The Moonlighting Student

Co-Creation and Dependent Arising

January 20th, 2010 7:27 am —  16 views

Here it is, 3 weeks into winter semester. I’m driving into Ann Arbor more than I have in a couple years. At least 3 times a week, at most maybe 5. Feels like I have a part-time job on campus.

The two classes promise to educate and awaken my brain. In one class I’m learning to summarize and describe comparative relationships among relative events and in the other I’m learning that relating people to events involves interaction and value. Create an experience. Recognize and cultivate the relationship.

What is the probability that a person will develop loyalty and become a proponent and user of a particular product or service if those creating the product or service involve them in its creation and use?

It seems intuitive. It could be compared to tending a garden. Learn to recognize a thirsty plant and you’ll know when to water it. Watch the conditions in which your plants grow and watch the plants themselves. They communicate their needs in ways that require study to understand. They can’t text our phone to tell us they’re thirsty or that beetles are eating all their leaves and they need help. Those are just technical problems that can be solved by creative computer engineers.

Which brings me to the title of this post. It occurs to me that the notion of co-creation1 bears resemblance to the idea of dependent arising in Buddhism and its perspectives on cause and effect.

Granted, one is about value and efficiency, the other about dealing with the suffering associated with being an intelligent and aware species. Then again, maybe their underlying goals aren’t so dissimilar.

Recognition of quality is critical to survival and adaptation. Quality and value are closely related. We must learn to see what matters and what needs attention.

Image: A picture of the coffee stop I stop in on my way to class in the mornings. I took pictures periodically while walking to class yesterday, a montage of sorts.

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  1. …as being taught by Dr.Ramaswamy in a similarly named course. [↩]

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One Response to “Co-Creation and Dependent Arising”

  1. Dawn on January 21st, 2010 9:32 am

    Great photos. Though I can’t place the coffee shop. I was right along with you on the walk. When I saw the photo of the stairs of West Hall I knew what the next photo would be. I wonder if you’re already getting to the “last semester ever nostalgia” part of your school career?

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