I love this space. For me, it is living, real, immediate, powerful evidence of self organizing emanating from connection. I've been reading for many months and not being too sure where and when to contribute - a butterfly - and now it's in connection with Pat's piece on language where I'd like to contribute. I connect with it through my experience as an ESL (English as a second Language) teacher to immigrants for many years in Australia. I loved that job because it was so important, primarily because of what Pat was saying.
"When we talk we make ourselves visible and known to ourselves. There is something self referential that happens when we speak. We tell ourselves what we think and we learn how we are in relation to the environment. The realtionships are reflected back to us. We make choices to belong or not based on what is reflected back. We sometimes assume another's language and identity if in this orientation process we feel disconnected to the environment which for young children would be defined by family relationships. Relationships grow and are structured through language. There would be no culture if there was no language." Without a command of the language of their adopted country (English in this case), newcomers felt disconnected from the environment and struggled with identity and relationships. In the majority of cases, they found ways, as human beings, to be resourceful and they adapted, survived and thrived. For me it is about connection. Self organizing is a phenomenon of connection. Connections that happen through default (or is it really design?) and that is magical. Robyn. -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Pat Black Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 12:42 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Language and self organizing systems I find this discussion about self organizing systems fascinating and thrilled now that it is connected to language's role. I think language is a manifestation of self organizing and contributes to the increasing complexity of self organizing. I have had the luck of growing up with a severe speech impediment. I understood language but was not understood when I used it. Speech is not an issue for me now but I have a unique relationaship with language because of that experience. I also was raised in a home where illiteracy was present so the next level of language abstraction was also an issue. Both issues limited orientation with the environment. Because of these expereinces I have always thought of language as a way to orient myself with my environment and myself. When we talk we make ourselves visible and known to ourselves. There is something self referential that happens when we speak. We tell ourselves what we think and we learn how we are in relation to the environment. The realtionships are reflected back to us. We make choices to belong or not based on what is reflected back. We sometimes assume another's language and identity if in this orientation process we feel disconnected to the environment which for young children would be defined by family relationships. Relationships grow and are structured through language. There would be no culture if there was no language. So would language be impossible if there are no divisions? That question is backwards for me.In self organizing systems no divisions are impossible. Organization at least identifies categories if not creates them. If creation is innately self organizing there must be this dividing and the dividing must serve creation. Seems to me that in the ideal state, this dividing increases the surface area of each entitiy, increasing the possibility for new relationships. New relationships facilitate transforamtions which are the active manifestation of creation. Creation is creating. This leads me to the magic thread that has also been floating. I am attracted to OS because in the opening of space language can be used to orient us with the environment in a way that does not seem life threatening and so our surface area expands allowing for more realtionships which lead to transformation and creation. Creation is the magic. Just some thoughts Pat Black >Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 18:30:04 +1000 >From: Bob Dick <bd...@scu.edu.au> >Subject: Re: On self-organizing >It seems to me that language obliges us to carve up an indivisible >world into pieces. Language works by categorising, even though the >world doesn't come in the categories that language provides. >When all divisions vanish, though, doesn't that make language >impossible? And then what? >Cheers -- Bob * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist