Alexandra, you make some great points about why it is important to ask for clarification and also some ways we can go about asking. As you suggest in your example of connections disappearing, this tool is probably even more important in an virtual environment.

Yeah, it’s pretty sad. For me at least, listening is more than just hearing what they say (we all know that already), but also offering the truth that I know. I try to do a better job of that.

I like that, Emma. Just to add or clear up something you, Tibetan Buddhism, and Ilya Prigogine said… we are able to enjoy life because life itself is uncertain. In response to that, we create new things, go new places, try new things, and so on. Though I wonder, the unexpectedness of life isn’t always going to result in happiness. You’ve got to be prepared for hardships as well; it’s a part of life.

I’d agree that we should think and work together in new ways; that is going to change the world. But the question is: is it realistic? If not, Wheatley is saying we can never succeed in understanding and influencing the world. Is there really no other way to find success in this?

What is a disturbance? Where is the line between a disturbance and things being as they are? It’s defined as “having it’s normal function disrupted.” You can’t exactly predict it. I’m sure there are many people out there who forget that from time to time. So looking back to last March, we could say COVID is a disturbance. Getting homework on a Friday isn’t a disturbance.
Although, it is a little surprising to me that Wheatley see’s certainty as a curse… but I’d understand that too much of anything can be a bad thing. To me it sounds like “certainty as a curse” brings a lot of paranoia and superstition.

Fun fact, the humans average attention span is 8 seconds. Isn’t that crazy? We want to talk and have conversations with people all day, but can only listen 8 seconds at a time. I’d imagine that this contributes heavily to one’s ability to hold a meaningful conversation.

Honestly, just about everyone does this. This is a very fundamental aspect of learning. The more I thought about this, I realized change does result in it. Pretty cool how we unconsciously place a value on our things, beliefs and assumptions, and how that value can change so quickly.

Good question. I think the largest step to learning is experience and repetition. But even with that, that doesn’t mean what I’m learning is right or even “write”. Breaking away from what’s familiar forces you to learn and understand things at a different approach. What Karis and Wheatley are saying is that they think taking these new approaches are what is going to evoke more change and more understanding (for the better of course). So, no, you don’t have to be uncomfortable in order to learn, but you do in order to understand more and change for the better. Actually I can testify to what Karis and Wheatley are saying; I get that it may be different for everybody though, but I’ve personally found it to be the right/write answer.

Here I thought the “admitting you don’t know” part applied only to certain things. As students, we probably admit that we don’t know something all the time. The difference between that unknowing and the one she’s talking about is being at risk of something—usually embarrassment, or being judged. So, you could see why it’s got to be frustrating to admit you don’t know only for humility to be your answer. There’s a saying I just thought of too: “would you rather be ignorant for a moment or remain a fool for life?” So, I’ll take Margaret Wheatley’s side on this subject, but I do think it is neaive.

While it is helpful to accept everyone’s views. We also need to learn to be accepting of people’s counterarguments. What good is it to let someone hear your opinion, if you are just going to yell at them for their’s?

You’re right. We don’t always have to agree, but it is important to recognize others views. Mainly because everyone has lived a different life and may know more than you do on certain topics. However, sometimes when people find out they have been wrong their entire life they do get defense. As a society we need to learn to listen to others and also not make the argument worse by being offended by someone’s counterargument

It will be a peaceful day in the world when people finally accept that everyone has different opinions. Just think how peaceful it out daily life will be without dealing with people who are appalled by our different opinions. Hopefully this day comes soon, and that students 18 years from now aren’t shocked how relevant this paper is.

This is something that everyone should listen to. Which still makes it remarkable that this piece was written in the early 2000s. Even now people seem to fail to give others their full attention. Many times people start to hear an opinion that differs from theirs and they shut down and stop listening to the conversation.

Every time I remember when this article was written I am shocked with how much this advice is needed for the present. It feels like as we get older, we start forming bigger walls around our opinions. Which makes it hard to let anyone else give their opinion on the matter. Everyone is always on edge and aggressive in situations where they really don’t need to be. Social media sites are home to thousands of conversations of people disagreeing but not trying to listen to each other’s viewpoint.

I to hate change. When we went into quarantine and my daily routine completely changed it freaked me out. It caused me to basically shut down. I have since gotten over that because we have gone back to school. But now I am dealing with the biggest change of our life. Like you said, I try to avoid conversations about anything related. Especially where scholarships are concerned, talking about them makes me panic just because all the due dates are coming up.

It is the hearts of us that will be the change. The empathy. The compassion. The sentiments of one another that will change our world.

