Toronto, Ontario; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Sunnyvale, California; Mountain View, California; Berkeley, California
Cineplex Queensway: Tuesday Matinee viewing of Avengers Infinity War in UltraAVX non-3D is a lot to absorb, having to recall linkages over 10 years of movies. Between prior 16-day trip and upcoming 10-day trip, squeezing in regular life is a luxury. (Cineplex Cinema Queensway, Etobicoke, Ontario) 20180501 MarsDD: Connected data in graphs @fzakariya @neo4j briefing. Beyond relational databases on a LAMP stack, and document databases on the MEAN stack, now looking at GraphQL and Node.js tools. Continual learning on technologies that continue to evolve. (Mars Discovery District, College Street, Toronto, Ontario ) 20180503Pearson T1 aisle 11: Been 18 months since I last flew to USA on AC, despite have travelled to Asia, Europe and western Canada multiple times. I may be part of the statistic of fewer flyers under the current government adminstration. Pearson Terminal moved Air Canada U.S. check-ins to the far end aisles, from the middle. Agent said they did that about 18 months ago. (Pearson Terminal 1, Toronto, Ontario) 20180507SFO International Terminal: By door 06, Rufino Tamayo (1983) “Conquest of Space”, enamel paint on steel. Mexican painter with first sculpture permanently placed outside of Mexico at age 84. Waiting for pickup by AHI at departures level, wearing shorts and sandals. (San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal, California) 20180507San Jose Japantown: Driver attests to Ford Focus 5* safety rating. A sore wrist and three small pricks on the back of left hand are the only post collision symptoms. Neighbours say 4 way stop was installed only a month ago. Northbound sedan struck on driver’s side by Volvo SUV, forcing the car into the utility pole. Side and front air bags deployed. Vehicles taken to towing yard on flatbed trucks. (N.4th Street at E. Empire, Japantown, San Jose, California) 20180508
Merit Vegan: Ex-vegans @rarar @liv_bryce and omnivore @teh_allchemist accommodating my prescribed diet for tofu and eggplant in selecting a dining spot. Indulged in non-dairy desserts. Learning about each other’s backstories, there are surprises in the contexts that make sense in appreciating life journeys. Served by waiter who we’re convinced really enjoys the foods he recommends. (Merit Vegan, Merit Expressway, Sunnyvale, California) 20180510 Kolbeh: Persian restaurant sees koobideh kebab sampled by two, while the majority opts for the more familiar falafel. We’ll join the rest of the family in the North Bay, for the official ceremonies tomorrow. Genial service by head waiter, unexpected with the casual decor. (Kolbeh, El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA) 20180511 Cal Memorial Stadium: UC Berkeley class of 2018 takes 1 hour in procession to fill the seats, audience capacity of 63,000 looks two-thirds full. Maddy’s mother alumna says when she graduated decades ago, ceremonies were smaller by department, so campus-wide events are newer. Extended family attending only this event today, two more departmental events this week. Milestone sesquicentennial 150 years for UC. (California Memorial Stadium, University of California, Berkeley) 20180512UC Berkeley: Family convening for Maddy’s class of 2018 graduation at U.C. Berkeley. Lots of groups lining up for choice photo spots. Exodus from Cal Memorial Stadium at conclusion of ceremonies disperses crowds up and down staircases and the hills on campus. (University of California at Berkeley) 20180512Berkeley Art Center: Examining Jeremiah Jenkins (2018) “Jacob’s Teaset” installation, with barrier and omenous warning to preclude electrical shock. Power cord plugged into wall connects to percolator, placement of the spoon to close a circuit is noticed. Unexpected arc across spark gap between percolator and sugar bowl confirmed danger, but then we couldn’t trigger another zap by bouncing on the floor. Leisure afternoon continued with stroll along Berryman Path, and a visit to the Berkeley Rose Garden. (Berkeley Art Center, Walnut Street, Berkeley, California) 20180513Veggie Garden: Meeting AHI’s circle of friends, social media means everyone is well-briefed on recent news. Some had seen RDI on a prior trip, didn’t know there are more brothers at home. Vegan duck unanimously voted as outstanding. (Veggie Garden, El Camino Real, Mountain View, California) 20180515Yerba Buena: Partition wall sees Future Farmers (2018) “Oar Trade” blades threaded through ports. Baltimore floorboards inlaid into Seattle house, then extracted Seattle floorboards shaped into art objects. This contemporary art show was more conceptual than usual, a lot of documentaries to watch. (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Mission Street, San Francisco, California) 20180516 SFO Museum: Isamu Noguchi (1986) “Akari Table Lamp Model VB13-T” made of washi paper, bamboo and metal. Display cases in International Terminal showing Japanese-American designer (1904-1988), where 2-dimensional origami folding influences 3-dimensional objects. (San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal G, California). 20180517 Former Weston Bread Factory: Photo installation @laird_kay 2018 “Wonder” abstracts building details of bread production lines now silent since 2014. Venue for Contact Festival at the end of our street received zoning approvals in 2017, pre-sales of condominium units should commence later this month. More construction on our block to be expected. (Former Weston Bread Factory, 462 Eastern Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20180519Pine Hills Cemetery: Igniting incense sticks shielded by the Lowkong monument and inside a metal can. Annual cemetery visit to remember clan members no longer with us, and ancestors in our lineage. (Pine Hills Cemetery, Birchmount Road, Scarborough, Ontario) 20180520 SystemsThinking/TO: Systemic insurrection after ST/TO formal program. I invited anyone who wanted to discuss “why I disagreed with 90% of the presentation on Innovation Engineering” to pull up a chair, and stay for a chat. Emergent multi-way discussion backed up by theoretical and historical recall by Stephen Regoczei. This was an emergent thread from a one-way talking-head agenda, future meetings may