The Delusion of Omniscience
"The great lesson here for all imaginatively gridlocked systems is that the acceptance - and even cherishing - of uncertainty is critical to keeping the human mind from voyaging into the delusion of omniscience."
- Edward H. Friedman (A Failure of Nerve p.52)
The ‘delusion of omniscience.’ This concept fascinates me.
The quote above comes after the author's illustrative trip through "The Age of Exploration" (Columbus, Balboa, Verrazano, Magellan, etc...), particularly with respect to the cartographers (mapmakers) of that era.
Their maps were a MESS! California was an island to some. The equator was the end of the world. The Pacific Ocean did not exist, and the Atlantic was thought to be either 5K or 10K miles across - depending on who you talked to.
That's just a small taste of the madness!
Even so, the mapmakers were trusted and, in no uncertain terms, they defined reality.
They were THE experts in their field.
"But the ability of mapmakers to determine reality is not only an ancient phenomenon...
"When CAT scans first appeared, their superiority over ordinary X-rays in depicting reality was lauded everywhere. But these images eventually gave way to the MRI as 'the real representation of reality.'
"In any field, then, is reality primarily what the 'cartographers' of the day say it is? Answer: Only when the leaders of that age have deferred to the 'mapmakers' because of their fear of making mistakes." (p. 50)
Back to ‘the delusion of omniscience’ concept - the delusion of thinking we have any clue at all about the true nature of anything in this extremely complex life we live.
Yes, we learn and grow. We do the best we can. We know a lot more than we did yesterday. We can and should act according to the best we know today.
But in the grand scheme of things, we know virtually nothing, and there are vast blue oceans and virgin territories yet to be traversed.
May we walk in great humility each and every day - confident in our calling and willing to lead through uncharted waters, but in great deference to the expanse of understanding yet to be had (or that, in fact, may be forever beyond our reach).
Blessings to you all.
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This Week’s Resource Recommendation:
“A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix”
– Edwin H. Friedman
Seriously, this is very likely the most significant book – apart from the Bible itself – in bringing a seismic shift to my development as a leader. I could not recommend this book more highly and believe this to be mandatory reading for anyone that espouses to be a high-level leader. Yes, I appreciate the blanket nature of this statement, but I stand by it.
Per its Amazon entry, “A Failure of Nerve” is: An invitation and guide for leaders ‘to cast a courageous and imaginative vision, to lead resiliently, and to be present and steady in times of deep anxiety.’
A timeless bestseller, A Failure of Nerve still astonishes in this new edition with its relevance and continues to transform the lives of leaders everywhere―business, church, family, schools―as it has for more than 20 years:
Offers a prescient guide to leadership in the age of ‘quick fix.’
Provides ways to recognize and address organizational dysfunction.
Emphasizes “strength over pathology” in these anxious times.
“The age that is upon us requires differentiated leadership that is willing to rise above the anxiety of the masses. We need leaders who will have the ‘capacity to understand and deal effectively’ with the hive mind that is us. This is, in Friedman's words, ‘the key to the kingdom.’ I am grateful for this accessible new edition.”
―C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Texas
MMS 24-08
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Blessings to you, my friend!
