Framing the Problem - from David Rencher, 2015

 

At the 2015 Washington State Genealogical Society conference in Ellensburg, David Rencher was the primary speaker. His talk, Framing the Problem, was so excellent that I often think back upon and ponder the truth he presented.

David began his talk with this question:  "Have you a tough genealogy problem? Worried you won't solve it in your lifetime?"  He then taught us how to "frame the problem differently." Simply put, how to look at the problem differently.  He showed three pictures of the Golden Gate bridge and explained:

If you're driving across the bridge, you see the bridge from that angle. If you're in a boat on the water, you see the bridge from that angle. If you're flying over the bridge in a 747, you see the bridge from that angle. 

David's point with these images of the Golden Gate Bridge is that, with regard to your tough genealogy problem, you're looking at the bridge as you drive over it. That's all you see. But if you were to see it from a boat or from up in the air, you'd have an entirely different perspective. You "must frame your picture differently" and then from that new angle, you might see things that you did not see before.

Does this make sense to you? It did to me. And then, of course, the question follows, how do you do this?

Then David launched into the main theme of his talk to answer this question. "Descendant research.  Some cousin, near or distant might just have the answer you seek." 

I need not go on and on about "descendant research" for I assume that most of you know what that means and entails. Between Google, YouTube and CyndisList you can find all the tutorials you'll ever need. Good luck as you "re-frame" your tough genealogy problems. 

Reporting On WSGS Conference Last Weekend

This last weekend I attended the Washington State Genealogical Conference 180 miles west in Ellensburg, Washington. To get there, going either direction, you must descend into the Columbia Gorge and cross the Columbia River and go back up. I think it's a beautiful ride:

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 Mention it because Washington is in the grip of a most unusual heatwave. It's been really hot....... with temps that we don't usually get until August. Maybe. It was 105 in Ellensburg; 109 down at the bridge and 104 here in Spokane. The fire season is going to be awful; they've already had hundreds more so far in 2015 than last year..... and it's only June.  But you have weather awfulness in your part of the world too.

The speaker at our conference was David Rencher. Lucky for us, his wife has ties to the area and so he was agreeable to coming. David has been a "bigwig" with FamilySearch for 34 years and he KNOWS his stuff.

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He started us out with questions:  "Have you a tough genealogy problem? Worried you won't solve it in your lifetime? Do you keep doing the same-old-same-old things and wondering why you have no new conclusions or answers? 

He then told us how to "frame the problem differently." Simply put, how to look at the problem differently.

He showed three pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge and explained: 

If you're driving on the bridge, you see the bridge from that angle. If you're talking to somebody down in a boat, or up in an airplane, you will not see the view of the bridge that they see.........

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His point with these images of the Golden Gate Bridge is that, with regard to your tough genealogy problem, you're looking at the bridge as your drive on it. That's all you see.  But if were to see it from a boat or from the air, you'd have an entirely different perspective. You "must frame your picture differently" and then from that new angle you might see things that you did not see before. Like looking at the Golden Gate Bridge from three different angles.  

Does this make sense to you? It did to me. Of course the next question begs, how to you do this??  

Then David launched into the main theme of his talk to answer this question: descendant research. Some cousin, near or distant, might just have the answer, Bible, quilt, certificate, watch, tool, photo, letter or clipping that you so desperately seek. 

He ended his remarks by recommending a cousin-finding-connecting website called Puzilla  (www.puzilla.org). With this website you can literally find dozens of cousins. See the image? Picture you as the center dot and the lines radiate out to cousins!!

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Another website that does pretty much the same thing is Kinpoint (www.kinpoint.com).  I've mentioned that before.

Genealogy in 2024??

David Rencher (who has a long string of initials after his name and who IS one to be listened to) had a great article in the April-June 2013 issue of the NGS Magazine. The title of his article was, "Where will the field of genealogy be in 2024?"  I was surprised...... you might be surprised.... at what he's thinking. If you only read ONE of his thoughts, please read the "Genealogical Societies" one. 

Online Family Trees  --  "many (Online Family Trees) have trust issues with the quality of the content found therein.... but before you dismiss online trees as completely worthless, it may be worthwhile to consider using them as the initial framework that still needs detail and sources to become a legitimate work.... Family trees will continue to mature into an environment similar to Wikipedia with constant additions, improvements to the data accuracy, valid attachments of source images, and community insistence on well-sourced information."  In other words, online family trees are here to stay and will only become better in all ways.

Cloud Computing  --  "these online trees will continue to grow, making them a significant repository of source-backed conclusions..... it is a realistic possibility that with cloud computing the online tree environment will coalesce into a "single tree" environment that everyone shares." In other words, we are already doing genealogy on the cloud (we're using FamilySearch and Ancestry, right?) and we will be doing more and more of the same.

Social Media  --  "social media will be a big part of extended families working together around the world on their genealogy....virtual family organizations will flourish through the use of both social media and mobile technology." In other words, we might as well get with it sooner than later.

Genealogical Societies  --  "societies will be increasingly pressured to adapt to an interconnected world or fail.....societies do not need to go out of existence; rather the should adapt to the strengths of what they can provide to the consumer.... a society's greatest strength is knowledge of a particular locality, set of records, ethnicity or lineage.... how a society creates the experience around the consumer interacting with this knowledge will separate the successful society from those that disband and go out of existence."  In other words, the "old timers" will lament that "their" society isn't what it used to be, but the future dictates that the "new timers" must have their way; technology demands change. 

Mobile Devices  --  "within the next decade, everything will go mobile...period........ the youth will be the driving force of creating the shift from the decades-old dependency on desktops, laptops, formal meetings, and lectures, to accomplishing more through the use of social media and mobile technology." In other words, the old Dick Tracey watch band radio is here!

DNA Technology  --  "DNA technology will become standard for conducting the business of governments and uniquely identifying individuals..... DNA testing will continue to grow, increasing the accuracy and ensuring the soundness of accurate lineages."  In other words, you might as well acquire a basic understanding of DNA for that methodology is here to stay.

David made several more good points in the article but summed up his thoughts in this conclusion:  "New possibilities that we can barely imagine today will be invented and applied to genealogy. These technologies will facilitate, but not replace sound genealogical research."

I add my voice to his, "I can hardly wait!"

David Rencher will be the primary speaker at our 2015 WSGS conference in Ellensburg on 27 June 2015. Plan to come spend the day with a most entertaining educator!