Reference

Method

How the statements and pictures on this site are meant to be read.

• Comparisons, not amounts. Persons compare: "more than", "less than". Wants are never amounts, and never simply yes or no.
• Numbers only as a scaffold. Numbers appear only in the models, and always with a warning. They are meant to be compared with other numbers in the same picture, not with the real world.
• Models are illustrations, not evidence. A model shows what follows from the assumptions stated next to it. Every model picture sits in a box marked Illustration.
• Networks make things comparable. Drawn as networks, conflict, wisdom and resilience become comparable.
• Every decision process needs a point where it stops. Deciding about deciding can't go on forever.
• "Not" in pictures. In the drawings, "not" is either a separate arrow or left out; only how strongly something is wanted is drawn.
• Short statements. The articles are built from short statements: definitions, goals, observations, open questions and proposals. Each has an identifier, kept in the page source so statements can be referred to.