Remixing the Hash

Birds of a feather is a dangerous little axiom. Like a bee to honey, I gravitate towards those trains of thought, newspapers, radio shows and organizations that support my own thinking. They are wonderful little reinforcers, serving to give me a big, hearty slap on the back and say, 'Way to go, Tiger! Once again, you've proven yourself to be a towering interpreter of our times." And it feels terrific to be so right so much of the time.

But the curtain came crashing down on that little Utopian play right around the time I turned seven and, after many retreats to the time-out corner, realized that not everyone enjoyed listening to my OUTSIDE VOICE as much as I did. Fast forwarding to this moment in time, no matter how tremendous my ideas might be, there will always be better ones and there will always be dissenters. And, it's pretty stunning, but those dissenters can often be the bridge needed to get you from where you are with a half-baked idea to an explosive launching pad.

History's painted with examples of it: In the Vatican, they called it the Devil's Advocate, an individual who was supposed to shake up the conversation by interjecting the devil's prospective. Eisenhower made up a cabinet of yes AND no men who shoved and tugged at his perspective. The UN has released several compelling arguments for the accelerated inclusion of women in political discourse, stating that a female, relational perspective is a powerful counterbalance to the male, tactical perspective. And what shakes out from inviting in the other opinions? Well, if you can really listen, I think an awful lot.

At The Merasi School, I call problem solving Hashing. But, oftentimes, my Hash muscle digs itself into a mono-focus rut where it spits out the same uniform approach to every issue that comes barreling down the pipeline. If you think about an approach like a tool box and all you've got is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail. It could be perfect for one problem, but have all the utility of hot fudge in the operating room for another. But, if you begin to fill it up with wrenches and drill bits and sandpaper, problems start to take on a different appearance.

So, I think the Hash needs to be remixed. Regularly. It insures that at any point in time, you have access to a veritable arsenal of approaches to address a given issue. Here are a few that get regular airtime at The Merasi School: a brilliant buddy of mine named Steve once said that play is the foremost metaphor for problem-solving. How would you play and tease your way through a problem of epic scale? Try digging a bit deeper into your analysis: the author Calvin Trillin once said that a hummingbird weighs as much as a quarter. Does that mean it weighs as much as two dimes and a nickel, too? Ask why: There is this great Clara Barton quote that goes something to the tune of 'I defy the tyranny of precedence.'

And there are heaps more, oddles of other tools to give your perspective the necessary jitters to open up a bit more. Our students learn in different ways, digest information and ideas through different processing mechanisms, it's only fitting that we approach the conflicts they face with as much respect for differentiation as possible.