Sense Making
The process by which people and organisations turn ambiguous circumstances into a workable account of what is happening.
Why it matters now
Data does not act; understanding does. Most environmental failures are failures of collective sense making rather than of measurement, since the numbers were usually available in advance. Building shared, trusted interpretation across cultures and disciplines is therefore infrastructure, not decoration.
Where this is happening on Earth
- North AmericaKarl Weick's analysis of the Mann Gulch fire, United StatesShowed how a crew's shared understanding collapsed under stress, with fatal results.
- OceaniaIndigenous fire knowledge in northern AustraliaGenerations of interpretation of country now formally integrated with satellite fire management.
- ArcticInuit sea ice knowledge, Greenland and NunavutDetailed vernacular ice vocabulary now recorded alongside satellite observation.
- AfricaPastoralist drought indicators across the Horn of AfricaLocal ecological signs combined with forecast products to trigger earlier destocking.
- AsiaSmong oral tradition on Simeulue island, IndonesiaA story passed through generations sent islanders uphill in 2004 and saved almost the entire population.
The idea itself
The encyclopedia entry first, then live searches at journals and magazines that keep returning current work on this specific idea.
Current reporting from around the world
Standing feeds at reputable periodicals. These stay fresh on their own, which is why they are here instead of a list of articles that would be out of date within a season.