An experiment starts with a hypothesis, our expectations for it. It could be negated, or give a basis for a story if the experiment gives the predicted results. In any case, it helps dissipate the tension, for a while.

The Hypothesis

Your hypothesis is in tension with something, perhaps with an ideology, or with religious beliefs, or with “known” facts. Whatever it is, the experiment is not for corroborating your hypothesis, but for negating your assumptions. If the experiment gives the predicted result, it helps dissipate the tension. It becomes part of a new story that everybody knows.

A while later, other people will come up with a different hypothesis and off goes your stories and your assumptions and what everybody knows.

Example: Gravity and Relativity

The canonical example of this is Einstein’s relativity and Newton’s gravity. Many people knew that anything with mass will also have gravity and that gravity acted in a certain way. Then came Einstein with the implication that gravity was more complex than Newton assumed and definitely acted differently at the very micro and very macro levels.

Example: Belt Levels

This example came up last Friday. The question came up as, Is X be compatible with the Radical system? My first answer was a very Fiat No! It took a while (i.e., this Fiat stuff is not easy to shake), but I think I eventually came up with a truly Radical, out-of-love response: run an experiment!

In this case, X referred to a mentoring system based on the Karate Belt level system. The problem with these schemes is that they can get Fiat-complicated quickly, … and pay would be based on that.

The Analysis

There were two things involved: 1) the Belt level ranking and 2) money. The way I looked at it, a ranking of any sort is a no-go unless it is based on something. RADs work because they are based on “contributions.” So, the experiment should deal with figuring that out.

Jose pointed out that they should be on the lookout for not introducing force. A test represents force. I would say that having a committee decide also injects force as well.

Money and Rank

Salaries are pretty integral to the Fiat system. Employees earn a wage, owners reap profits.

Eventually, co-owners will, I hope, switch to PRI to distribute earned dividends.^∇ At that point earned dividends (popularly known as profits) will be factored through RADs. It might also make sense to factor Belt levels (i.e., let’s do the experiment). For example, a Black Belt who has not contributed much to anybody in the last few months, might stop being a Black Belt.