As I read the reading this week by Dorner, I was reminded of Dr. Bezio’s podcast I listened to yesterday. Dr. Bezio discusses the way that we need to think of systems as overall processes. this was one thing that I felt like I understood and applied to my life either in sports or in school, trying to approach things from a long term perspective. However I had no clue how hard it is to do this in a poverty trap, like the simulation. For example, I really struggled to gain an initial foundation to even start to really develop some sort of solid life, even beginning with a propane stove. It was most evident when I tried to continually buy maize enhancer, but the profits did not cover the cost. If I could have purchased this, or been able to make a sizable investment in the small business fund, I could have really lived more easily. One other uncomfortable decision was that I had to refuse to pay for doctor’s fees for one of my family members in order to buy food. I had to think about the long term process, and luckily for me, my family member did not pass away, so I could eventually return to this situation. I spent about an hour and a half on the game, but really don’t think I did well enough to make a thorough assessment of the game. in general though, I was able to understand that you need money to make money. With this in mind, it is so hard to overcome a poverty trap because you literally don’t have the funds to make the investments necessary to rise up out of the situation.
One point Dorner made made that I thought was interesting is on page 3, it talks about the way our ancestors had to make decisions based on the now, not reflecting as much on processes. with this in mind, it is so hard to stay true to these processes when basic needs can’t be met. at one point in the simulation I had to decide between feeding my family or sending them to a doctor to cure malaria. Decisions like these really showed me that good intentions are not enough. It is obviously most important to stay alive, and this has to be a momentary decision, but the simulation really showed me how interconnected these types of systems are, and how important it is to have a process of decisions planned out and avoid the temptation to make the emotional decision, when it isnt the right one
I agree with you that you need money to make money in the simulator. I found that taking out a loan was necessary to make it even a few years into the simulator and often helped both individuals and the village progress farther.
I also found that point in Dorner’s reading really interesting about our primitive brains only thinking in cause and effect, and it reminded me of a documentary I watched. I watched the documentary called Surviving Progress and it basically talked about how currently humans are inventing themselves out of existence because our technologies are evolving faster than our primitive, ‘now thinking’ brains.