Interesting terms—“sensemaking” and “cosmology episode”
Interesting terms -- "sensemaking" and "cosmology episode"A people-sized definition of sensemaking from Karl Weick:
There are many definitions of sensemaking; for me it is the transformation of raw experience into intelligible world views. It's a bit like what mapmakers do when they try to make sense of an unfamiliar place by capturing it on paper. But the crucial point in cartography is that there is no one best map of a particular terrain. Similarly, sensemaking lends itself to multiple, conflicting interpretations, all of which are plausible.
Weick’s definition matches the "Knowledge Representation" step in the design framework mentioned yesterday. Staying with Weick, here’s the definition of another one of his frequently used terms -- cosmology episode.
Basically, a cosmology episode happens when people suddenly feel that the universe is no longer a rational, orderly system. What makes such an episode so shattering is that people suffer from the event and, at the same time, lose the means to recover from it. In this sense, a cosmology episode is the opposite of a déjà vu experience.In moments of déjà vu, everything suddenly feels familiar, recognizable. By contrast, in a cosmology episode, everything seems strange. A person feels like he has never been here before, has no idea of where he is, and has no idea who can help him. An inevitable state of panic ensues, and the individual becomes more and more anxious until he finds it almost impossible to make sense of what is happening to him.
Interesting terms; they pack so much exformation in them. Yeah I know, here's the definition of exformation (this one's really interesting):
[E]xformation is everything we do not actually say but have in our heads when or before we say anything at all. Information is the measurable, demonstrable utterance we actually come out with.
The End.
Permalink | Thursday, July 31, 2003
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