Toronto, Ontario; Santa Clara, California; Milpitas, California; San Jose, California; Oakland, California; Hayward, California; Mountain View, California; Palo Alto, California; San Francisco, California; Mountain View, California; Half Moon Bay, California, Pescadero, California; Santa Cruz, California; Tokyo, Japan
Woodgreen Church: Rear view of facade facing Queen Street shows steeple and stained glass windows as last to be demolished in lot from Booth Avenue to Logan Avenue. Our laneway that dead ends to the north is usually still open, with a hazard tape strung across the path periodically. (Woodgreen Church, Queen Street East, Riverside district, Toronto, Ontario) 20170307Fu Yao: Found Job’s tears, definitively marked as coix seeds, in bulk quantities at my local Chinese supermarket. It’s a gluten-free substitute for barley, packaged in small quantities labelled as “barley” or “pearl barley” as 薏仁 / 薏米 (yì rén / yì mí). Job’s tears are rounder than barley, and have a brown groove on one side. The bulk bin correct labelling was more reassuring. (Fu Yao, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170307OCADU Richmond: Warmup @redesign @OCADU_SFI Understanding Systems & Systemic Design class. I lectured on “Service Systems Thinking: Reflecting on acts of representation” for 90 minutes, covering 4 of 5 sections to the full-time cohort. Same slides tomorrow for the part-time cohort, we’ll see if we cover more (or less). Slides at http://coevolving.com/commons/20170308_ocadu_service-systems-thinking, audio recording should be uploaded in a few weeks. (OCAD University, 205 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170308OCADU Richmond: Intro by Jeremy Bowes @OCADU_SFI Understanding Systems & Systemic Design class. Sames slides as yesterday, part-time students challenged me for more clarity, took break for full brains after 75 minutes. Another 20 minutes to finish up 4th section, and then a few questions. Class would have benefited by stepping through some real-life use of the structured form for service-systems thinking, we’ll have to think about more workshop time in future presentations. (OCAD University, 205 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170309AC759: Seat 17D on an Air Canada Airbus A319 is behind a jump seat, and doesn’t have a screen to watch movies. Since the flight arrives at SFO at 2:30 a.m. Toronto time, maybe this is a signal that I should sleep. (AC759, Toronto Pearson International Airport) 20170310Santa Clara Produce: Down-to-earth greengrocer, sampling local apples and pears by walking around offering slices off a knife. California produce, Lebanese packaged goods, Vietnamese baguettes. We chose flatbreads: lavash, and flour tortillas. AHI bought a whole jackfruit for an afternoon barbeque with a new Latin dance group, he’s sure to make an impression. Store ownership changed hands in fall 2016, renovations were noticed. (Santa Clara Produce, Scott Boulevard, Santa Clara, California) 20170311
Banana Leaf: Asam Fish Head uncommon in Malaysian restaurants, authentic taste evokes memories of visit to Singapore many years ago. Dish came last after beef with eggplant, and roti prata appetizer. Multicultural cuisine is a benefit of diversity in the Bay Area. (Banana Leaf Restaurant, McCarthy Ranch Marketplace, Milpitas, California) 20170311Triton Museum of Art: Steel “Hibiscus” by Bill Gould @ArtikA3 inside @TritonMuseum rotunda, even though it’s an waist-high outdoor sculpture that could weather whatever climate. Part of large exhibition with orange slices on wires hanging under the skylight. Sunday afternoon reception with popcorn and jellybeans attracted a large audience for Statewide 2D Competition and Exhibition. (Triton Museum of Art, City of Santa Clara, California) 20170312Cafe Stritch: Timed jambalaya @CafeStritch for Eulipions Jazz Jam, @timlinmusic calling the tunes. House band plays 7pm set on Sunday, so no impact on sleep schedule or work. Visit to California is for business, but there’s always time to squeeze in pleasure, with a little planning. (Cafe Stritch, South First Street, San Jose, California) 20170312NIO: Silicon Valley tech experience tour at NIO USA, in front of the mural when the NextEV building was opened by the Governor of California. Lots of engineering talk about technology directions and different