You are absolutely right. Most people don’t even let a conversation start before an opinion on them has been formed. This basically stops a relationship from even beginning to form.

I agree with everyone’s views and statements. I too have fallen victim to staying quiet when teachers ask questions. Many times it is because I am scared of what others think, and because I feel like I’ve disappointed the teachers when I answer wrong. What I hate even more than answering wrong is asking questions. I don’t know what it is, but when nobody else asks questions I feel stupid.

This paper was written in January 2002. A whole year before I was born, and the sad part of this observation is that things haven’t changed. In my opinion our divide has only grown with the events that took place in 2020. Back when Margaret Wheatley was writing this, she basically begged society to start listening to each other. She asked us to think about what others said and actually contemplate their opinion. I personally feel as if we have failed Margaret Wheatley some way. Sure we attempted to come together to fight COVID-19, but in the end we failed to fix the problem together. Think back to what Margaret Wheatley seemed to ask of us back in 2002. Now think about how we have ultimately failed to do this.

If we want a better world we must stop and listen to what is wrong. Only then can we begin to understand the problem and find a way to fix it. Ignoring problems and wishing for a better world only works if you have a glass slipper and a fairy godmother.

Many things today have been deemed essential, but have we considered that people are essential? Our unique views and beliefs throughout time have allowed s to adapt and survive. Acknowledging. Listening. Understanding one another is still what will allow us to survive. You, me; we are what is essential for all our survival.

The first thought I am sure most have when reading this sentence is the events of 2020 and 2021. But the world was perplexing before 2020. The events that have happened are extreme and frightening, but not entirely new. But now we can see how the events of the past year are effecting not only our community, but the world around us. And this can bring out the best in some or the worst. Is the world perplexing or are the people on this earth perplexing?

I think that asking for clarification is something that is often not seen as too important when having a class discussion, but I believe that if one does not ask for clarification, it can lead to other problems. For example, if someone during class is talking about something that may be controversial or something I disagree with, and the connection went off and I did not hear them properly, rather than assuming that they were saying something offensive or hurtful, I would simply ask for clarification then go from there. Miscommunication is a problem that can lead to so many other problems so it is best to avoid it.

We spend so much time planning out our lives we forget to live our lives. Sometimes the best experiences in life are the ones you never thought you would do, or even planned on doing. We need to start remembering to live and enjoy the experiences life throws at us rather than dodging them all to push forward to what we believe will bring us the most happiness. A job, a trip, a boy, a girl. The thing in life that brings the most happiness is life itself.

I think doing this would open up our eyes to other peoples struggles and opinions. Sometimes I feel like we don’t listen to others and just assume they believe a certain thing, which can often lead to conflicts.

We know we are biologically and psychologically different and this impacts how we see the world. So many unique perspectives and ever changing at that. If there are billion of views never perfectly aligned with one another why do we believe we understand who people are after a week of knowing them. Or even assuming about other after passing them on the street. Learning to understand you is difficult enough without the world also trying to define you a billion different ways even when we learned humans defy definition.

I agree with this. When we are surprised or disturbed by something, it makes us see our own beliefs. Sometimes, you can be surprised by your own beliefs because you didn’t know you had them until you react a certain way.

Even in uncertain times we collectively as a society seem to want the “right” answer. Because the right answer is certain, we now it to be true. We fear the uncertainty of new questions because they no longer fit the mold of our perfectly created answer and allows disturbance back in to force thinking and change.

Disturbance plays an important role in society. Disturbance brings the uncomfortable to the table to it can be improved. Disturbance is what allows for progress to be made. If humans forever stuck to what they knew, mindsets forever undisturbed how many events in history would not have happened. Anything new, unpopular, or uncomfortable at the time would have went unchanged and unspoken.

Chloe, I had never really thought about this discussion point in this way – thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I love how your thoughts point to the value in everyone’s perspectives and how together they can make for a much richer conversation.

Alex, you make some great points about how important it is to go into discussions with good intentions – focusing on learning something new or moving the conversation forward in some way.

Even if someone has a twin or grows up in the same household, there is no way for them to be the same. They may not even have he same beliefs. For example, although I grew up in a house with my parents, I have different beliefs and views than them. Even twins are like this. I know someone who has the complete opposite view than their twin, they also have two different personalities.

This can be applied to not only cultures but also political parties. For example, a majority people are one sided and do not like listening to the other side. As a result of this, they are less informed of what is actually going on since they think their side is the only right one. If people listened to one another, especially in politics, maybe the United States would be an even better place than it already is.