Comments on: Keeping it real

By: Sarah, diploma graduate

Sarah, diploma graduate — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:42:26 +0000

“I don’t need to read the same exact thing on 50 blogs.” – Yep, nobody needs I think. Some people don’t use reflection at all, their posts are like a report. I don’t need reports unless I’m a manager I’m not looking for reports when I read blogs. And I love blogs like this one, where bloggers act like humans, not like machines.

By: Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen

Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 17:51:17 +0000

Wat zou jij doen?…

De afgelopen dagen is het druk op het blog van Meredith Farkas (Information wants to be free). Aan het begin van deze week schreef zij een post over een andere blogger die over Second Life had geschreven. Maar hier gaat het mij niet om. Waar ik wel ove…

By: Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen

Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 17:51:17 +0000

Wat zou jij doen?…

By: Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen

Moqub's bibliotheek van dingen — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 17:51:17 +0000

Wat zou jij doen?…

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:30:53 +0000

It’s too bad Monty Python isn’t around anymore. “The Groupthink Definition Discussion” would provide good fodder for a skit.

Dibs on the John Cleese character!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:01:39 +0000

Oh dear. The argument has gone to definitions. Well, let’s just say that I think the wikipedia definition has its own groupthink in defining groupthink.

Read above, though. It is not beyond a victim of hyperbole to take a word and re-shape it for rhetorical reasons — as in to take the word “bad” and re-shape it to mean “good.” In this case, the word “Groupthink” is re-shaped to mean “team-oriented and commited to the task” because (I believe) those in the “Me too” crowd don’t perceive themselves as uncreative or uncritical.

All language is relative, but the English language is especially so.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:59:10 +0000

I agree with you that groupthink is inherently dangerous and “bad.” The objections raised are valid but are, I think, a bit muddled due to a very subtle semantic distinction.

Others seem to be conflating the concept of consensus with that of groupthink, the key difference being the connotation that individual thought or expression has been discouraged in the latter.

Consensus is not groupthink, and groupthink is a sort, a very bad sort, of consensus.

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:42:48 +0000

For additional context on all this, visit http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2007/01/14/who-your-writing-represents/ and http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2007/01/11/charitable-reading/.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:19:00 +0000

This topic is too long too realy dig in but, speaking as an outsider:

a conversation it is! Which is good.

And I still like good ol’ Wayne:

Opinions are like assholes:
everybody’s got one

By: Jenny Levine

Jenny Levine — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:08:04 +0000

At the risk of overstaying my welcome further, I have been busy with a number of things and was intentionally getting some distance to the rather heated email you sent before responding. In addition, before seeing this last comment here, I sent you email today asking if you wanted to talk about this on the phone instead in an attempt to better communicate. I’m sorry I didn’t respond fast enough for you but I will reply in email tonight.