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A decade or so ago, I ran into this
"neuroplasticity, even synaptogenesis that
many of you back then may have heard me
discuss relating to the roots of
plasticity--we were studying aging.
And while both are happening to some extent
(most likely depends on genes, go figure), I
continue to see a lot of people use this
"plasticity" phenomena when they BS....
Increasing
TRUST, however you do it, leads to increasing
cooperation, and lowers the transaction costs,
increases (iteration) speed and creates both
incremental and disruptive innovation.
The brain is plastic--ask Phinnea Gauge!
However, its a moot point for those things
relatively inelastic.
No one modifies their hardwiring much (unless
in the case of gauge) unless its modified for
you through things we can't replicate, and
don't want too (trauma).
Trauma aside, we are "stuck" with plasticity
around that hardwiring, and in general, that's
a pretty good thing as it allows us to use
some "apps" often which can really make
seemingly big changes to our behaviors--all
within the guise of hardwiring remaining
intact.
Quote from the article John passed along (and
there was another article he passed last week,
which I didn't respond too, but I am
responding to both now)...
“If you do something that’s good for you,
the circuitry will fire faster, stronger,
and more clearly,” Doidge says in a
recent Networker article.
“Over time, it’ll take up more cortical
real estate and become your default
circuitry. But it’s also true that if you
repeatedly do something that’s bad for
you, the same thing happens. The plastic
paradox accounts for both our flexibility
when we choose to do something for the
first time as well as our symptomatic
rigidity.”
I wanted to use this quote because it reflects
back on the "strength's paradigm" and helps us
understand that you might be clever at math
(hardwired) and use it to become a cashier, an
engineer, or a bank robber!--all of which use
your math hardwired talents!
This is something which I've seen over and
over here in the Philippines.
I see people with talent but because of the
Junge/Beige Conditions, the talent gets
reformed into various forms of what most would
call non-productive behaviors, even though,
survival and in some cases thriving is the
result.
Now, back to plasticity, and the quote.
The key thing I have noted about talent
(inbornness) is the idea that "motivation"
directs the bodies "energies" in a way that
the "use it or lose" phenomena creates
"density and frequency" (quality and quantity)
in areas where constant motivation is present,
thus energy and information accumulates
density and frequency--good or bad--it
requires repetition and that is why when we
learn skills that we can do, be, have, become
and contribute, but they are not "motivating"
to us beyond the learning (in some cases, some
of us enjoy the curiosity-->master and
move--motivation which helps us acquire many
skills, but with low density and low frequency
become only mediocre at best.
Case in point.
I was in college welding one day, and my
instructor said, "Mike, you have really good
fine motor skills." That's the first I had
heard that, but that "talent" was reflected
through my athleticism and I could pick up
almost any sport, or for that matter any
activity where fine motor skills were required
and become reasonably proficient in a very
short period of time. Yet, in all those sports
I didn't like, I was just mediocre because I
didn't put the deliberative practice (even
though I was at flow due to exercising my
talent) in to become masterful.
The same goes with those of us with curiosity,
or other talents that allow us many options,
however the density and frequency doesn't
accumulate to where we become very good or
even proficient at most things we learn,
because once we learn them, the motivation to
continue to do, be, have, become and
contribute them wanes, because the curiosity
is off onto the next new thing.
NOW SOME, would call this plasticity, but
basically they fail to understand talent,
density and frequency and miss the point.
We are going to be very plastic in those areas
where we are talented and continue to look for
different "right action (density)--> (right
people, things, ways, time, place, reasons,
results) in those areas where we are motivated
to continue focusing energy and information,
and the more we use that right action
(frequency), the more plastic we become in
conditions where we encounter barriers and
have to be resilient.
So, what I have discovered in more than 1/4
century of working closely with people for
long periods of time is that if you want
change, reform that through talent:motivation
and help people move away from areas where
they will NOT keep up the "practice" as soon
as the pressure wanes, but where the
motivation will continue long after the need
for it has diminished.
Of course this is no panacea because this
creates individual and collective dilemma's
because as complexity accelerates, most of us
are fit less and less, and require scaffolds
that are created by designers which are much
broader and encompassing of more resources,
talent and behaviors--often unlike our own.
This automatically pushes design plasticity
hard because we haven't learned how to
collaborate well, as the ego is largely (for
the 1-5% of collaborators it works easily) an
individual protector and thus keeps us from
reaching out and/or becoming antifragile
through design, rather than having to rely on
resilience which only 1-5% of the people have
naturally!
As accelerating complexity "beats us up, down
and all-around" we gradually will select for
collaboration skills and designers (where
individuals can't be "trained" who are
naturally good at designing in collaboration
with respect to individualization).
Helpful Hint: Plasticity
is real, but very limited, rather than
generalizable @BS.
Action Step: Know
yourself, understand where limits are likely
to emerge and reach out to others on purpose. |
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