Probably the hardest meaning to get across is the definition of “SITUATION.”

One can say variously, “Isolate the actual situation” or “Work out what the situation is” and get the most remarkable results.

To some, a despatch is a situation. A small error to others is a situation.

Yet, if one wishes to know and use data and logic one must know exactly what is meant in this logic series by SITUATION.

English has several meanings for the one word. In the dictionary it’s a “place,” a “state or condition of affairs,” “a momentous combination of circumstances,” “a clash of passions or personalities,” or “a job.” One gets the feeling that people are fumbling around for a meaning they know must be there.

For our purposes we had better give an exact definition of what is meant by SITUATION. If we are going to do a situation analysis by doing an analysis of data, then WHAT is a situation?

We can therefore specifically define for our purposes in logic the word SITUATION.

A SITUATION IS A MAJOR DEPARTURE FROM THE IDEAL SCENE.

This means a wide and significant or dangerous or potentially damaging CIRCUMSTANCE or STATE OF AFFAIRS which means that the IDEAL SCENE has been departed from and doesn’t fully exist in that area.

One has to work out or know what the ideal scene would be for an organization or department or social strata or an activity to know that a wide big flaw existed in it.

To be somewhat overly illustrative about it, let us take a town that has no one living in it.

One would have to figure out what was the ideal scene of a town. Any town. It would be a place where people lived, worked, ate, slept, survived. It could be pretty or historical or well designed or quaint. Each of these would possibly add purpose or color to the town.

BUT this town in question has NO people living in it.

That is a departure from the ideal scene of towns.

Therefore THE SITUATION would be NO PEOPLE LIVE IN THIS “TOWN.”

Data analysis would lead us to this by noting outpoints.

6 P.M. — No smoke from house chimneys, (omitted item)

9 P.M. — No lights, (omitted item)

Dawn — No dogs, (omitted terminals)

1910 election poster, (wrong time)

That would be enough. We would then realize that a SITUATION existed because data analysis is also done against the ideal scene.

We would know enough about it to look more closely.

No people! That’s the SITUATION.

Thus if one were responsible for the area one would now know what to handle.

How he handled it depends upon (a) the need, (b) availability of resources, and (c) capability.

Obviously if it’s supposed to have people in it and if one needs a town there one would have to get a bright idea or a dozen and eventually get people to live there. How fast it could be done depends on the availability of resources — those there or what one has (even as little resource as a voice, paper, pen, comm lines).

One’s own capability to get ideas or work or the capabilities of people are a major factor in handling.

But so far as the SITUATION is concerned, it exists whether it is handled or not.

When you are called upon to find out if there IS a situation (as an inspector or official or soldier or cat or king, whatever) you can follow these steps and arrive with what the situation is every time.

1. Observe.

2. Notice an oddity of any kind or none.

3. Establish what the ideal scene would be for what is observed.

4. Count the outpoints now visible.

5. Following up the outpoints observe more closely.

6. Establish even more simply what the ideal scene would be.

7. The situation will be THE MOST MAJOR DEPARTURE FROM THE IDEAL SCENE.

Just as you proceed to the MOST MAJOR SITUATION — go big, when it comes to handling it usually occurs that reverse is true — go small!

It is seldom you can handle it all at one bang. (Of course that happens too.)

But just because the SITUATION is big is no real reason the solution must be.

Solutions work on gradient scales. Little by more by more.

When you really see a SITUATION it is often so big and so appalling one can feel incapable.

The need to handle comes first.

The resources available come next.

The capability comes third.

Estimate these and by getting a very bright workable (often very simple) idea, one can make a start.

An activity can get so wide of the ideal scene the people in it are just in a confusion. They do all sorts of odd irrelevant things, often hurt the activity further.

Follow the steps given 1-7 above and you will have grasped the SITUATION. You will then be able to do (a), (b), (c).

That begins to make things come right.

In that way most situations can be both defined and handled.

Lots of people, often with lots of authority, get mired into situations. They do not know they are in anything that could be defined, isolated or stated. They bat madly at unimportant dust motes or each other and just mire in more deeply.

Whole civilizations uniformly go the route just that way.

So do orgs, important activities and individuals.

One can handle exactly as above, if one practices up so he can really do the drill on life.The only danger is that the situation can be so far from any ideal that others with fixed ideas and madness can defy the most accurate and sensible solutions.

But that’s part of the situation, isn’t it?Data analysis is done to make a more direct observation of exactly the right area possible. One can then establish the exact SITUATION.

It’s a piece of freedom to be able to do this.