About Thwink.org

The mission of Thwink.org is to help solve the global environmental sustainability problem using the most efficient and effective methods available. The only way we know to do this is to use the same tried and true methods that have worked so well for science and business for centuries. Our work is driven by a key argument:

1. While there have been many small successes, current problem solving approaches have in general failed for over 30 years to solve the complete sustainability problem. The problem is getting worse, not better. No overall credible solution approach is in sight.

2. Therefore an entirely new problem solving approach is needed.

This new approach is what Thwink.org is all about. Our entire approach centers on two key principles:

1. Difficult problems can be solved only by resolving their root causes.

2. The more difficult the problem, the better the process used to solve it must be.

At the heart of the resources at Thwink.org is the System Improvement Process. This was designed from scratch to solve difficult social problems. The process is described at length in this book, along with 4 root causes of the sustainability problem and 12 sample solution elements. The analysis and solution elements in the book contain the dozens of off-the-shelf component you can use immediately to help solve problems you're working on. While the book focuses on the sustainability problem, the process, about 75% of the analysis, and most of the solution elements apply to any large-scale problem whose solution would benefit the common good.

Here's a one page summary about the Thwink.org paradign.

A Process that Fits the Problem

It follows from the second principle that every field needs the right foundational process and/or theory to solve its central problems. For the field of large-scale social problems like sustainability, the System Improvement Process may be that process. It's not perfect because it's only a few years old. But it can serve as a starting point.

If the problem solving process or theory used to solve a problem doesn't fit the problem, then two outcomes are likely. Either the problem will be solved poorly or not at all. For example, science was alchemy before it adopted the Scientific Method as its foundational process. Biology was unproductive until the theory of evolution came along. Business was confined to small family firms and merchants until the process of double entry accounting was invented.

According to our analysis, most public interest activists (including environmentalists) use the process of Classic Activism. This works on easy problems, those with low change resistance. But it usually fails on difficult problems, those with high change resistance. Classic Activism has only 4 steps, so it's simple to learn and apply. But because it's so simple it has no concept of change resistance as a separate problem to solve. It also has no concept of the need to resolve root causes. That's why the world has been unable to solve the sustainability problem: the process being used does not fit the problem.

The System Improvement Process (SIP), however, was designed to be an excellent fit. It's 23 steps allow it to solve difficult social problems with the same new found ease that came to science when it adopted the Scientific Method. Solving difficult probems with SIP still takes considerable time, because there's no such thing as a simple solution to a difficult social problem. But if SIP is applied with the same analytical rigor that science has long done with the Scientific Method, activists can expect the same results. Eventually they will solve the problem.

A Theory that Explains the Problem

Thwink.org also offers a foundational theory that explains why modern democratic systems are unable to solve large social problems whose solution would benefit the common good. This is the theory of the Dueling Loops of the Political Powerplace. Grasping this is best done by reading the short paper that first captured the idea and then studying the long book that explains it in detail.

The theory of the Dueling Loops should take you a long way towards solving the difficult social problems you are working on.

A Note of Caution

At Thwink.org we think like scientists. Every assertion we make is a hypothesis that could be overturned tomorrow. Our work contains many novel hypotheses. While these appear to have withstood the test of logical proof, using a number of analytical tools, few have undergone the acid test of real world experimentation. No one knows how many will survive. But rather than couch every assertion with a "maybe," a "this suggests," or a "probably," and so forth, we have elected to only occasionally stress that all the conclusions at Thwink.org are merely examples and pointers to a new way of thwinking. None should be interpreted as the process, the analysis or the solution.

As you explore the work at this site, remember the words of Arthur Schopenhauer, the 19th century German philosopher:

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident."

Warm regards,

Jack Harich
Systems Engineer

Acknowledgements - The concepts on this site would not have come to fruition without the help of George Turner, Curt Smith, Rick Krause, Philip Bangerter, and many others.

Photo Credits - All photos on this website are by Jack unless otherwise noted. Digital photography is one of my hobbies. Here are some photos from a trip to Lithuania.

The idea for the light bulb theme is from Roger Anderson.