strategies. Enjoyed Cantonese and vegan curry lunches, plus ping pong upstairs. (NIO USA, North 1st Street, North San Jose, California) 20170313Montclair: Book @MitroffCrisis pointing out Four Orientations to Spirituality and Religion, in our discussion about people sometimes feeling lost. I’m well read on Ian Mitroff’s publications, but then he’s said that he has written on yet another topic. Semi-annual visits surface more content: A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America (1999), based on field research. (Montclair, Oakland, California) 20170315Hayward Area Historical Society: Hand pump fire engine @HaywardAreaHist made circa 1825, used in San Francisco 1849-1870, and then in Hayward until the mid-1880s. Part of the collection of local history, including an exhibit on internment of Japanese Americans in WWII, and the subsequent return of their property. Encountered museum sign downtown, after the GPS decided that I should leave the freeway and drive city streets. (Hayward Area Historical Society Museum of History & Culture, Foothill Boulevard, Hayward, California) 20170315Veggie Garden: Vegan goose, beef, pork, gobi cauliflower and potato pancake excellently prepared and served at a strip mall Chinese restaurant. Discussed the shift from Ontario to Silicon Valley, enjoying the easy lifestyle of American suburban living. (Veggie Garden, El Camino Real, Mountain View, California) 20170316SJSU Art Building: Relaxed 6-hour studio @rarar @SJSUArt Advanced Digital Video covering motion graphics in ART 105 course. Students showed work-in-progress video, and reflected on the craft they’re developing. Watched some VFX to aspire towards, then hands-on learning. Conscious of how post-production budgets could balloon if frame-by-frame detail is done. (Art Building, San Jose State University, California) 20170317Cantor Center, Stanford: Claes Oldenburg (1977) Soft Inverted Q, is inside the Cantor Center courtyard. Leisurely California weekend, still jet lagged after a week on the west coast. (Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California) 20170318Cantor Center, Stanford: Tsuba Auerbach (2009) Crease 1. Lots of visitors pacing forward and backward, observing the dots changing. Family day extended by new friends, everyone is a migrant to the Bay Area. (Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California) 20170318Cantor Center, Stanford: Cang Xin (2002) Hostess, from the Identity Exchange Series. Couple is still technically newlyweds. Eight of us wandering the galleries, occasionally crossing paths. (Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California) 20170318Sam Wo Restaurant: Sunday morning at 11 a.m., no line up at business over 100 years old. Food is older style Chinese, with rougher noodles, and wonton with no shrimp, a style predating 1970s immigration from Hong Kong. (Sam Wo Restaurant, Chinatown, San Francisco, California) 20170319Golden Gate Bakery: Reputed as city’s best egg tarts, they had better be pretty epic for the line to shake across the sidewalk on Grant Avenue. AHI had never been here when they store hadn’t already run out of supply. Sunday meeting should have full inventory. (Golden Gate Bakery, Chinatown, Dan Francisco, California) 20170319Vesuvio Cafe: Need more practice on the art of wasting time and chilling. Walked around Chinatown and saw the Chinese Historical Society, now tired. Headed out into North Beach, so joining the Beat generation seemed natural. Ginger beer and green tea available. (Vesuvio Cafe, Columbus Avenue, North Beach, San Francisco, California) 20170319Intel Museum: Archive of technologies getting smaller and smaller. My career was associated with the advances of microprocessors, so I lived through much of the history described at this venue. (Intel Museum, Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, California) 20170320Googleplex: In 1988, I worked at 1965 Charleston Road, in a partnership between IBM and Metaphor Computer Systems (a spin-off from Xerox PARC). This led to the partnership between IBM and Apple, called Taligent. The building didn’t have the current landscaping, and was surrounded by Sun Microsystems. (Googleplex, Charleston Road, Mountain View, California) 20170320Johnson Pier, Half Moon Bay: Noon is too late to buy fish right off the boat, but signs indicate that regulars must come to the harbor earlier for ultra freshness. (Johnson Pier, Half Moon Bay, California) 20170321Pigeon Point Light Station: Maybe a whale blowing offshore.Light station closed since 2001. (Pigeon Point Light Station, Pescadero, California) 20170321Pigeon Point Light Station: Day trip, no wedding, no funeral. (Pigeon Point Light Station, Pescadero, California) 20170321
