Han van Loon, 04-Aug-05 @ 12:11PM

Mastery?

Hi Rajesh
Thanks for the input and the link to NWLINK which certainly has some interesting diagrams. My cycle is the simple one - so naturally it does not show what the toplogies show. All the same thanks for the input as it is good information.

About your query on Mastery - first I agree about the unconscious mind's processing power - I have a section of my Think chapter in the book tentatively called 'sleep on it'. Mastery needs this processing power but not only unconscious thought is needed, there must be conscious thought that sets aims, goals parameters, then compares and so on. Mastery is about 'complete' understanding (Wisdom is often used as a possible alternative but it conjures up images of an old guru sitting on mountaintops so I avoided it) and 'complete' is subjective - not absolute. Mastery is about the ability to lead others and to lead to NEW knowledge (hence the link back to knowledge in the cycle). Taking Einstein as an example (In Switzerland they are celebrating a century of Relativity and debating how much Mrs E actually formulated the theory of Relativity and the Special Theory as she was also a highly competent physicist btw), Einstein not only generated new knowledge but led other physicists to a new view of physics and the universe. I see Einstein as one of the Supergiants in my STARS catalogue!

About the matching of the adoption/learning curve to the knowledge cycle - the most relevant sections are up to the verb 'integrate' in the cycle which is the same as 'integration' in the curve. 'Apply' in the cycle equates to 'experiential learning' in the curve. The curve ends at Expertise. Mastery is then off to the right of the curve. Also the curve phase 6. 'fuller understanding' is a feedback loop not shown on my simple cycle diagram (in another post I mentioned that if I showed all the connections the diagram would explode!).
One last comment about Mastery for now - it is also relative, temporal and subjective. Someone we may consider a master of a particular field may be replaced tomorrow by a 'greater/newer' master.
I appreciate the discussion - keep sending me your thoughts, information links and so on!

Rajesh Sulabha, 04-Aug-05 @ 09:07AM

Mastery..a conscious one or unconscious one?

Hi Han,
Thanks for the wisdom-ful article.

From some of the reference papers in
http://www.sveiby.com/
I read the following:

"The conscious mind is capable of processing somewhere between 16 and 40 bits of information per second, whereas the unconscious (which heavily depend on the tacit knowledge) can handle no fewer than 11 million bits per second"

In the STARS knowledge cylce, the transition from knowlegde->Intelligence->expertise->mastery
is shown. Considering the statement above (from Sveiby),
Is mastery more of an unconscious processing?

If we try to find the common traits (of mastery) of masters in various domains, for example Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Da Vinci,...to Aristotle, and then compare those to the state charts in 'Adoption and Learning Curve' and 'STARS knowledge cycle', how the mapping would look like?

I would be delighted to be corrected if my interpretations does not find relevance to the topic you were addressing.

thanks and best wishes,
Rajesh

Rajesh Sulabha, 03-Aug-05 @ 22:26PM

similar to STARS knowledge cycle

Hi Jacques,
Thanks for sharing the good article.
I found the following URL interesting (similar to the STARS knowledge cycle and more detailed one)
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/performance/performance_typology.html

best wishes,
Rajesh

Han van Loon, 03-Aug-05 @ 09:22AM

Reasoning and Intelligence

Hi Miguel
thanks for the comment. Yes cognitive routines are reasoning, but applying the correct (or most appropriate) cognitive routines to make decisions and take action is Intelligence. My emphasis was meant to be on application of cognitive routines.
Stepping backwards for one second - if you look at the Oxford dictionary definition - the first one is:
"the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills". (Actually I am glad it said that, I hadn't consulted the dictionary when creating the cycle - so my knowledge wasn't misapplied after all :-)
Hence in my knowledge cycle - intelligence naturally follows knowledge.

One vital point not shown on the diagram as it was the simple version - there is feedback and feed forward connections between many if not all the 'states' (hence intelligence influences knowledge, information gathering and so on). I only show the main and most interesting connecting verbs. Otherwise the diagram would 'explode'.

Miguel Cornejo, 02-Aug-05 @ 00:58AM

Intelligence as in reasoning?

Hi Han,

I may be completely wrong but it seems to me Jacques is on to something with the "names" idea. Would those "cognitive routines" used for analysing and deciding not be "reasoning"?

Thanks for a very different and interesting piece,

Miguel

Han van Loon, 28-Jul-05 @ 08:08AM

Intelligence

Hello Rajeev
Thank you for your comment. I need to explain that I am using Intelligence with a different meaning to you - my meaning is about intelligent choice and application of knowledge - this is not necessarily a natural ability - the easiest example being 'artificial intelligence' or machine intelligence. For people, I believe that this ability is at least partially learnt and not just a natural ability, although I concur with you that having the natural ability is an advantage :-).
My argument is that applying knowledge selectively and effectively is a sign of intelligence (learnt or natural) - it is use of cognitive routines that assume an aspect of naturalness as we integrate them into our everyday use. Hence you can make intelligent decisions about one subject and be totally 'unintelligent' about other subjects, because you don't have the knowledge and the required cognitive routines to apply it.

Jacques SOUILLOT, 23-Jul-05 @ 21:21PM

Humm... Any more convincing argument?

You are certainly quite right, Rajeev. Nevertheless could we try and imagine what are the nutriments of intelligence. Maybe "knowledge" is part of the picture?

And maybe knowledge management could require some intelligence?

Now we might be in an instance where the meaning of "intelligence" might have to be clarified first, who knows?

Rajeev Chelikkattil, 21-Jul-05 @ 17:43PM

Personal Knowledge

simple representation....excellent quote..thanks Mr.Han.
My 5 cents worth thought: I am not convinced that Knowledge leads to Intelligence(diagram1)Knowledge is something which someone can develop himself provided he/she has strong learing abmbition. But intelligence is natural ability to learn or absord things faster and apply into the practical world.

Benoit Couture, 11-Jul-05 @ 20:08PM

Exellent thread dynamic

Thanks Han for such user friendly teaching and thank you Jaques for enriching the context. Han, if you feel that quotes from you would plague viewers, then surely, many could benefit from your insights. From what you've given us to read here, you are needed for the stirring and simplifying of intelligence in the conversations.
Jaques, my one answer to the 2 questions from T.S. Elliot is: Contact in mutuality is what we lost. As long as we cultivate knowledge within the boundaries of the immediate contact between the giver and receiver of knowledge as in healthy parenting, then Han's diagrams offer us a simple and complete picture of clarity to perpetuate the purification of our understanding with living and growing intelligence, staight out of the open source for both, the teacher and the pupil.

Han van Loon, 11-Jul-05 @ 18:49PM

Quotes and Knowledge

Hallo Jacques, thanks for your comments and post. I have been using creative quotations on the web - a good source! I have a few of my own but refrained from plaguing viewers with them. I'll give two - one excellent one and one of mine:

“Although I don’t know everything, I hope I know what I need to know!”

“I'm not young enough to know everything.” J.M. Barrie

I hope the article and diagrams help viewers and look forward to further discussions.
Han

Jacques SOUILLOT, 11-Jul-05 @ 17:18PM

T.S. ELLIOT: a good thought leader!

Hello Han!

I certainly like the quote you offer us, as you may guess:

Where is the wisdom that we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

T.S. ELLIOT