Get a Better Map - by James Moore

 

 

Between flying off the Vespa and hitting the ground with a thud, I had a number of paradigm shifts: My confidence in the off-road capabilities of a scooter was misplaced, wearing a helmet is actually quite a good idea and road maps are not designed for crossing mountain ranges. In hindsight these sound like common sense but, just like Plato’s observation on beauty, paradigms are in the eye of the beholder. They are the way that we interpret our experiences based on our assumptions about ourselves and the space we inhabit.  

 

Our paradigms make up our internal map of the world, they are shaped by our values and beliefs. The word originates from the ancient Greek paradigma, which means pattern or example and was adopted by scientists in the twentieth century.  Today it means the assumptions, perceptions, models, theories and frames of reference that we apply to our view of the world. Like maps, our paradigms appear real, but closer examination can reveal them to be impressionistic, highlighting only the landmarks that we are currently aware of or interested in.  It is often said of paradigms that “the map is not the territory”, details are drawn based on where we place our attention and redrawn when our perceptions of the territory change. 

 

On our first holiday together my wife and I explored Rhodes, sharing a scooter and of course flaunting all the safety advice about helmets.  After circumnavigating the island we became more adventurous and began making short forays into the mountain ranges. Looking at the map we had been given at the hire centre, we traced a route from coast to coast and decided to go for it.  As we ascended, the road became a track, then a path, a rut and finally nothing but a field of dried, cracked mud. We looked at the map and the narrow yellow line that bridged the roads either side of the mountain. We looked back at the field, cursed the cartographer and decided we weren’t going to turn back after coming so far. A couple of kilometres of rough terrain later and... bump! We weren’t hurt and as we dusted ourselves down I reflected that next time we tried this we’d get a better map.

 

The term paradigm shift was coined by Thomas Kuhn in his book, The Structure Of Scientific Revolutions, published in 1962. He demonstrated that every significant breakthrough in science had resulted from new ways of thinking where there had been a shift away from the old paradigms. This is what Albert Einstein meant when he said “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

 

Once we viewed the world as flat, we saw the earth as the centre of the universe and we thought all matter was solid. These were the paradigms of their time. Then the world was circumnavigated and its shape was changed forever. The sun was placed at the centre of our universe and the relationship of the planets shifted too. And the theory of quantum physics forced classical science to be rethought.

 

Paradigm shifts can come in many ways, from life changing events such as giving birth to small acts of unexpected kindness. You can even challenge limiting beliefs and replace them with more resourceful ones.  You can learn to shift your own paradigms as easily as falling off a scooter - and get yourself a better map in the process.