[Sigia-l] ROI/Value of Search Engine Design - Resources?

[paula.thornton]

Jared: I looked at http://www.findlaw.com. It looked like a lot of 'noise'
to me (but then I'm ADHD -- mentally distracted by visual noise, seeks to
avoid/get past such situations quickly -- hmmm, wonder if you've filtered
for that in your research?) [a specific artifact showing that knowing
something about someone's background helps in understanding their response,
Mr. Lau].

My question is, how are you accounting for the learning concepts brought
forward by the studies of Quantum Theory: (1) that the act of observation
'slants' the results to the universe of understanding of the observer and
(2) that looking at an individual activity separated from its whole can
provide 'misleading' observations/conclusions? Example, from Fritjof Capra
in 'The Turning Point': "Whereas in classical mechanics the properties and
behavior of the parts determine those of the whole, the situation is
reversed in quantum mechanics: it is the whole that determines the behavior
of the parts."

See also the works of David Bohm. As you collect the artifacts of 'explicit
order' what are you doing to bounce them up against the reality of
'implicate order' (causality)?
[http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/science/prat-boh.htm] Here, I'd be
speaking of the influence of the individual's mental 'reality' on their
actions. This relates to something Eric Reiss lamented, that we're not
seeing enough 'analysis' in the research being presented. But it goes
further, it is in doing analysis to understand at the level of the 'whole'
and not the parts, illustrated by the need to 'think globally and act
locally'.

Perhaps, by focusing on his own strengths, Jared provides a valuable 'start'
to the work yet to be done (he's gathering 'local' artifacts). Now, by
combining his work with other strengths (global perspective), better
answers/models will be discovered. As Margaret Wheatley observed results are
influenced by the space in which they operate (not specifically referring
to, but not excluding, the physical environment of the test...deeper meaning
implied): "Space everywhere is now thought to be filled with fields,
invisible, non-material structures that are basic substance of the universe.
We cannot see these fields, but we do observe their effects. They have
become a useful construct for explaining action-at-a-distance, for helping
us understand why change occurs without the direct exertion of material
'shoving' across space....The things we see or observe in experiments, the
physical manifestations of matter as particles, are a secondary effect of
fields. Recently, while doing work on customer service for a retail chain, I
asked employees to visit several stores. After spending time in many stores,
we compared notes. To a person, we agreed that we could 'feel' good customer
service by just walking into the store. We tried to get more specific by
looking for visual cues, merchandise layouts, facial expressions -- but none
of that could explain the sure sense we had when we walked into the store
that we would be treated well. Something else was going on. Something else
was in the air. We could feel it, we just couldn't describe why we felt it."

[If anyone has access to a copy of Danah Zohar's 'The Quantum Self', I'd be
interested in any 'tidbits' she offers that supports these observations. I
have her latter piece 'Rewiring the Corporate Brain'.]

Paula Thornton
Interaction Design Strategist