seek to be more participative. Photo courtesy of Chris Chapman. (SystemsThinking/TO, LoyaltyOne, King Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20180524 Sim Toronto: Vintage K-E-M editing table @simcomplete @Doors_OpenTO contrasts to digital editing suites on tours for visitors on this special weekend. Sound isolation from floating floors and 5 panes of window glass is impressive, given the busy city thoroughfares immediately outside. Viewed quick show reel in wonderful facility equipped for Dolby Atmos, but a real demo of the capabilities requires approvals and an NDA that customers normally sign. (Sim International (formerly Tattersall Sound and Picture, Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20180526 203-205 College St.: The BMO branch where I opened an account in 1976 was replaced by a Starbucks, but now only the east wall is left to be demolished. The 5-storey building on the southeast corner of St. George Street and Beverley Street applied to the OMB for a 29-floor tower replacement. My grandparents’ house where I lived was one block west, and during my uncle’s university days, they lived one block south. (203-205 College Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20180527
Grange Park: Rear side of Art Gallery of Ontario, exterior wall colours bright on a sunny day. Bicycle had a flat tire on Spadina, decided to walk further east to position for RDI to pick up in car. (Grange Park, Beverley Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20180530
For espoused systems thinkers who are predisposed towards towards finding an equilibrium (or maybe one amongst multiple equilibria), a discussion about entropy can raise discomfort. In the systems sciences, the second law of thermodynamics — as an entropic process — is often cited by the learned as a universal law applicable across physics, chemistry, biology […]
In the 4th year of an espoused 10-year journey, the Systems Changes Learning Circle reached a major milestone. With Code for Canada, the team conducted its first educational workshop based on the contextural action learning approach currently under review for publication. The client was the Canadian Digital Service . The presentation outlining the basic ideas and […]
Many might sequence systems thinking as (i) systems theory preceding (ii) systems practice. This is not always the case. There are situations where (i) systems practice has preceded (ii) systems theory, or the two advance in a tight learning loop. Jack Ring once pointed out that applied science (engineering) precedes science, because human beings often […]
System thinking, coming from roots in mainstream Western philosophy, tends to orient towards (i) thinking in space, before (ii) thinking in time. Structure is an arrangement in space. Process is an arrangement in time. A critical systems perspective leads us to think about inclusion within boundaries. Does this lead us to overlook boundaries in time? […]
The Systems Changes Learning Circle, formed in January 1999, has since been meeting at least once every 3 weeks. In many respects, the core group has exhibited great patience in our mutual learning towards an agenda of Rethinking Systems Thinking, from talks given in 2012, and published in 2013. In anticipation of a journal article […]
In the 1980s, ecological economics seemed to be mostly economists extending their work towards environmental and resource concerns. In the 2020s, ecological economics is seeing a new generation first schooled in other disciplines such as environmental studies or one of the social sciences, then coming into economics. Programs that encourage the new perspective include the […]
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 ›
For the @ArchFoundation, #TimIngold distinguishes outcome-oriented making from process-oriented growing, revisiting #MartinHeidegger “Building Dwelling Thinking”. Organisms are made; artefacts grow. The distinction seems obvious, until you stop to ask what assumptions it contains, about the inside and outside of things…Read more ›
In web conference, #HermanDaly says #EcologicalEconomics used to get attacked from the right, now it's from the left. Panel @revkin @jon_d_erickson @ktkish @sophiesanniti #TimCrowshaw #KatieHorner livestreamed #sustainwhat .Read more ›
Complementing the idea of a @longnow , @nfergus provokes the challenge of a #shortthen as the online social media platforms distract the larger perspectives on history.Read more ›
In this review of a philosophical work written in Chinese, a comparison is made between Chinese philosophy centering on the body, in comparison to Western philosopy centered on the mind. (I found a reference to this book, tracing back from Keekok Lee (2017) Chapter 9, footnote 8.
The translation from English "systems thinking" to French "la pensée systémique" misses meaning. "Approche systémique" has lineage to "Conférences Macy", "General System Theory (Bertalanffy)" and "Gregory Bateson"
When one chooses a guiding philosophy of life -- and the modern world has chosen humanism -- one becomes responsible for all the consequences that flow from that choice. (David W. Ehrenfeld, 1981)
“Rethinking Systems Thinking” (2013) is cited by #DaniloBrozović (U. Skövde), #MarcoTregua (U. Napoli Federico II): The level of complexity in current service ecosystems is rising, not least due to technology (Barile et al., 2020), with the effect of such increased complexity of service ecosystems being perceived as ‘simple’. On the other hand, some systems researchers […]
Jullien views propensity in Chinese philosophy, as a counterpart to causality in Western philosophy. Some unpacking of his writing in digests may be helpful. Jullien, François. 1995. The Propensity of Things: Toward a History of Efficacy in China. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Zone Books. Introduction How can we conceive of the dynamic in terms of the static, in […]
In his system of system concepts, Russell Ackoff made the distinction between reformation and transformation in many of his lectures. Here are two written sources. From Redesigining Society (2003) … Systemic Transformation A system is transformed, as contrasted with reformed, when its structure or functions are changed fundamentally. Such changes are discontinuous and qualitative, quantum […]
