Sunday, June 26, 2005

Strange but welcome support for accuracy about Adam Smith

Here is something unusual. A reference to Adam Smith by a speaker at a conference that is absolutely correct. I got it from a Blog witten by Suw Charman, who is reporting on contributions at some kind of conference of people speaking about something way over my head. Seems to be about programming or modern communications equipment, or may be something else entirely.

You can get a flavour on www.corante.com/strange The piece below reorts what John Clippinger said:

"Adam Smith - two sides. Unless you have sense of empathy or sympathy and moral responsibility you can't have the self-interest side either. [Absolutely correct]

"These good acts give pleasure, but how it happens that they give us pleasure? Because nature hath implanted in our breasts a love of others, a sense of duty to them, a moral instinct. In short, which prompts us irresistibly to feel and succor their distresses." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1814 ["Implanted in our breasts": Straight out of "Moral Sentiments" showing that Jefferson had read it]

Humans are wired for trust: [The rest is from Evolutionary Psychology; probably correect too]

Human brain evolved in part to read an dmanage complex social relationships. Behaviorual and neuro-economiosts found that people are not rational, maximising economic actors but risk trust to protect reputation and social norms. Economic "chioices" are not conscious - but a mid-brain function.

What is trust? - evolutionary stable strategy tested through a variety of social species over millions of years of evolution. - a pattern of neural pathways and dopamine circuits - embodied in the social emotions - mirror neurons. - socially constructed and enforced 'protocols' that depend upon 'honest signallying', credible and equitable reputation accounting and outcomes, cheater-detection and enforcement.

Trust is more emotional than rational - you can't make a distinction between rational thinking and emotional thinking.

Reputation and trust: - Control through 'reputation' rather than 'force' - How someone is seen and rate by their social peers determines their standing and access - Reputation scales faster and is less costly than force - Emergent network roles and dynamic specialistaion - Social identity an 'social exchange value' social currency is tired to context and reputation.
Network leadership roles - eight different people work in a network - exemplar, gatekeeper, visionary, truth-teller, fixed, connector, enforcer, facilitator.

Effective networks work well if these people are placed and operate effective.
{diagram of 'netwoork role-based sense-making inter-networks}

SocialPhysics Platform - multiple identities and contexts - 'you have many selves / different ways in which you perform in different networks'.

To find out more email suw: suw.charman@gmail.com or Google her

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