The Importance of Pattern Recognition

I previously identified pattern recognition as the cognitive limitation of us blacks, but I may well be wrong. However, it is something of that nature related to maths and science ability. I also assumed that this was what prevents us understanding how structures in organisations within which we work these days operate, and therefore prevents us being motivated to subjugate our individual short-term goals (amassing individual wealth) against the goals of the organisation, which may ultimately reward us better. Maybe its also the reason we can’t work a democracy. A good example is Zimbabwe. Even though our vote causes Bob to stay in power, and to go on to destroy the economy and make us starve, we don’t actually make the cognitive link between the act of voting for him and our starving. Also, if we don’t go and vote for Bob, we decide to not vote at all, feeling that it doesn’t make a difference anyway. It is no wonder that we all prefer to work individually, for example, subsistence farming, or a dictator in Government, or, in my case, stealing from others. It’s also no wonder that in Africa the most ruthless person always assumes political power, since we are unable to choose our leaders according to any rational criteria, and a potential leader will be working against other individuals only, no organisations, ie strongest individual wins. Naturally our first response will be more to befriend such a person, for individual reasons, than to stand up against him, which may be personally dangerous, but the right thing to do for the country and our fellow countrymen. Until we can suppress the urge to profit personally for the sake of our country/organisation/community, how on earth do we expect to instil western-style democracies in Africa? The simple solution: don’t! Be African, be what we’re meant to be. Accept our country will be like Zimbabwe, accept it, accept that we will always have wars, starvation, poverty and disease. Make Africa into a place for Africans. Get rid of the western and white influences. Forget they ever colonised us. Form tribes, have cattle, fight over them, decimate the game, die in great battles or from sweeping diseases. Have great and ruthless chiefs who struggle to power and decimate the opposition. That’s Africa. Accept it. The only problem is that Africa will become a big reservation, and we’ll have Americans, Europeans and Asians treating it like a Safari park, feeding us, educating us and taking our babies home as pets. But do we have a choice? Not unless we can become better team players. African soccer shows just how bad we are. Despite having the most talented individuals in the world, our teams are consistently, soundly thrashed by even the B-league players in Europe. No, Africans are going to have to simply find another way.