T(I)me will tell: Temporal sensemaking in ambiguous environment
Résumé
How does temporal sensemaking unfold in fast-changing, ambiguous environments? How is the subjective experience of time related to different constructions of the past, future and aspects of self in the situation at hand? With the aim to contribute to a better understanding of temporal sensemaking, we draw on two in-depth case studies of commercial climbing expeditions - one to Broad Peak in Pakistan and one to Antarctica - where unexpected events can be particularly salient. The case studies investigate how, during summit attempts, an expedition leader made sense of the equivocal weather information received from a professional weather forecast company.
Through abduction, we develop a conceptual model of temporal sensemaking as an inner conversation. Following Mead (1934), the leader’s temporal sensemaking of equivocal cues can be understood as a situated conversation between reflective facets of self (called “me”) which enact different versions of the past and different possible futures; a dialogue that is arbitrated by the performative part of self that takes decisions and actions (that Mead called “I”).