59 Second Course – Insight Four
Insight Four of the 59 Second Course in Thinking is:
Insight 04
Two cvs options are: defend the cvs, or escape the cvs
DEFEND the cvs
The history of Western thinking is dominated by Platonic thinking, the search for certainty. The search for THE truth.
This has led to the notorious I-am-right-and-you-are-wrong thinking. Or, my cvs is right and your cvs is wrong. Dialectic thinking. Two-sided thinking. Black vs White thinking. The Westminster system in politics – debating between one side and the other – government vs opposition. In the legal system it’s The Crown vs The Defendent.
There is much value in this strategy. The main value of this system is the strengthening of positions. The feeling of certainty. A feeling of righteousness. God is on OUR side. It is less complex. It is less risky. It is familiar. It is ‘tried and true’. It is logical and ‘common sense’.We have the truth and you do not. I have ‘that feeling inside my head’ that I am right.
This is the option: defend the cvs.
While most of the time we probably do need to defend our cvs the main weakness of this strategy is that it is so slow and costly. Changes come late. Long after the need for change. In extreme cases, it can take hundreds of years of conflict and the loss of many human lives before a change is achieved. The main disadvantage is that most of the thinking effort is devoted to defending a historical position (because it is The Truth) and very little is devoted to designing a new, evolved or innovative position.
The more effort that is devoted to defending the past the less effort that is devoted to designing the future.
ESCAPE the cvs
The other option is: escape the cvs.
This is much easier said than done. Because most Western thinkers have thousands of hours of practise and skill in defending a cvs it is no surprise that they find it so difficult to let go of a cvs. But it is possible to do so.
The whole history of science and innovation is the history of escaping from one cvs and moving to a better one. Sometimes this happens by mistake, mutation or accident as in darwinian evolution. Sometimes by experiment or intuition or curiosity or inspiration or design.
The Universal Brain Software - cvs2bvs – is a tool for doing it by experiment, by curiosity or by design.
DFQ:
What is one of your favourite examples from history of the ESCAPE from a cvs? In 100 words or so describe what, when, where, who, how etc?
September 16th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Around 3000 BC in Iraq ( Mesopotamia) the wheel was invented as a potters wheel. Through experimentation a thousand yearslater the Egyptians used it for chariots; but it wasn’t until the 19th century’s industrial revolution that is became a central component in technology used in thousands of different ways.
This perhaps the worlds greatest invention form a CVS 2 BVS was brought on by curiosity, experimentation, intuition, inspiration, design and necessity.
May 7th, 2011 at 1:16 am
1- Newtonien mecanics concieved by Issaac newton (CVS) to Theory of general relativity concieved by Albert Einstien (BVS).
2- Theory of general relativity concieved by Albert Einstien (CVS) to Quantum mecanics (BVS).
February 18th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
escape from the idea that some little old man in robes is judging us all.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
The world was flat, now it’s not.
October 26th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
What is one of your favourite examples from history of the ESCAPE from a cvs? In 100 words or so describe what, when, where, who, how etc?
During World war 2 it seemed at the early stages that Germany would rule the world, USA had not yet been attacked and the British Expeditionary Force had retreated- smashed up – from Dunkirk . Churchill, almost alone thought that Britain could hold out and did and said everything he could to persuade the world that Germany could and would be defeated. His BVS prevailed after an enormous cost .
September 12th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Off the top of my head I have to say Nikola Tesla and his getting the public to shift from direct current (dc) to alternating current (ac). Despite Edison’s rigorous defense of direct current since he believed that alternating current was useless, even going so far as electrocuting a cat in public to defend the cvs! but Tesla was able to prove the superiority of alternating current (the bvs) and the rest, as they say, is history.
July 26th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
My favourite example of the escape from a cvs is how people in Zimbabwe over a Century ago accepted and lived side by side with colonizers from Britain. The escape from that cvs is represented by the realization, following defeat in battles then, that the best way to go forward was to accept the colonizers and their ways and then attempt to reclaim sovereignty of the black people using the colonizers’ knowledge and skills (bvs).
