The skill of demystification
In a speech given in the year 1917, the German sociologist Max Weber talked about the «demystification of the world». By that, Weber meant the ongoing process of rationalisation and intellectualisation of society. This process - that some might call progress - does not mean, Weber pointed out, that we know more about how the world works. Rather, it is the firm belief that if we wanted to, we could find out; that there are no mysterious powers at work.
I’m about to graduate from university, and I often have the feeling that there isn’t a lot I know now that I haven’t known when I started studying about six years ago. It’s a frustrating thought; but Webers idea might offer some consolidation. Because studying, of course, is not about accumulating knowledge. It is a process of demystification of our minds, of learning that there is nothing that we could not understand, would we choose to look at it closely, and being given the tools necessary to get our heads around anything - anything! - we want.
But the process of demystification doesn’t stop at university gates. In fact, I believe it is becoming a more and more important skill. Today’s companies increasingly need not people who know a lot, but rather people who can get their hands on information quickly, assess it and put it to use. They need people who don’t accept premises just because it «has always been that way», but who try to understand them and, if necessary, change and adapt them.
It’s not about storing knowledge anymore. It’s about getting rid of the belief that there are things you can’t understand. Once you’re there, the sky’s the limit.
On the 29. October 2009 at 19:53 o'Clock
Nico, I could not agree more. Great post!
On the 2. December 2009 at 09:01 o'Clock
[...] couple of weeks back, I wrote about the increasingly important skill of «demystification», by which I meant the ability of not accepting unknowns, but believing that everything can be [...]
On the 7. March 2010 at 19:21 o'Clock
[...] I had written about demystification before, describing it as a crucial skill for the 21st century. Demystification as Weber understands it is the notion that everything in our world is theoretically understandable - that there are no myths anymore. In the context of DLD and the digital world, I used the expression to describe the notion that - theoretically - (almost) everything is now technologically possible. This leads to a shift in focus from the "How" to the "Why". We are less impressed by technological breakthroughs just because they are breakthroughs, and increasingly start asking the question what the new technologies are actually good for. [...]
On the 6. April 2010 at 09:01 o'Clock
[...] right now - but it is not fatigue. Rather, I suggest to call what’s happening a process of «demystification» of the digital world (the term goes back to German sociologist Max Weber, who called the process [...]