There is an oft repeated saying that goes something like "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from!" I was reminded of this when I found this power receptacle staring at me in my hotel room here in Taipei. It certainly demonstrates that having multiple standards is much better than having none since I had no problem plugging in my "North American standard" three prong Dsc01089_2plug into this receptacle, (after figuring out which slots to use, that is) and it worked without a problem.
As you can see in this picture, I also encountered the lovely contrast of a single common standard...in this case, the RJ-11 standard for the phone connection, now ubiquitous just about every place on the planet.
We don't seem to learn well from the past either, because we are now seeing the worst case scenario--that of a "war of standards" being played out, yet again, with the current battle for a common new standard for high capacity DVDs. Or the complete lack of any standards for things such as Instant Messaging (IM), but I digress from the point I really want to make here.
Developing accredited standards such as those from IEEE and ISO is all based on the process of creating consensus among typically very diverse and eclectic individuals. I've spent a great deal of my time over the past 20 years or so working with others around the world on a variety of standards. I've received so much practice in the art of consensus, a great gift and a skill that seems all too rare in our world in general. And yet it is perhaps one of THE most powerful and valuable practices and competencies that we all need to survive and thrive in this flattened, global, diverse and rapidly changing world.
I'll explore consensus more later today.
Till next time,
w
a
yne
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