“I wanna be somewhere familiar, I wanna know where the exits are, and I wanna be allowed to smoke. ....”

“If we hole up, I wanna be somewhere familiar, I wanna know where the exits are, and I wanna be allowed to smoke. .... “ Ed in “Shaun of the Dead” 2004

My favourite heroic character in the rom zom com Shaun of the Dead is Shaun’s flatmate Ed.

There is something compelling about a character of such torpor who tracks the essentials so closely, and besides which he reminds me of other 21C sofa occupants I have known, loved and despaired of...   

[Shaun walks into the living room and finds Ed sleeping on the sofa]
Shaun: D'you want anything from the shops?
[Ed responds with his eyes still closed]
Ed: Cornetto

Ed is so connected to sleeping on the couch and playing video games in the flat (or drinking pints and playing arcade games at the pub) that he appears to be deeply disconnected from the events around him – living the zombie hidden within us all...   

And yet Ed’s throw away comments reveal that all the time he appears to be in a state of social hibernation he is closely reading his flatmates conversations and appraising their motives.  Not unlike grandpa’s ability to feign sleep whilst collecting all the gossip from the dementia caregivers ...his eyesight might be naff but his hearing is very acute 

But what I want to think about is not how Ed reads what is going on around him, but rather how he decides on what he needs and what he wants.

Psychologists would have us understand that Ed’s need for “somewhere familiar” is because we are “wired to be risk adverse” -

Apparently being risk adverse was a genetically advantageous trait in the times of the smilodon and woolly mammoth  

The downside of all this risk adverse coupling in the time of the smilodon is that when it comes to innovation and creativity and entrepreneurship in the 21st Century we feel more strongly about avoiding loss than seeking gain – 

We are intimidated by uncertain or unfamiliar outcomes, we like systems, we like narrative, we like certainty, we like what we know, we like institutions, we like school.   

So most of us live risk adverse versions of Ed’s pre-zombie attack life - subconsciously mumbling “The devil you know is better than the devil you don't.” interspersed with “make mine a Cornetto ... “

But a few of us don’t –

I have a friend and a mentor – an educational change maker - a verve filled woman whose life-story shows her to be a throwback - for she is a risk seeking individual – someone “prone to tilt” - someone who has never allowed institutional rules and “reasons why not” to determine her path ... someone who has catalysed a number of significant educational adventures in New Zealand....

I have been reading Chrissie Fernyhough's latest tilt – co-authoring The Road to Castle Hill  a book about her adventures running a high country station at Castle Hill in the unforgiving landscapes of the South Island’s Canterbury Alps. 

But it would be a mistake to imagine that the book is about a city dweller who has transformed herself into a high country farmer – this is a book about someone who is hungry to learn – and someone prepared to take risks – learning and risk taking seem to go together

It all makes me wonder – can we learn to be less risk adverse? – is being risk adverse a modifiable trait?
Or is it our genetic destiny to proclaim “I wanna be somewhere familiar, I wanna know where the exits are, and I wanna be allowed to smoke. ....”

And just what does our tendency to being risk adverse cost the 21 Century learner?

Comments

[Glenn]

I just want to say that I love you and your blog. Shawn of the Dead is a metaphor for EdTech and school in general. Thanks for making the connection. :)

[Janet]

Can risk be somewhere familiar?
Kids are not risk averse?
People put their risk and safety in different pockets?

If atrophy is a risk
And change is a risk
Then being risk averse is about being careful where you put your feet while you try new things?

Same deal on a social scale?
Our society is at risk if it is only comfortable with sameness.(group of monoculture) If it has processes and opportunities for negotiating and collaborating with difference it is better placed?(network of diversity)

You are not short of [tilt] in your blog.

Perhaps folks find/make risk/adrenalin to the capacity they can handle even in safe familiar lives and spaces?

Perhaps whether the risk is internal or an adventure is
something borne of how we transact with risk in the first place.
http://www.moabmunifest.com/files/MMF_History.htm

hny Janet

[roseg]

Thanks for this post - reminded me I had a Splice in the freezer. Yum.

