Latest Blog Posts
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
Wicked problems.
The dominant way of social planning, as Rittel and Webber argued, is mechanistic, whereas many of the problems we face are complex. It means problems difficult...
By Gerrit Van Wyk
Hubris.
There is what is supposed to happen during a medical diagnosis, there is what can make it better, and there is what we believe about what happens during it.
When...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
Wild and tame lions.
Famous South African storyteller, Jan Spies, told a story about a cattle farmer who had trouble with a lioness killing his stock. He and his friends tracked...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
What the shadow says.
For those who remember the satire of Mad Magazine, the December 1969 issue had a skit titled The Shadow Knows, with drawings of everyday situations and...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
T. Rex healthcare.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a large dinosaur living in North America about 60 million years ago, after which it went extinct because it couldn’t adapt. The...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
You can’t step into the same river twice.
Gareth Morgan wrote in Images of Organization our interpretations of organizations is always based on some sort of theory to...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
Three wise monkeys.
There is a Japanese proverb about three monkeys; one covers its eyes and sees no evil, one covers its ears and hears no evil, and one covers its mouth and...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
The art of medicine is the most lucrative of all (Pliny the Elder, 24-79 CE).
Despite what Pliny the Elder said somewhere between 24 and 79 CE, for most medical practitioners,...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
The prohibition disaster.
The 18th Amendment to the US constitution, which made it illegal to make, transport, or sell alcohol, was signed in January 1920, but it remained...
By Gerrit Van Wyk.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
The slogan “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” implies you can do what you want, and it will remain secret, without consequences. A...