| December 9, 1999 | 03 00050 61 99120901 |
Mr. Bernard F. Suzanne
bfsuzan@attblobal.net
Classical Studies
| Subject: | Thinking Through Writing, from Poetry to POIMS |
|
Adding Intelligence to Management |
Dear Bernard,
Thanks very much for your letter today discussing Plato's views on speech and writing. Review indicates Phaedrus likely expressed the dominate view of the time about alphabet technology, which threatened established leaders because it was new and different. As you point out, Plato's life shows appreciation for, what has proven over the millennia to be, a good method to aid memory, and to formulate "wisdom" in the form of history (see analysis on Nov 8).
Please comment, as time permits, on the strength of this conclusion.
Phaedrus represents the dominate practice in management today, because speech is driven by biology, which is fairly constant over thousands of years. Culture provides the skills to write, but once past the school years, people are pressured by time and social forces to move away from literacy, back to the basic drive of spontaneous speech, (including its modern cousin email), which lacks critical thinking. Since information overload in the modern scene reduces the time to think, the problem of meaning drift is compounded.
The solution requires a better balance between literacy and speech, called out in a recent letter citing Plato, continuing a Socratic dialog with a friend at Intel, explaining communication is the biggest risk in enterprise. Achieving this balance also requires better tools to use writing for thinking and analysis, rather than for the mere conveying of information. POIMS technology supports an intelligence process that extends the power of traditional writing.
Thanks again for your help and interest, and for continuing the hard work of maintaining the bond between past and present, essential for a better future.
Sincerely,
Rod
Rod Welch
rowelch@attglobal.net