May 17, 2017; Seeking Alpha
For many of you, the ideas described here are not new; to some of you, they may seem awkwardly explained. Still, they seemed relevant to the moment.
An article in Seeking Alpha discusses the philosophical mindset that guides George Soros, mega-philanthropist, hedge fund magnate, and general international scapegoat. According to the article, Soros, who built the Quantum funds, is intrigued by a concept from quantum mechanics known as Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.
The premise of this principle is that there is no way to accurately measure both the exact position and precise momentum of a particle under study. The article goes on to stretch this metaphor to suggest that no matter how sure you are of the processes you use, uncertainty will always reign supreme.
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The uncertainty principle, says the article, should give us the courage and conviction to be wrong and to acknowledge the periodic dead-wrongness of the metrics and systems that guide us. Instead, we need to “think in possibilities and constantly adapt to an ever-changing paradigm.”
But, Soros also apparently believes in asymmetry when it comes to risk and reward; he aims to make as much money as he can while putting as little at risk as possible.
As we head into a period of increased uncertainty, we must engage intensely with our changing environment to create the reality in which we intend to live. Meg Wheatley, who authored the classic Leadership and the New Science, put it this way: “Leaders are so afraid of paradox, so afraid of uncertainty. It takes a lot of bravery even to consider that uncertainty is not a threat, that in fact it’s creative and powerful.”—Ruth McCambridge
