	"Both Individuals and companies are strangled by learning disability" Peter Senge Printable Page

Understanding Our Learning Disabilities

Without going to Peter Senge's own work, let me answer this problem in my own way.

Schooling

We have a learning disability because we've been taught to rely on books and teachers and various kinds of experts to give us ready-made answers to our questions. Schools teach that there are "right answers" and that there are special people who know those answers.

Schools also teach you to ask the sort of question that is easy to answer. What was the date? Who was the scientist that ...? How do we classify trees in the forest? And today schools teach skills and techniques that are intended to make people more employable. Schools train people to be square pegs for square holes. Schools don't encourage independent learning.

Poor Record Keeping

It's important to maintain a written record of what's interesting and is currently occupying your thoughts. It's a simple note making process, but it's seldom done. W Edwards Deming would add, that when we notice a change or a problem that interests us, we should find a way to count it, or to measure it or to quantify it in some way. For instance the local creek floods. How do you record that so that in 10 years time that's a useful record?

Of course most people have no training in statistical methods, so it's unlikely that most observers will bother to count and measure in a useful way.

Your Time is Limited

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks - June 12, 2005.

Lack of Social Support

Even if we know what we should do, sometimes it's socially painful to comply. For instance, if you want to stop smoking, but other family members or friends smoke. There is social permission to keep on smoking. Similar social rules apply to diet and exercise. If others around you approve, and perhaps lead by example, it's much easier for you to follow that lead.

What we already "know"

The biggest barrier to learning anything is prior knowledge. Prior knowledge that "this topic isn't important" would be a prime candidate. But prior knowledge that "I already know" is also important. In fact researchers have often found that the solution to a problem was delayed for long periods because of "knowledge" that proved to be wrong.

Because some of what we know is "wrong", even when you know the "right answer", the "wrong answer" might keep popping up. Here's a funny example. I used to live in Invercargill. I've been in Christchurch for 18 years. Sometimes in my speech, when referring to Christchurch, I say Invercargill. It's not that I don't know, it's just a little brain trick, I play on myself.

Unlearning is as important as learning for adults. If we can't unlearn some of our old habits, we can't change.

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