Toronto, Ontario; Agincourt, Ontario; Shanghai, PR China; Wuhan, PR China; Vancouver, BC.
Riverside neighbourhood: Urban foresters pruning our city-owned tree away from electrical power lines, viewed from our second-floor bedroom window. The cutter in the bucket and driver clearing falling debris were working their way down the street. Preventive maintenance of essential infrastructure shows good long-term planning in our municipality. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20180403 Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen: Convened a family dinner, as travel schedules have members coming and going so much that most will miss the clan’s annual spring event. Venue selected as Chinese vegan cuisine, consistent with the eco-Atkins plant-based diet almost 4 weeks in progress. Ordered goose, beef, chicken, pork dishes, all mock meats, finishing with a side order of duck and then black sesame soup dessert. (Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen, Midland Avenue, Agincourt, Ontario) 20180409 Zhangliang Tongji United Plaza: Picking own ingredients to put into soup broth is a fast way to ensure a vegan dinner. Requesting “bu la”, or not spicy, didn’t seem to reduce the heat of malatang. Runners in the store will pick orders for phone-in takeout orders. A quick meal before an earlier bedtime, with a 12-hour time zone jump on a 14-hour direct flight. (Zhangliang Malatang, Tongji United Plaza, Zhangwu Road, Yangpu district, Shanghai, PR China) 20180414Godly Nanjing Road: Intersecting @doug_schuler to discuss pattern language research trajectories. He is at end of visit from Seattle, we are at beginning from Toronto. After vegan duck, fish belly, beef and crab meat, walked through People’s Park marriage market umbrellas. (Godly Nanjing Road, Shanghai, PR China) 20180415 Bitter: Comparing @snousala@doug_schuler radical approaches to higher education that enable students to learn differently. Signals that China is changing pedagogical approaches for new young leaders, and investing heavily in academic research and advanced education in ways not apparent in the west. (Bitter, Wuyuan Lu, French Concession, Shanghai, PR China) Fushun Road: Wicker chairs on cart pulled by worker on foot on the city street, in the old fashioned way. Had a morning walk around the neighbourhood south of Tongji U., active with early shoppers at markets. (Fushun Road, Siping district, Shanghai, PR China) 20180417 Anshan Road: Small world intercept with TL in stationery store, on random walk around the shopping streets near Tongji U. DY had expressed admiration of the variety of colours of the pen set in the office. Our chance encounter spoiled a surprise gift planned for an hour later. (Anshan Road, Siping district, Shanghai, PR China) 20170417 Hongqiao Railway Station: Long queue builds anxiety, as gates open just 20 minutes before train leaves, and platform is through the turnstiles and down stairs. Chinese crowds are pushy, in contrast to more orderly western groups. D-train Shanghai-Wuhan speed is up to 250km/h, as compared to G-train up to 300km/h. (Hongqiao Railway Station, Shanghai, PR China) 20180418 Wuhan U. of Technology: Man exercising with diabolo spinning with string between two batons, on the exercise field in the middle of campus on a warm spring morning. The short cut across the track has been closed off since our last visit, it’s a long walk from the east gate to the College of Art and Design. (Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, PR China) 20180419Donghu Lake: Docks on the west shore of East Lake, on the edge of the Wuhan University campus. Young people dangling legs over the edge, speedboats stopping to pick up passengers for a water crossing. Further south, we encountered couples posing for wedding photographs. (Donghu Lake, Wuhan, PR China) 20180420 Hongshan Pagoda: Tower built in 1280 AD, originally named Lingji Pagoda in memory of the Buddhist master, north side of Baotong Temple. We climbed the narrow steps of irregular heights to ascend to a majestic view of Wuhan. The descent was just as challenging, as stability called for me to sit at each steep step, to deliberately place my foot down. At the end, my clothes were covered with dust, and the tops of my thighs trembled from fatigue. (Hongshan Pagoda, Baotong Temple, Wuhan, PR China) 20180421 Baotong Temple Vegetarian: Our group shared the widest variety of Buddhist vegan cuisine that I have ever encountered. We were hosted by the restaurant manager, whose son had been guided to graduate studies abroad by SN. The luxury of a large, air-conditioned room on the second floor, meticulously prepared foods and attentive servers were a refreshing follow-on from climbing uphill through many temple halls, and navigating steep steps up the pagoda. (Baotong Temple Vegetarian, Wuhan, PR China) 20180421Jiulong Hongshan: Conference dinner with speakers and organizers for SCUD2018 on Smart Cities and Urban Design. Cajoled to consume my first alcohol of the year, thimble-sized