Santa Cruz Wharf sealions :
Sea lions sleep underneath the Santa Cruz Wharf. There are open ports, so that visitors can look down and see the sea lions resting. (Santa Cruz Wharf, California) 20170321
SFO Gate G91: Clare Rojas (2008) Blue Deer, oil and ink on wood, over a usual Air Canada Gate G91 . Flying San Fran to Toronto direct today, originally alongside DY on free ticket via Montreal. Delay to YUL of 25 minutes with a 53 minute connection including immigration would probably miss, so she’s on a high probability standby direct, too. Her luggage is checked with me, so it’s easy for her to just walk on. (San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal) 20170322Pearson Terminal 1: Six from dozens of welcome posters on way to departure gates. Closer examination shows each represents a different country, created for the 2015 PanAm Games. I guess travellers could find the western hemisphere destination, but I am headed for Asia. (Terminal 1, Toronto Pearson Airport) 20170323Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport line: Short ride from Haneda Airport to Hamamatsucho wends north across artificial islands, along canals crossed by a few roadway bridges. Air Canada flight landing in late afternoon, so public transportation has commuters riding into dusk. Connection to JR Yamanote Line, one stop to Tamachi, where local pubs are being replaced by a skyscraper. (Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport line, Japan) 20170324Daikokuten Kyoo-ji Temple: Nichiren Buddhist temple built on land donated in 1655. Shogotai troops took refuge within walls in 1868 Battle of Ueno, Imperial Army left bullet holes in the gate. (Daikokuten Kyoo-ji Temple, Nippori Village, Tokyo, Japan) 20170325Nippori Zakuro: Uzbeki food expected from online reviews, sitting on the floor and eating from dishes served on low table was not. Well prepared food was enjoyed, unlimited quantity lunch wasn’t tested. Waitress accommodated requests to avoid dairy ingredients. Welcome surprise of Oriental, not Asian cuisine, in Tokyo. (Zakuro. Nippori Village, Tokyo, Japan) 20170325
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum:
Bukichi Inoue (1985) My Sky Hole 85-2 Light and Shadow. Mirror finish on metal sphere placed on the esplanade of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park. Passersby stop to look at the reflection and/or walk a circle around the installation. Video was shot from second floor window, by the Citizens’ Galleries. (Bukichi Inoue (1985) My Sky Hole 85-2 Light and Shadow, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno Park, Taito, Tokyo, Japan) 20170325
Ueno Park: Bloom of Cherry Blossoms attracts many Japanese to Ueno Park. so space is measured off with tarpaulins underneath, to allow visiting groups to socialize, picnic (and drink alcohol). Tradition of removing shoes is preserved even outdoors. Large garbage bins have been placed nearby, with signs to reduce confusion about sorting. (Ueno Park, Taito, Tokyo, Japan) 20170325
SCAI The Bathhouse:
Tatsuo Miyajima (2017) Time Waterfall. At SCAI The Bathhouse, “LIFE (complex system)” projects sequence of the numerical digits on a 3-meter-high LED panel, with digits of various sizes cascading at different speeds. It stresses how time is irreversible, and breeds an ethos of “living in the present. (Tatsuo Miyajima (2017) Time Waterfall, SCAI The Bathhouse, Yanaka, Taito, Tokyo) 20170325
SCAI The Bathhouse:
Tatsuo Miyajima (2017) Time Bagworm no. 1. At SCAI The Bathhouse, “LIFE (complex system)” has digits entwined with cables running from the ceiling (Tatsuo Miyajima (2017) Time Bagworm no. 1, SCAI The Bathhouse, Yanaka, Taito, Tokyo) 20170325
