If you want to truly understand something, try to change it

If you want to truly understand something, try to change it

Kurt Lewin, a renowned psychologist and pioneer in the field of social psychology, is often credited with the quote, "If you want to truly understand something, try to change it." This statement encapsulates Lewin's belief in the importance of active engagement and experimentation in the process of understanding complex phenomena.

Lewin's work focused on the study of group dynamics, social change, and human behavior. He believed that in order to gain a deep understanding of a system or situation, one must actively engage with it and observe how it responds to changes. By intervening in a system and observing the outcomes, one can gain valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms at play.

Lewin's famous model of change, known as the "unfreezing, changing, refreezing" model, emphasizes the importance of disrupting the status quo in order to facilitate meaningful change. According to Lewin, change cannot occur without first destabilizing the existing equilibrium, or "unfreezing" the system. This process involves challenging existing norms, beliefs, and behaviors in order to create space for new ideas and practices to take root.

By actively engaging with a system and introducing changes, one can uncover hidden patterns, relationships, and dynamics that may not be apparent from a passive observation. Through experimentation and intervention, one can test hypotheses, gather data, and refine their understanding of the system in question.

Lewin's emphasis on active engagement and experimentation has had a profound impact on the field of social psychology and organizational development. His work laid the foundation for modern theories of change management, group dynamics, and organizational behavior.