Your descriptions of risk aversion made me think of a huge cute pink infant - a creature not yet a mature member of its species. This then led me to thinking about initiation rituals, which until recently I had only ever read about and even then, in nice detached anthropological language which safely kept any primitive feeling or imaginary beastie well away from my nice white petticoat.

More recently I was looking through a book on tribes by Desmond Morris (with whom I have a love/hate relationship with for a whole bunch of reasons I won't go into unless you want my post to be longer than yours) and in it he had lots of pictures of initiation ceremonies in all their gory glory. And something stepped on my petticoat. I had never really appreciated the violent, visceral, jarring reality of having things stuck through parts of your body or being buried underground believing that demon scavengers are gonna come and get you. And I realised that when the textbooks say "ordeal" they actually mean something genuinely terrifying and potentially fatal (in the mind of the initiate, anyway), not the sort of more familiar initiation or ordeal we see in popular culture like The Biggest Loser where, during their fortnightly phone call to their family, the contestants will break down sobbing "I really love you guys" even though they've usually just had lunch and aren't in any immediate danger.

If you look at humans who aren't risk averse, it's often cos the bison chasing them is scarier than the dark alley they're running into and/or they run into the dark alley because Frenchmen/McDoogle women/Jesuits/name_your_group_identification aren't afraid of dark alleys (even though anyone in their right mind IS afraid, but the identification gets them through). I imagine childbirth is made easier by women comforting themselves with the thought that other women have survived it.

So I reckon it's got something to do with
a) maturity: authentic rites of passage which, if survived, give you a sense of what you're capable of or at the very least committed to in terms of adult responsibilies etc
b) identity: culture and community and how these shape our perceptions and behaviour

I also think we're an increasingly infantalised culture in general. I remember seeing photos of the Macy's Parade in New York a few years ago and being bewildered at the depictions of Garfield the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Goofy etc - the whole parade a collection of children's characters. I contrasted this with what I'd expect to see in Spain (bulls, dancers), China (kites, martial artists), Ancient Greece (phalluses, wenches). Do our parades say anything about us? Or am I reading too much into it?

[roseg]

Hello again Arti

Have been thinking about this again today and my mind wandered to things like Maslow's Self Actualisation, Campbell's Hero's Journey and Jung's Individuation where, in order to really become one's self, (and presumably happy), one needs to march to their own drummer and suffer the consequences of these choices, which presumably involve lots of risk taking. So I then wondered about the difference between risk taking and risky behaviour and concluded that that's mostly about whether you've had positive experiences of taking risks, being encouraged, etc - all the usual childhood development stuff. Which then made me wonder whether there's any point blaming people for being conservative or reluctant to change - so much of our personalities and world views are shaped by things outside our conscious control.

Finally, I thought about a newspaper article at least 10 years ago where Australia's richest man's son made a motza on the real estate market, converting a bunch of warehouses in an inner Sydney suburb into luxury appartments. The reporters marvelled at his daring and business acumen etc but I just remember thinking how easy it is to play blackjack when you're playing with matchsticks. This bloke had access to millions of dollars to buy the warehouses in the first place and if the deal hadn't worked it would have been the equivalent of my losing something like 50 cents (I remember doing the math - it was mind boggling).

Anyway, still not sure what point I'm making here but thought I'd drop in an mention these tangents in the hope that another reader or yourself will share their own tangents.

[Artichoke]

It seems I have no self control ... tell me something new ... I am trying to sequester myself away from the fleshly temptations and distractions of the artichokean blog comment function and work on “the book”. Is proving to be impossible.