goblets of rice wine permitted, to follow a Mongolian ritual toast for the heavens, the earth, and ancestors. (Jiulong Hotel, Hongshan district, Wuhan, PR China) 20180421 Smart Cities and Urban Design: Painting by Professor WU Xingkuan in honour of formal opening of SCUD International Smart Cities and Urban Design Conference. Our group had the first plenary session slot, and we learned more about each others’ research focus, because the prior meetings have been much more on process rather than content. We’ll refine our collective direction, with diverse perspectives and interests as our strength. (2018 International Conference on Smart Cities and Urban Design, Xiongchu International Hotel, Hongshan district, Wuhan, PR China) 20180422Tongji Huangpu School: Lecturing again to high school class, on systems thinking relevant to their current project to design a bridge. Eased into systems levels and pacing with a personal story about family and service systems at home. Whiteboard discussion on bridge led to a question: will animals be permitted to cross the bridge, or will they be prevented from following their nature? (Tongji Huangpu School, Middle Sichuan Road, Waitan, Shanghai, PR China) 20180423 Vanilla Rockbund: Colleague out of town presented an opportunity for more deeply acquainting with the spouse. Discussed life in Shanghai, the history and status of Finland over the past 25 years, and upcoming options for residencies elsewhere in the world. No alcohol consumed, it’s a school night! Venue was trendier than our usual style, the four millennial women at the next table were preoccupied with their mobile phones, and taking selfies. (Vanilla Rockbund, Beijing East Road, Shanghai, PR China) 20180423 Long Museum Pudong: Massive central hall leads to galleries on upper floors. “L’étranger mélancolie” of post-1911 exchanges between China and the west, “90th Anniversary of Army Day”, and 1700s Qing Dynasty sceptre were interesting on technique, but the subjects weren’t of our usual contemporary interests. On a Tuesday morning, we two seemed to be the only visitors to this large art museum, a long taxi ride from our hotel in the Bund. (Long Museum Pudong, Luoshan Road, Shanghai, PR China) 20180425Long Museum West Bund: Long taxi ride back over Huangpu River to newly developing West Bund neighbourhood. Enjoyed “Asian Impression” of contemporary Chinese, Japanese and South Korean art. Downstairs gallery included Shi Yongjun (2012) “Daily Routine”; Li Jikai 2009 “On a Dumped Riprap”; Tu Hongtoa (2006) “Pure Landscape”; and Luo Quanmu (2007) “Lost Deer”. Also saw the movie set of Yong Fudong (2018) “Dawn Breaking” of 30-day filming, each day complemented by a video diary of crews at work. Venue is so far upstream on the river that familiar Bund sights aren’t visible from the banks. (Long Museum West Bund, Longteng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai, PR China) 20180425 Brewery Creek Mount Pleasant: Flowering cherry trees in full blossoms along many streets, planted in Vancouver since the 1930s. Visiting town for a four days to visit DY’s family, routing PVG-YVR-YYZ at no extra charge. With 9-hour time zone change over the international date line, opted for a basement apartment in a residential house towards the east side. (Brewery Creek / Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, east 12th Street, Vancouver, BC) 20180425Gaoler’s Mews: Incongruity of having lunch at vegan MeeT at Gastown restaurant, beside L’Abbatoir named for the city’s former main butchery and meat packing distict. Opted for a Beyond Burger special not on the regular menu, that looked and had the sensation of a rare beef patty. While not terrible, I prefer the denseness of the veggie burgers that we’ve had for decades. Dining al fresco in warm spring weather. (MeeT at Gastown, Gaoler’s Mews, Water Street, Vancouver, BC) 20180426MeeT At Gastown: Managing to adhere to a vegan prescription with the pea-based Beyond Burger veggie patty, although the kaiser bun and french fries aren’t on the Portfolio Diet or Eco-Atkins Diet. Enjoying western style food in the clean BC air with greater spring weather, after 10 days in China. (MeeT at Gastown, Water Street, Vancouver, BC) 20180426 Tangent Cafe: Local jazz listings found @wmatsushita in Nicholas Bracewell The Collective with Chris Fraser, Daniel Howard. He was surprised to see us, since at home in Toronto is a more likely encounter. The variety of beers in this venue seems to attract customers more than the food, which was good. (Tangent Cafe, Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC) 20180426
Vancouver Harbour North Shore: View off back of the Seabus is better than that out the front, on both directions. Met with DY’s friend for lunch in Lonsdale Quay, had a view of workmen painting concrete barriers yellow. Snow on the mountaintops gradually receding in the warm spring sunshine. (Lonsdale Quay from Seabus, Vancouver Harbour, BC) 20180427
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 […]
