From our earliest moments, we try to make sense of the world by separating things that are different. We are able to know when it is light or dark before we are even out of the womb. When we develop language we begin to learn the names of everything we encounter. Now we know what a table is we also know what it is not: a table is not a chair or a dog or a river. This common system of categorising is essential for communication.
As we grow we start distinguishing between people. We find ourselves drawn to certain people and not particularly impressed by others. We segment into communities just as we separate with language when we learn to talk.
This is where we meet our problem. Separation is key for communication but creates barriers that do not exist. Even with a common language we still manage to misunderstand each other. Our labels and desire to put things in boxes means we are missing the mess. The hard-to-simplify, complex, really knotty problems are the most critical to tackle. Separating a problem into easily prioritised, bite-sized chunks is holding us back.
Instead of separating, we need to be able to adjust the aperture. Context is key to better understanding but the depth of field we need is situation dependent.
When you are replacing a lightbulb in a lamp you have owned for 30 years you probably don’t check the replacement bulb or read the instructions on the box. When you are replacing a lightbulb in an oven for the first time in a country where you don’t speak the language, you will definitely have to research the type of bulb you need and the process for replacing the old one. In both situations the bulb and the replacement process is the same but require completely different levels of effort.
If we can acknowledge the whole messy system we are operating in and zoom in or out we will start connecting the dots instead of ticking boxes.
