dispatches from the new world of work

Trip Reading

Off to Ankara and Dubai this afternoon. Non-fiction reading:

On water: Blue Gold, by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke; Water: A Natural History, by Alice Outwater (My ignorance on this critical issue is infinite.)

The Summer of 1787, by David Stewart. (The idealism and realpolitik behind the writing of the Constitution.)

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, by Phil Zimbardo. (Reflections on the famous-infamous Stanford prison experiment—effectively random citizens drawn from the streets of Palo Alto were abusing "prisoners" (other randomly selected Palo Altoans) within about 72 hours, and the experiment had to be cancelled.)

Tom Peters posted this on 05/04/07.

Comments

I didn't know about the Water book. Thanks for the tip. Since I've read the books Salt and Cod, I have to read Water.

Posted by Rhea at May 5, 2007 7:55 AM

Wow. You share really the most contemporary thoughts.

I just finished reading up on the Stanford Prison experiment. In June, I am leading a group to learn enterprise in a remote community setting - and the co-instructor suggested role-playing/ interactive theater to solve community problems. We were wondering at the effectiveness of the play.

Having read about this experiment has just put things in perspective. It's frightening, it's eye-opening. I am speechless having just finished Dr. Zimbardo's presentation on the Stanford Prison Experiment - but I only hope that it's one lesson - "People act out their roles" - can be put to good use.

There ought to be an "Adam & Eve effect" - a redemptive role-play.

Posted by Ramla A. at May 5, 2007 11:07 AM

Google has been watching what I search, and suggested this article on my RSS feed:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3d7ndy

Personally, I believe in the power of trust and redemption. Yet I am frustrated at how it's becoming a tougher task in the contemporary world.

Posted by Ramla A. at May 5, 2007 11:10 AM

Tom, I'm leading a large-scale citizenship project for young people in Syria, and it draws on the work of Darley and Latane in the 60s, following up the appalling murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 in NY. They defined "diffusion of responsibility" - our propensity to stand back from intervening when there are other people present. So not only can we easily be drawn into doing bad things, we are likely to stand by while others do them too. It's rather depressing to find out what we are capable of, but Darley and Latane did articulate a number of steps by which people could be encouraged to become more responsible. There are ways forward...

Posted by Rob at May 6, 2007 12:52 PM