THIRD HAND SOLUTIONS
For instance, whether the issue is abortion (pro-life vs. pro-choice), capital punishment (for or against) or drug legalization (for or against), we tend to see only two possible, and mutually exclusive, positions that we can take. Our media reinforces this mindset, since they tend to report in ways that exacerbate such polarization. Quinn explains that it is this dichotomizing and polarizing mindset that often leads to intractable challenges and escalation of conflict. And he relates the notion to an old tale which claimed that everything, metaphorically, has two handles, explaining that, in his view, they actually have at least three.
In the speech, he goes on to explain how this dichotomizing mindset applies to some of the most fundamental challenges that humanity has faced (ie: the cold war) and that we are still facing (ie: overpopulation). Moreover, he explains how we can break through to more novel, innovative and harmonious solutions by reaching with our "third hand," in other words by seeking solutions that not only compromise between, but transcend these dichotomies.
"Those of you who have read Ishmael know that I never take sides in controversies framed in these terms. Either/or is a trap, and my approach is always to walk around it. My approach is always to avoid putting all eggs in one basket."It took being caught up in hundreds of dichotomized situations before I started to realize that the optimal solution in all of them laid not in either of the the particular sides in each debate, but rather in questioning the very concept that there are just two main sides to be considered. Later, concepts such as yin and yang, which makes up part of my website's logo, and Hegel's dialectic reinforced my awareness that synthesis, not thesis or antithesis, was where resolution most often was found. Since that awareness has grown, time and again in my personal development, in the development of my company, and in relationships both personal and professional, I have found that third hand solutions offer the optimal approach to seemingly intractable conflicts.
While Quinn discusses this principle mostly in terms of larger social issues, it is equally applicable in the most personal situations where polarization develops. In fact, it has gotten to a point where, whenever I find a third hand solution, I can usually bet that it will contain within it a rather profound and clever new insight that I can apply throughout my life. I also have taken, in times of challenging polarization, to more actively looking for that third hand solution that can burst open a previously stubborn dichotomy into a far more promising set of possibilities than I had been able to see before.