May 31st, 2010 at 2:29 pm
CVS2BVS becomes a process for change management. The feelings associated with change (moving into a better space) are the biggest hurdle to realising the change. CVS2BVS, when done properly, builds a bridge for change.
May 1st, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Steve Job and Apple computers
April 29th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
The world (and the universe for that matter) was not created by an almighty God in 7 days flat.
This is controversial and shocking to some people today, but it is a fine example of people still holding onto a cvs and not paying heed to the demonstrated bvs.
The bvs came in many waves. First the innovative astronomers started to question and challenge the cvs.
Years later Dawin answered a very terrestrial question about our direct ascent in ‘The Origin of Species’ which further challenged the cvs.
It has been a long process, a chipping away, to a point where the cvs is nothing more than a non-factual concept, where it were once a practical explanation of all that is around us.
March 29th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Kennedy’s speech to put a man on the moon and bring him back within a decade is a good example of ESCAPE from a CVS.
This began a journey of probably millions of escapes from CVS needed to deliver the goal set by the simple statement. It provided the platform for NASA to evolve and grow the program that led to the spectacular success.
It also caused a number of people in Asia who believed in the moon as a deity to abandon that belief (another ESCAPE).
March 18th, 2010 at 12:16 am
Google and Virgin – escaped the text book belief that you would perish if you moved away from your core business offering. That he consumer would become dazed and confused about the brand. This has been shattered and indicates its more about the ‘experience’ than the specific product.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:59 am
a fairly simple example I think… Wayne Bennet is one of the most successful coaches in football. The fact he coaches in the NRL in Australia and is most likely not well know outside this country is not relevant.
On many occassions over his 25+ year coaching career Benny has been criticised for letting players go seemingly at the peak of their powers. Typically within a few seasons the team is back on top with a new stable of super stars.
While all the fans and sporting media are trapped in their cvs Benny is already planning to move to the cvsx10.
March 2nd, 2010 at 4:37 pm
CVS – the Sun moves around the earth, and the earth is the centre of the Universe, and along comes Copernicus, with his mind blowing BVS!
This (and plenty of other good stuff!) was gleaned from Roger van Oech’s book, “A Whack on the side of the Head”
February 27th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
“What is one of your favourite examples from history of the ESCAPE from a cvs? In 100 words or so describe what, when, where, who, how etc?”
The invention of the aircarft by the Wright brothers in 1900 to the modern aircrafts in 2010 is an escape from cvs to bvs. Every year it keeps improving with more ecsaping from cvs to bvs. Now flights are availbale to fly into space. All this happened due to escape from cvs to bvs.
February 20th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
IBM became synonymous with personal computer in the 1980s and 90′s. The personal computer division was a core part of the IBM business. To make a decision to ‘surrender the desktop’ in order to focus more on other areas of business is to me a great example of an escape from a CVS.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Some may remember Mel Gibson when he portrayed William Wallace, Scottish freedom fighter, in the film “Braveheart”? (Not quite an accurate portrayal).
At the time, the Scots army was made up chiefly of spearmen, like four great armoured ‘hedgehogs’ which were known as schiltrons.
During one battle, the Scottish long spears pointed outwards at various heights gave these formations a formidable and impenetrable appearance. The gaps between the schiltrons were filled with archers and a small troop of men at arms covered the rear. Wallace unfortunately lost the battle as the schiltrons became isolated and locked into a static defensive position. As the English archers worked their deadly longbows, their hail of arrows was supplemented by crossbow and slingshot and the schiltrons were an easy target, as the men had no defence and nowhere to hide.
Wallace’s successor, Robert the Bruce, continued with the fight against the English and spent hours training his spearmen to move and march in unison. In so doing, he ensured the schiltrons would serve as an offensive, as well as a defensive, weapon. During a subsequent battle, the schiltrons marched forward, driving the English back at the same time as Bruce brought his right flank forward and turned it northeast to apply even more pressure.
The greatest CVS to BVS? Moving from defensive to offensive!
