sowing good seeds

Why should we help those we compete with? Because we want to live in a resilient society and have a thriving economy.

“There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about now he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.” —Author unknown — see below*

We discussed other versions of stories that were based on not taking everything and giving back to the community in our online community today. It reflects my view of leadership in a networked society, which is helping make the network smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions.

Making our networks stupid drags us all down a slippery slope. Today, while politicians and pundits spread disinformation and conspiracy theories about climate change and hurricanes, people may soon die in Florida as a result of Hurricane Milton.

I do not want to live in a stupid society but it seems this may become the new normal. If stupidity is natural then those with the privilege of leadership must step up. Cooperation is the imperative to work against the influence of propaganda, now fueled by generative AI. Cooperation is giving freely of what good knowledge and experience we have and not expecting anything in return. Misinformation is often free while solid science is frequently hidden behind a paywall. Making the network smarter is not just sharing facts. We need more powerful narratives. As I noted in constant doubt and outrage, medical researchers Kathryn Perera et al., advised to, “never bring a fact to a narrative fight”.

Bloggers can show leadership by helping make their networks smarter. Write in a spirit of freely sharing. Add the extra value to inform others. Sow some good seeds. This is a major focus of the personal knowledge mastery workshop.

* I have found many versions of this story without attribution and also some writers who claim it is theirs but there is evidence of earlier versions. If you know the original source please let me know and I will provide attribution.