't make sense' what does that mean? (Quora)
      • cool answer
        • When you encounter this situation during learning, it means one thing:
        • You don't trust it yet.
        • Many people articulate this as lack of understanding, missing concepts, or inadequate foundations. It's a lot to take in, so I have tried to distill it into something that I can, ahem, trust.
        • Every time I learn something, I simply ask myself if I trust it yet. It's a powerful question, because it implies all of the following related questions:
          • Can I rely on how the concept fits in with the rest of my current mental model of the universe?
            • Are the sources reliable?
            • Is it logically sound?
            • Are there conflicting viewpoints and alternative versions?
          • Can I trust myself to explain it to others?
            • Do different versions of an explanation hold up?
            • If there are parts that I can't explain, why is that the case?
            • Is my explanation robust enough so that I am confident that I haven't left anything out?
          • Is it now a reliable tool that I can use in future problem solving?
            • If there are situations where this tool is not applicable, do I understand why?
            • Am I using it correctly such that I'm getting the answers I predict?
        • Whenever you encounter a situation where a new concept "doesn't make sense," find the weak points in your understanding, so that you come to trust the new concept.
  • spiral dynamics Coral
    • I wrote this comment on a fb post
    • > some Spiral Dynamics folks have posited a stage 9 they call Coral... and unlike Wilber's stages that veer off into transcendent spiritual navel-gazing, reflects a mode of engaging with society quite vividly

      some people speculate that Coral has a harmonic/octave vibe with stage 3 Red, and is thus actually shockingly individualistic and willing to relentlessly pursue what excites and delights the self, while aware that their self is impermanent and interconnected, and aware of their own impact on the whole world, and free to move wholesomely without fretting about morality, because they see how attempting to coerce others undermines their own will/desire. not subject to society but playing in its structures, and working to improve those structures not because it's "right" to do so or because they're "supposed to" but because it's fun and because they can 🙃

      I've tasted this way of orienting in moments but am definitely not living in it most of the time. but it seems like a much more compelling vision than just spiritual unity 🤷‍♀️
  • speak unarguably