Cogitate, Socialize and Solve Problems

The Synapse Jazz Think Tanks ™

Think Tanks: Synapse Jazz Think Tanks ™ are flexible structures where people can come together to share their perspectives on different issues. The basic function of the Think Tanks is to elucidate the perspectives and ideas of each person. The greater the diversity of people, the more varied the perspective. Our premise is that each perspective catches a piece of the truth, but no perspective is complete. Therefore, the more perspectives you have, the greater the overall picture of truth.

Elucidating Perspectives: At first glance it may seem that different perspectives seem to be incompatible. But when you look at the bigger picture, these apparent conflicts disappear. Recall the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each one touches the elephant from a different perspective and draws separate conclusion. One grabs the tail, and says the animal is rope-like. To the person toughing the side of its torso describes a wall. Similar conclusions are drawn by those who touch the trunk, the ear and the tusk. They are all correct in their assessments, but they are incomplete.

An Open-minded Inquiry: The process for elucidating a perspective is different than having a competitive debate where you are seeking the one correct answer. We will not argue or debate with each other, but rather conduct a nonjudgmental inquiry. Neither is it a brainstorm, an effort to come up with as many ideas as possible. We are interested in getting out a person’s long-held ideas about something based on their experience and expertise in different areas, something they have probably thought about before, but perhaps never clearly articulated.

Jazz Quartet: According to the experts, the ideal size of group for a conversational group is four. That way everyone can have a chance to talk. Each quartet should ideally include two people of color and some variety of gender and vocation. One person should be the leader, whose job is to make sure nobody speaks too much or too little. There should also be a scribe in each group, who is responsible for recording or taking notes of the proceedings. One person is the timekeeper, and the fourth is responsible for asking follow-up questions.

Jazz Think Tank ™ Session: Members will take turns expressing each person’s ideas, viewpoints or opinions on a topic — just as members of a jazz group take turns doing their solos. The other three will ask questions to clarify their understating of a viewpoint, and will attempt to sum up another’s views to make sure they get it. The questions are not intended to challenge or judge another, but rather to dig down deeper to elaborate another’s viewpoint. After extracting the four viewpoints the group can discuss them further, perhaps to compare or contrast. All the viewpoints are to be considered valid. The goal is to get a coherent understanding of each.

There are four sorts of approaches on a topic. One could give an analysis of a situation, a solution for perceived problems, an innovation that transform a situation, and finally, come up with something one could do or begin doing right away. A person could focus on one or all of these approaches.

Problem Solving: Each Jazz Think Tank ™ session address an issue, and the initial outcome is the range of perspectives on an issue and proposed solutions. Ideally, the various solutions could be combined into an overall strategy. The immediate conclusions can be shared with the larger group, and may form the basis of communicative content — on old or new media — and/or a project or activity that can be carried out by the members of each quartet.