I recently came across an analogy Dan Pink made to explain human behaviour. He compared the world (and humans) with a computer operating system, that works with underlying instructions, protocols, and suppositions to create a certain behaviour.

The nice thing about this idea is that looking at the world as an operating system allows us to become more specific about the opportunities and limitations for change.

As a society, we rely on instructions and protocols in our everyday interactions. The way we're supposed to react when someone starts talking to us, the way we drive and pass each other without accidents on the street, and the way we elect our representatives in a democratic election. Protocols help us operating in the same space at the same time without unnecessary interference.

As human beings, every one of us has their own protocols running as well. Our body tells us to drink water by making us feel thirsty, we brush our teeth after breakfast in the morning, and we judge a new acquaintance as to whether we find that person sympathetic or not.

Thanks to the source for the image

All those protocols are on different levels. Some are hard-wired rules, either in ourselves or in society. Others are higher layers of instructions that rely on the ones below. Looking at the world from that perspective will allow us to identify what protocols and instructions need to be altered for the system to work differently. And it supposes that we don't have to accept certain things as given. Especially the higher layers of protocols (think software) were defined to fulfil a certain task. If the challenge or task changes, we can and should adapt the protocols accordingly.

On the other hand, this view also prevents us from pursuing utopic dreams. If we ignore how the system is programmed and which rules it follows, we might try to impose changes on a higher layer that interfere with protocols underlying it. After all, everything we do as individuals and as society is based on human behaviour. As we react to certain things based on instincts that are hard-wired in us (think fight-or-flight), we need to account for those behaviours when thinking about changing the way we interact with others.

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Please share your comments and inputs (via comment function, twitter, e-mail, etc.). In my short write-ups I address topics that I am particularly interested in because they align with my values and beliefs. As such, they are always a reflection of my ideas, thoughts, and opinions. The only thing I am positive in that regard is that I do not have all the perspectives, all the knowledge, or all the facts - help me be better tomorrow.