February 9th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I am going to use a very current sporting example. New Orleans Saints have just won the Super Bowl – defeating Indianapolis Colts 31 to 17. It was the first win to the Saints in their 43 year history. They were a club that had never before tasted the success of a Super Bowl and particulalry in the past five years – since Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 – had faced adversity from every angle. Firstly a city destroyed, a home gound turned into a haven for hurricane survivors, a coach Sean Payton recruited from outside New Orleans, having to relocate to another city to keep the team going, suggestions that the club should just withdraw from the football competition all together – all before considering the impact on individuals grossly affected by the Hurricane’s devastation.
Before this season, the Saints had only eigt winning campaigns, and two play off victories in their previous 42 years combined. There were many doubters with people often asking the coach if it was a burden to carry the weight of the city of New Orleans on his shoulders.
2009 was a season of firsts – New Orleans opened with thier first 13 game winning streak, which earned them the No 1 seeding in the NFC playoffs. This led to their first home NFC title game, first Super Bowl appearance and firs major professional sports championship.
Despite the excellent year, combined experts from ESPN NFL editors, analysts and writers and Scouts Inc tipped 70/30 against the Saints. It seemed hard(almost impossible) for the majority to move from their cvs of New Orleans and all they had against them to a bvs of New Orleans as Super Bowl Champions. On the other hand, to staunch supporters it was more than just a football team or a football game but a relationship between the Saints, the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. The hopes, dreams and struggles of a community were all reflected in that team.
Commissioner of the Super Bowl Roger Goodell has since described the journey of New Orleans as “magical”. To those who stopped defending an old cvs and started believing in a bvs – it was dream come true. A rare reward for having the courage to believe in a bvs.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
oops! just read about Howard Florey and the boys in Susan’s post Feb 1. So I better find a better example ( a correct one this time! )
February 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Was it Louis Pasteur who’s CVS was a mouldy sandwich, but his Ecape to the BVS led him to the discovery of Penicillin?
February 6th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Some of the old time examples of escape from CVS are incredible when you think how generally uneducated or uninformed they were.
Michael’s Columbus story or man on the moon were just amazing leaps in thinking – probably driven by guesses, dreams and high risk ambitions.
But as a modern day example, the internet has made many breakthroughs from a CVS possible. None more so than in the publishing and marketing world.
It really has change the way we live and communicate. As we are together now as SISOTs.
Publishing of information has gone through centralised and de-centralised stages through history.
The big players like Newscorp seek to dominate the control of information. Now with the internet, the little person working from home can influence the way the world thinks. Even create a best selling book as an author.
Where will the big publishers go from here?
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:40 pm
During the Black Plague in the 14th century the Church was found to be stricken with the plague as much as the Population as a whole which resulted in a BVS, of other thoughts which transfered money from the Church to research in other avenues of life including arts and science. It also brought an end to serfdom! Without the revealing of a flaw in the cvs there is little to induce a person to consider a bvs. Stagnant water and minds soon grow fetid and unfit for drinking or thinking! Once a barrier is broken and the Emperor in fact is seen to have no clothing we are able to think again without the blinders of knowing the answer before we spark a neuron! Thinking must become quite convoluted to reach the forgone conclusion as to what is “right” when evidence points to a different “truth”. For mental health I believe there is a minimum threshold of perceiving one’s views as “right” to maintain sanity and any comfort in this crazy world. It takes great courage to cvs2bvs but it yields great rewards!
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:12 am
The pulling down of the Berlin wall that divided communist ideaology in the east, [their cvs] to allow cvs of the west,[people power democracy],to become available to the east as new bvs [what the people wanted,many died trying to escape the east cvs to live in a western civilization seen as worth the risk.
With the wall down, began the rise of more than a billion new members
becomeing apart of democracy,western ideaology goverments elected by the power of its people,given the freedom to speak or protest without fear of the past,
History in the makeing or evoloution by design
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 am
Mahatma Gandi’s strategy to figth for independece from the british with non-violence. By escaping from the CVS of strength made it possible to beat the “superior” force.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still. Galileo never changed his opinion but the current view of his personal safety required a shift to a better view. The opposition who had The Truth, were unbeatable and life threatening. A better view, for the moment, was Galileo back off. He did and survived. Alive and still with the same opinions, on the quiet.
