I was honored to present the following material a the UnMoney Convergence in Seattle, Washington on April 15, 2008. You may view the slides used in the presentation.
Timothy Wilken
Relationships, INTERdependence, Push & Pull, Tensegrity and CommUNITY
Synergic Science is the study of how systems work together—physical systems, biological systems and social systems. This involves a careful study of the relationship of the “parts” of a system to the “whole” of the system.
Synergy means behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately. Synergy is the only word that means this. The fact that we humans are unfamiliar with the word means that we do not think there are behaviors of “wholes” unpredicted by the behavior of
“parts”. —R. Buckminster Fuller
Synergic Science makes much of the relationships between the “parts” and their relationships to the “whole”. For human beings there can be no other more important “parts” than Self and Other.
From my perspective I am self and you are other, but from your point of view you are self and I am other. This is a very simple way of looking at things.
Our relationships then are major importance in determining the quality of our lives.
From the point of view of the individual joining in relationship, I can be hurt, I can be ignored, or I can be helped by the relationship—there are only three ways.
Relationships that hurt are adversary.
Relationships that ignore are neutral.
Relationships that help are synergic.
Therefore all human choices and all human relationships can be described as falling on a continuum.
Adversity—•—Neutrality—•—Synergy
We humans are conditioned by our life experience. The propensity of the types of relationship we encounter can well determine how we believe the world works.
Adversaries believe there is not enough for everyone and only the physically strong will survive. They believe humans are coercively dependent on others, and they best understand the language of force.
Neutralists believe there is enough for everyone, if only you work hard enough and take care of yourself. They believe humans are financial independent and should be self-sufficient unless they are too lazy or defective. They best understand the language of money.
And, finally a new type of human is still emerging. Synergists believe there is enough for everyone but only if we work together and act responsibly. They believe humans are INTERdependent and can only obtain sufficiency by working together as community. Synergists best understand the language of love.
But, to be successful in our present world, the synergist must understand all three languages and know when to use them. Synergists must sometimes use the language of force, and sometimes the language of money, it depends on whom they are talking to. However, when synergists are seeking allies—when synergists are seeking to build community—they must speak the language of love.
Synergists believe that you should, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
What is it that most of us want others to do unto us? Synergic scientists answer this question as follows: Help and support others as you would wish them to help and support you. Or, more simply, “Treat others the way they want to be treated.”
Synergists are trying to heal the wounds inflected by those who don’t understand how the world could work. This then is the essential challenge to the synergists.
Can we work together and act responsibly in time to save our ourselves on this planet? …
Yes, but only by helping each other. … Yes, but only by working together.
Synergists can be most powerful when they form synergic community. This first requires committment and unity. Once such a community is formed you have something very special I call CommUNITY which uses the power of WIN-WIN relationships to empower the process of working together.
Synergic science has developed two technologies for use by CommUNITY—the Gifting Tensegrity and the Organizational Tensegrity. To better understand them you, first need to understand Tensegrity which was addressed in this presentation. …
View a PDF of the Presentation Slides.
Who was there: Boaz Klapphotz, John Rogers, Rozie Hughes– note-taker (New Road Map Fdtn), Kirsten Liegmann (Gaia Univ), John Bloom (RSF Social Finance), Orland Bishop (ShadeTree Multicultural Found.), Geoff Chesshire (Regenerosity), Bruce P. Norman, SHann Turnbull (Int. Inst. for Self-Governance), Tatiana Cattard (BALLE Seattle), Arthur Brock (Targeted Currencies), Nick Soletti, and Kevin Keck.
Was to be a Slide Presentation about “tensegrity” and applications to social interactions, by Timothy Wilken, but technology failed! He presented content, while we looked on at his computer.
Boiled down to three possible relationships: win (be helped), lose (be hurt), draw (neutral) on the individual level. Taking that out a level, mathematically, conflict creates “conflict deficit”, draw is no net loss, co-op creates “cooperation surplus.” Truly fair market is (theoretically) neutral.
Timothy then began his discussion of tensegrity. Towards the end of that discussion, Wilken suggested that in a synergic civilization that humans would move beyond conflict. Criticism from Shann Turnbull that this is not congruent with Tensegrity. Evolution created competition/co-operation to create social tensegrity. Can’t have fully co-operative structure, it will not have tensegrity.
Timothy responded that competition is allowed, but adversity isn’t. Does not take into account the larger product resulting from individual interaction. Rozie countered that this yin/yang construct is represented in Tai Chi push hands—someone is pushing while another receiving push with tension, at some point IT MUST REVERSE, creating a whole in balance, each participates in both types of dynamic. Have to be consciousness that individual must change role respond/adapt to dynamism of whole system.
Synergistic construction is predicated on commitment to self being connected to commitment to others.
Recognition of interdependence.
Boaz asked, but how do you engineer a larger system? Timothy responded – have to start in small yunits, create agreements re: commitment and unity (CommUnity), Agree upon super goal which contains individual goals. Shann Turnbull sited new Visa Intl structure as example of external co-operation, internal competition. Rozie sited Microsoft.