Beebe (1921) described a circular mill he witnessed in Guyana. It measured 1200 feet in circumference and had a 2.5 hour circuit time per ant. The mill persisted for two days, “with ever increasing numbers of dead bodies littering the route as exhaustion took its toll, but eventually a few workers straggled from the trail thus breaking the cycle, and the raid marched off into the forest.” How crazy is that?
Good reason NOT to keep up with the Jones’ — either as a neighor or a city or a country or any individual?!
(Categories: Convergence (Context), Wzzup)
In the recent discussions we were wondering wether you could be part of a community without knowing it (passive vs active membership). I had to think about three great books regarding this topic: Bowling alone (= the end of the community), Trading up (= community equals status) and Keeping with the Jones’ (= Community is peer group pressure). Three totally different approaches. A great example of the latter is the Ant mill: “A circle of army ants, each one following the ant in front, becomes locked into a circular mill. They will continue to circle each other until they all die.”... So, now you know what books to take to the beach during your summer holiday.
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God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World (Vintage)
by Walter Russell Mead
17 customers reviewed this article averaging 4.5
Isbn-13: 9780375713736
A stunningly insightful account of the global political and economic system, sustained first by Britain and now by America, that has created the modern world. The key to the two countries' predominance, Mead argues, lies in the individualistic ideology inherent in the Anglo-American religion. Over the years Britain and America's liberal democratic system has been repeatedly challeged—by Catholic Spain and Louis XIV, the Nazis, communists, and Al Qaeda—and for the most part, it has prevailed....
In case you don’t have room for books in your luggage: a magazine will do for the the circular mill concept. This concept is very nicely described in a National Geographic article: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/
i think this concept is exactly why it is so difficult to innovate in the ‘traditional’ (industrial) organization. by measuring and measuring and measuring a circular mill is created. especially bottom-up innovation. who is strong enough to break out of that mill?
the examples of necessary ‘conditions’ can be translated to the circular mill analogy. for example the ‘protector’ or ‘guardian’, a person who shields the person straying of the mill. the protector either prevents the person from getting of the mill when he does not believe there is a forest or pulls him back on when the person returns when the forest is not found. another condition is that of isolating a group (or individual.) this is like creating a different environment outside of the mill. it is also possible to obstruct the path. by changing the rules (of measurement) people in the organization are forced to innovate, to get out of the mill. this is like obstructing the ‘habit of following’.
I would argue that the innovation that is the result of companies walking in a circular mill is not really innovation. I would prefer to call these products me-too products. It is easier for companies to be a follower and make me-too products than to innovate. Innovation is difficult. Innovative companies are very often marketleaders and are sometimes innovative in the way they structure their innovation. E.g. companies that do not hesitate to partner with companies that operate in different sectors