Seems I prefer my unreal world ... to my real world

When I appraise the blog post responses it is easy to see why Glenn’s comment is the one that made me feel special all day ... I am as susceptible to flattery as the next blogger ... and Glenn’s words jolted me to “pass the parcel”

Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That's the game I want you to learn. Pass it on. Hector in The History Boys 2006

.... to in turn acknowledge the people who make a difference for Grandpa - so in a “pass the parcel” moment I wrote to the trust board of grandpa’s dementia centre to thank them and and explain why I believed the staff are doing such remarkable work. Thanks Glenn

Janet’s comment is more challenging for she introduces a new perspective on risk. Perhaps “risk is in the eye of the beholder” as Dr. James Delisle is want to say about underachievement. I suspect Janet might be right - context is king. One person’s risk is another’s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_roast "> roast on Sunday” But if it is and the notion of “risk” is indexed to the individual and has no commonly accepted parameters then I am made mute.

And in response to Rose ... who manages to introduce phalluses and wenches, childbirth and initiation ceremonies without drawing breath (I am so jealous) and then returns to present arguments that support Janet’s “risk: it’s all relative” and introduces notions of human consciousness .... I will have to agree and diasagree (something that bothers me not a jot).

Which then made me wonder whether there's any point blaming people for being conservative or reluctant to change - so much of our personalities and world views are shaped by things outside our conscious control.

It is not that I want to blame anyone Rose and I don’t want to be Buridan's ass BUT I do want to think I am in charge of my risk taking – to be in control –birth order be dammed - I don’t want to cede to genetics or environment –I want to be responsible for my actions, I want to believe in free will ... and I want to acknowledge risk as indexed to societal norms rather than individual norms .. whilst all the time knowing that context may mean sometimes I am applauding matchstick play ....

Ahh that feels better

[Vicky]

Chrissie is a great role model and risktaker
I feel privileged to have known and worked with her and you and the Magnet
4 years ago Chrissie was passionate re US elections and consequences for the planet earth .So much has happened over the last few years .Have we moved forward globally and nationally ? Are we inspiring and upskilling the youth of today to be future world leaders who can face the rate of change and be flexible ?
I hope we can say yes and focus on 21st century skills or are we stagnating in the industrial age .Is the education system moving forward or repeating the same old same old
We need strong creative role models that embrace change and support students to move on
Vicky

[Janet]

I agree with RoseG that sometimes the perceived risk is different if people are culturally seeing risk differently.

At the society scale we have been functioning as a society which is inspired by fear from behind, terrists, fat, failure, islam, pretty much anything which can be sold as shock factor helps keep us flocked. But adrenalin is good for short bursts and wearing long term. I think it also makes us brittle.

What are the exits. How do they move?
Where else can we put them?
Do we need them? Can we slide on them?
Trade smoke for chocolate.
And someone familiar can be grounding in a strange place.

Apologies for being a spam queen but here is a post from a mail list
which was also about risk mess mistakes safety and innovation.

=========

The thread was titled: Where are the software engineers of tomorrow?

It might be that the engineers of tomorrow are living in:
- houses which are less likely to have a backyard and a shed for
applied inquisitiveness
- an education system which uses insurance/risk as a scoping metric
for what is possible
- an education system which is optimised for measurable en masse results
- an education system which has little time, resources, funding,
support staff for non standard teachers or students
- an education system which is sorted by age
- a society/economy which frequently purchases technology solutions
which have restrictions on inspection or modification
- a society/economy which values control of existing inventions over
access to participation for new inventors
- a society/economy which retail space would be far more extensive and
accessible than public community spaces workshops
- a society/economy/education where technology is described in terms
of being a choice of (suites of) products rather than as an underlying
question of people, information, power, substance.

It feels like we are optimised as a culture of consumers.
This configuration ensures that there is a maximum opportunity for us
to spend into the global economy, but there are spatial, legal,
logistical, social, assumptions built in which increase barriers to
participation.

What kinds of space, time, constructive risk, legal opportunity to
participate, cross generational collaboration, mess, mistakes and
questions would provide a stronger habitat for Australian invention
and make culture?

Where are the software engineers of tomorrow? Perhaps shopping for clues?
What other ways to find/make clues are there?