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Sticking rigidly to our ways can be both a blessing and a curse

By Mark Randell - posted Monday, 2 June 2003


The answer, of course, is that it won't and can't. In order to preserve an open outlook, the ability to change and grow, to anticipate, the group needs to admit new members with new perspectives. These members also become reconciled to "the way we do things around here". If the group is to be successful, this "way" will also begin to change a little, while retaining its principal elements.

And here is the paradox of successful groups, communities, societies-the dilemma known as the "EVE" dilemma: balancing exploitation (of what they know and can do) with exploration (of new ideas, structures, processes). How to achieve that balance?

The answers are neither obvious nor easy. They are to do with diversity, "churn rate" (rate of admittance of new members), rate of information flow, and other variables. Some small progress is being made in understanding these factors, but there is much work to do.

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The process, and problems, replicate at the community and societal levels. Failure to balance new exploration with exploitation of the known can lead to many failures and problems. Jared Diamond, public intellectual and author of Guns And Steel, points out four ways in which a society can fail to solve a problem: It can fail to anticipate a problem, it can fail to perceive an already-arisen problem, it can fail to try to solve a perceived problem, or it can actually fail to solve the problem itself.

By sticking too narrowly to "the way we do things around here", groups, communities and societies can fail to solve the EVE dilemma, and ultimately fail to survive as a coherent unit. "Norms" both help and hinder this process of societal decision-making: morals, rules, codes, traditions all need balancing with change processes, fringe activities, "leading edge" activism and other societal counterbalances.

Embrace and value our norms, our codes, our rules, our law and lore-they are all a part of the mysterious, dynamic balance of a successful society.

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About the Author

Mark Randell is the Principal of Human Sciences, a community development consultancy based in Fremantle, WA. He has worked in the commercial, government and academic sectors.

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