Over the next 300 years his opposition had lost a lot of their clientele and realised more were, ‘swaying’. That was the current view of their situation. A better view ? Make an apology and consolidate the ‘swaying’. So they did. And it paid off, to some extent. Cvs to Bvs isn’t always a first step in a positive direction. We often hear of one step forward and two steps back. But in the above cvs’s they demonstrated one step back and two steps forward. Result positive but not X10, really X100.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:33 pm
With thanks to historical info supplied By Mary Bellis
The history of penicillin..Ernest Duchesne, in 1896 first observed penicillin, followed by by bacteriologist Alexander Fleming working at St. Mary’s Hospital in London in 1928. Slightly later, Dorothy Hodgkin used x-rays to find the structural layouts of atoms and the overall molecular shape of over 100 molecules including penicillin. Dorothy’s discovery of the molecular layout of penicillin helped lead scientists to develop other antibiotics. In 1939 that Dr. Howard Florey, a future Nobel Laureate, and three colleagues at Oxford University began intensive research and were able to demonstrate penicillin’s ability to kill infectious bacteria…the diufficulty was in producing enough quantity of the drug. By November 26, 1941, Andrew J. Moyer, the lab’s expert on the nutrition of molds, had succeeded, with the assistance of Dr. Heatley, in increasing the yields of penicillin 10 times. In 1943, the required clinical trials were performed and penicillin was shown to be the most effective antibacterial agent to date. Penicillin production was quickly scaled up and available in quantity to treat Allied soldiers wounded on D-Day. As production was increased, the price dropped from nearly priceless in 1940, to $20 per dose in July 1943, to $0.55 per dose by 1946.
This “team” of scientists over time, changed the face of treatment of many diseases for mankind..rewriting the future history of health of mankind.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:46 am
Yes. This is a very interesting discussion that is about escape or defend cvs. My personal observations span 10 years. Our educational reforms in Ghana. First why should we reform our educational system? Some will say its outdated and so on. We need a better system that will help us to develop our society.
A committee was set up to look at it. All the committee members are most of the time educationist and highly educated elites. They come out only to present the same educational system so in real terms they only go to committee meeting arguing by defending the old western educational system. Defending what they know. This approach is all over every where that an educated man or woman is to make any meaningful decision. They some time do not even make any decision.
For ten we cannot make a meaningful serious agenda to move our people out of poverty always those who are in decision position only defend here old thinking or what someone wants them to say they cannot think and decide from their own God given right as human beings.
I seriously think if Universal Brain Software – cvs2bvs is introduce it will help our planners to escape from cvs to find bvs in the process we can move faster in our development efforts. How can’t our leader go out begging for aids every day.
I also think that the western educational system was put in place to do just that to limit others from doing something better even if its good or against their very best interest. Plato truth virus as the pillar of the western educational is something very deep. its something that one needs to observe more critically for it root in every weakness in man wherever you find him. historically we are all witness to wars at over the world.
Universal Brain Software – cvs2bvs will some day embolden and empower humanity.
January 31st, 2010 at 4:41 pm
My studies show many famous worldwide products, including Kleenex, Kotex, Wrigley Gum, Vaseline, Life Savers Candies, Tupperware, Jello, Post-it Notes, even Timex watches, were abject failures when first introduced, but after re-thinking and re-marketing they all went on to become succesful products. It is estimated that as high as 95 out of 100 new food products – even with the ingenuity, enthusiasm, and determination of their creators, fail. However with open minds and re-thinking many of product failures can be re-birthed and experience dramatic transformations.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:13 pm
More than 500 years ago Christopher Columbus set sail. The Talavera Commission reported to Queen Isabella on Columbus’ idea – to reach Japan in the East by sailing West and to discover other lands en route – that the adventure was “uncertain and impossible to any educated person.”
They told the queen that the proposed voyage would take three years. Even if the ships could return, which was highly unlikely, the commission reported Columbus’ idea would be a wasted expedition, “for God would surely not have allowed any uninhabited land of real value to be concealed from His people for so many centuries.”
The experts scorned his project. But Columbus did set sail. Thirty-three days later he discovered half the world!
I have always thought that Columbus cvs2bvs was one of the classic examples from history.
http://www.schoolofthinking.org/about/cvstobvs-universal-brain-software/13-dfq/