Shibuya Station Block: From Shibuya Hikarie 8th floor, view of redevelopment east of rail tracks in progress for completion by 2020 Olympics. New East Building will have 7 floors underground, and 46 above grade. Crosswalk may eventually look like the scatter crossing on the other side of the tracks, as pedestrians can move to another other corner while traffic lights count down a short period for priority. (Shibuya Station Block East Building under construction, Tokyo, Japan) 20170326Koenji High: Tear down for next band to start within 10 minutes, in Total Feedback show featuring shoegazing style. Saw four of six 30-minute sets. Most enjoyed edy two arc band, also saw スプール spool, Al Van She’s Coming and Magic Love in basement hall with high ceilings. Upstairs, a quieter duo in the lounge. Reminded of the power of well-engineered live music, a stark contrast to the earbud generation. (Koenji High, Suganami ward, Tokyo, Japan) 20170326Sony Building, Ginza: Last days before Sony closes building, and creates a temporary Ginza Sony Park. Multi-level floors spiralling up are mostly vacant, with visitors encouraged to post leaf-shaped stickers on top of wall drawings. Architectural heritage of 1966 concrete brutalist style will be lost, with even denser structures in one of the world’s most urban neighbourhoods. (Sony Building, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan) 20170327Jorenji Temple, Tokyo Daibutsu: Intercept with @motohasi at third largest cast bronze Great Buddha in Japan. Temple is on high ground amongst residential housing, in a northwest Tokyo industrial neighbourhood. He lives in the ward, and had never visited this temple. Multiple trains, local bus and then long walk with GPS misdirections are likely to discourage tourists from coming. (Jorenji Temple, Tokyo Daibutsu, Akatsuka neighbourhood, Itabashi ward, Tokyo, Japan) 20170327Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama: Workshop on Handbook of Systems Sciences, organizing focus of content, potential authors and editors. Aspiring to translational approach, cyclic from theories/models to practice, motivated by applications that help people. (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Japan) 20170328Sobaya Shibata: Dinner had soba noodle finisher, preceded by a variety of shared small dishes, including duck salad, chicken salad, panko-crusted oysters, tuna with sticky yam, yuba skin. Social time to catch up on community news, since we haven’t recently been attending the same conferences. (Sobaya Shibata, Ookayama, Japan) 20170328Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama: Service Systems Science symposium Gary S. Metcalf presentation bridges autopoiesis and artificial intelligence futures. What does a honking car mean to an autonomous cars? Unembodied cognition may interpret things differently. (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Japan) 20170329Yamate Dori gate, Shinagawa: Unexpected wooden gate at west end of main street, just northeast of Shimbamba station. Wayfaring for a new art gallery, routed through Shinagawa station, intending on train 2 stops south, but mistakenly got trapped on the express service to Haneda Airport. Rode circle back and used smartphone to navigate through a tidy neighbourhood, definitely few non-residents in the area. (Yamate Dori gate, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan) 20170330Kosuka Kanechika Gallery: Noritaka Tatehana (2017) Camellia Fields, an installation of hand-painted brass cast flowers spread out in a 3-metre circle. In background, some of the Embossed Painting Series. Artist came to fame as exclusive shoemaker for Lady Gaga. Exhibition is new, on the fifth floor of the Terrada Art Complex, which still operates as warehouse storage for valued artifacts, including fine art. Location should gradually attract more visitors. (Kosuka Kanechika Gallery, Terrada Art Complex, Higashi-Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan) 20170330
Toronto Pearson T1: Light snow falling on arrival in Toronto is a contrast to the bright spring weather in Tokyo inviting cherry blossoms. Attempting to not enter Eastern Time, with outbound flight less than 48 hours away. (Toronto Pearson International Airport, Ontario) 20170330
The 125th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario coincided with the closing day for the RSD13-RSDX online program. As a regular systems convening group, we’ve had monthly meetings since January 2013. Zaid Khan moderated a discussion including me (David Ing), Tim Lloyd, Allenna Leonard, and Kelly Okamura. We recollected starting as a spinoff from Design with […]
