A Dance between Knowledge and Ignorance by Dr Andreas Wandelt.

We like to ‚know’ things. We love the feeling of ‚being sure‘. While we may not ever truly, academically ‚know‘ anything, ‚being certain’ is the basis for most of our decisions, both as individuals and in interactions with others. After all, one can surely not question everything all the time!? We develop habits, we can trust some people and not others, and we ‚know our way around‘ our organizations.

Yet, periodically, there is a need to let go of what we (think we) know. That point where we are not sure anymore whether we can trust a colleague or boss. The external event which shows us that what we (thought we) knew, is actually not valid anymore, or never was. Or a nagging feeling that something is not right, and requires questioning. Maybe we even suspect that something is unknowable, no matter how much we need some orientation? What happens then, what do we do? And what happens if this unfolds across groups and organizations, consisting of many of us? Do we, individually or collectively, cling to what we (think we) know, or when and how do we let go?

Many of us become very uncomfortable in such situations, and we try to ‘manage’ that, ‚cope‘ with it. But can that be handled in a different way? What if we see this as a dance, as an ever fluid situation where every embrace is temporary? What are ways to do that, for ourselves and for the groups we work with?
In this session, we will explore how to dance with the states of knowing and not knowing.

Andreas lives in Northwest Germany, and pursues an enhanced understanding of the world, mainly through a complex adaptive systems lens. His tagline could be "bacteria, brains and societies". When his degrees of freedom were more limited, he worked on process and organizational change and stability topics for large organizations, across a wide variety of geographical/cultural contexts. He also has a basic scientific education by way of a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. Andreas severely resents the notion that he has "retired". He instead insists that his learning just became profit-independent.