February 27, 2000

04 00067 61 00022701

Henry van Eyken
Colloquium at Stanford
Unfinished Revolution

Subject:

Thinking and Doing

Dear Henry,

First, congratulations on taking the web master assignment for Doug. Doubtless he was heeding the wisdom of the sage who urged, If you want something done, ask the busy man. I think we are all beginning to feel that Doug is that sage.

Thanks, too, for taking time to review the SDS record on the Colloquium, and comment. Answering your question about time needed to capture and organize the record -- obviously it depends on the complexity and importance of the subject. Sometimes a few minutes is adequate; some issues take hours. An advantage of SDS -- it is like thinking. You don't have do it all at once. Jot down key points initially. Flesh it out when time permits. As events unfold, clarify the record to make the story of history a living experience for guiding decisions. Dick Karpinski relates in his letter coming by and watching this work being done, which is sort of an empathic design procedure. A point he did not cover in an excellent overview, is that a big part of doing the work inherently creates the record using a process of thinking through writing. Often there is synergy that grows new knowledge, as an investment that saves time on future matters.

Anyway, I enjoyed your observation on Plato's effort to work both sides of the fence on literacy.

Sincerely,

THE WELCH COMPANY

Rod Welch
rowelch@attglobal.net