The International Society for General Systems Research formed circa 1956 became the International Society for the Systems Sciences in 1988. In 1985, Bela H. Banathy organized the annual meeting on the theme of “Systems Inquiring”. Proceedings normally are published in the year following. In 1987, John A. Dillon summarized Banathy’s perspective in the yearbook, General […]
For five immersive days, a team of six researchers had the opporunity to collaborate on ideas on rhythmic shifts (mostly based on Systems Changes Learning) and anticipatory systems (in the legacy of Robert Rosen). The 2024 Banathy Conversation was organized by the Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute, facilitated by Susu Nousala, Gary S. Metcalf, and […]
Systems Processes Theory has been under development for many decades, led by Len Troncale, a past president of the International Society for the Ssytems Sciences. Many have found getting a grip on the science to be a demanding task, both in scope and in depth. Over many decades, Lynn Rasmussen was a collaborator, refining and […]
The Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective, dating back to the studies of Eric L. Trist and Fred E. Emery, was on the reading list of organizational behaviour classes in my undergraduate and master’s degree programs. It wasn’t until 15 years later, when I got involved with the systems sciences and David L. Hawk, that the Socio-Ecological […]
Civic Tech can be described as projects using technology “for the public good“. Civic Tech may be related to, but different from Gov Tech. For the May 2024 Systems Thinking Onrtario, we had two knowledgeable guests in conversation. Dorothy Eng, executive director of Code for Canada since 2021, related her professional journey from engineering to […]
David L. Hawk (American management theorist, architect, and systems scientist) has been hosting a weekly television show broadcast on Bold Brave Tv from the New York area on Wednesdays 6pm ET, remotely from his home in Iowa. Live, callers can join…Read more ›
Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›
How might our society show value for the long term, over the short term? Could we think about taxation over time, asks @carlotaprzperez in an interview: 92% for 1 day; 80% within 1 month; 50%-60% tax for 1 year; zero tax for 10 years.Read more ›
The appreciation of change is different in Western philosophy than in classical Chinese philosophy. JeeLoo Lin published a concise contrast on differences. Let me parse the Introduction to the journal article, that is so clearly written. The Chinese theory of time is built into a language that is tenseless. The Yijing (Book of Changes) there […]
In trying to place the World Hypotheses work of Stephen C. Pepper (with multiple root metaphors), Nicholas Rescher provides a helpful positioning. — begin paste — Philosophical perspectivism maintains that substantive philosophical positions can be maintained only from a “perspective” of some sort. But what sort? Clearly different sorts of perspectives can be conceived of, […]
Finding proper words to express system(s) change(s) can be a challenge. One alternative could be diachrony. The Oxford English dictionary provides two definitions for diachronic, the first one most generally related to time. (The second is linguistic method) diachronic ADJECTIVE Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “diachronic (adj.), sense 1,” July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3691792233. For completeness, prochronic relates “to […]
The selection of readings in the “Introduction” to Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2, Penguin (1981), edited by Fred E. Emery, reflects a turn from 1969 when a general systems theory was more fully entertained, towards an urgency towards changes in the world that were present in 1981. Systems thinking was again emphasized in contrast […]
In reviewing the original introduction for Systems Thinking: Selected Readings in the 1969 Penguin paperback, there’s a few threads that I only recognize, many years later. The tables of contents (disambiguating various editions) were previously listed as 1969, 1981 Emery, System Thinking: Selected Readings. — begin paste — Introduction In the selection of papers for this […]
