Why Some People Fight New Ideas-Re: mold is not a health hazard

[Guest guest]

Bob

From where I sit (outside the IEQ community) I can attest that it is creativity

and the lack of definitive scientific evidence that causes much of the confusion

about the true dangers associated with mold exposure. We still have folks in the

IEQ industry preaching that black toxic mold will kill you, that tens of

thousands of people died each years as a result of exposure, that structures

cannot be cleaned but must be burned and all sorts of other " creative " nonsense.

With no black and white answers, no exposure thresholds, and no definitive

dose-response data, the dangers associated with exposure will continue to be

questioned. Simply accepting loose correlations, field impressions, and industry

stories as scientific proof is far from prudent.

For those of us who are in the legal crosshairs of personal injury lawyers and

those seeking a quick buck, we rely on a lot more than innuendo and creative

ideas. We must have a firm scientific bases.

After 18 years of exposure to the mold issue, I still do not see irrefutable

cause and effect. I see folks happily living in mold and filth without nary a

sniffily nose; conditions that would send anyone else to this hospital. I see

office buildings full of water and mold with only one or two people complaining

- and often times no one complaining until they are informed of the issue. I see

farmers cleaning out mold contaminated grain silos that would kill a cow that

scoff at the idea of inhaling a deadly dose of mycotoxins.

Research is evolving, however, if anything, there are more questions than

answers today. Until the IEQ and medical industry comes to a consensus, there

will be doubters on both sides of the debate. In the interim, I believe it is

prudent to question those who make unsubstantiated assertions or claim urban

myth as fact.

In my industry, creativity can get you killed or worse...

Will

>

> People are biased against creative ideas, studies find

>

> August 26, 2011 By Catt

> The next time your great idea at work elicits silence or eye rolls, you might

just pity those co-workers. Fresh research indicates they don't even know what a

creative idea looks like and that creativity, hailed as a positive change agent,

actually makes people squirm.

>

> " How is it that people say they want creativity but in reality often reject

it? " said Jack Goncalo, ILR School assistant professor of organizational

behavior and co-author of research to be published in an upcoming issue of the

journal Psychological Science. The paper reports on two 2010 experiments at the

University of Pennsylvania involving more than 200 people.

>

> The studies' findings include:

>

> Creative ideas are by definition novel, and novelty can trigger feelings of

uncertainty that make most people uncomfortable.

>

> People dismiss creative ideas in favor of ideas that are purely practical --

tried and true.

>

> Objective evidence shoring up the validity of a creative proposal does not

motivate people to accept it.

>

> Anti-creativity bias is so subtle that people are unaware of it, which can

interfere with their ability to recognize a creative idea.

> For example, subjects had a negative reaction to a running shoe equipped with

nanotechnology that adjusted fabric thickness to cool the foot and reduce

blisters.

> To uncover bias against creativity, the researchers used a subtle technique to

measure unconscious bias -- the kind to which people may not want to admit, such

as racism. Results revealed that while people explicitly claimed to desire

creative ideas, they actually associated creative ideas with negative words such

as " vomit, " " poison " and " agony. "

>

> Goncalo said this bias caused subjects to reject ideas for new products that

were novel and high quality.

>

> " Our findings imply a deep irony, " wrote the authors, who also included

Mueller of the University of Pennsylvania and Shimul Melwani of the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

>

> Uncertainty drives the search for and generation of creative ideas, but

" uncertainty also makes us less able to recognize creativity, perhaps when we

need it most, " the researchers wrote. " Revealing the existence and nature of a

bias against creativity can help explain why people might reject creative ideas

and stifle scientific advancements, even in the face of strong intentions to the

contrary. ... The field of creativity may need to shift its current focus from

identifying how to generate more creative ideas to identify how to help

innovative institutions recognize and accept creativity. "

>

> The study, " The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire But Reject Creative

Ideas, " might validate the frustrations of creative people, Goncalo said.

>

> Provided by Cornell University (news : web)

>