Toronto, Ontario; Gravenhurst, Ontario
Japanese Paper Place: Show and tell @thejpp #GoSomewhere Japanese Art Tour. #AkikoTakeuchi described her approach to painting, as well as creating books with patterns that were used in designing the dress she was wearing. Each panelist spoke about her inspirations and methods, particularly in the choices amongst varieties of washi paper. One stop on a journey through cities Quebec and Ontario, coinciding with celebration of Canada-Japan 90 years of diplomatic relations. (The Japanese Paper Place, The East Mall, Etobicoke, Ontario) 20190801West Island: Couple spent 10 minutes canoodling inside the #JapaneseBell, situated on an @OntarioPlace islet just west of #Cinesphere. Solid bronze cast in 1977 was a gift from #JapanExternalTradeOrganization and Japanese Ontarians to the Province. Simcoe Day quiet in the downtown core, many pedestrians near the waterfront. (West Island, Ontario Place, Lake Shore Blvd. West, Toronto, Ontario) 20190805Corktown Commons: Discovered bubble soccer game with players on the grass, on an open athletic field that I’ve never seen in use. Running while carrying a zorb ball must be tiring, as some runners chose to relax on the ground rather than chasing and dribbling. Noticed minivan parked just off the street with deflated balls inside, and small motors ready to pump them up. (Corktown Commons Park, Mill Street at Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20190808Power Plant Gallery: Takes some reading to appreciate @abboutjoana and #KhalilJoreige (2014) #TheGeometryOfSpace @ThePowerPlantTO as part of #OnScams exhibition. Circulation of e-mail messages printed in #TheScamAtlases book, drawn on walls in pencil, and represented in 3D with curved oxidized steel rods. Faced surface for traffic in 2008, attendant warned to not lean on the opposite wall, in case the graphite might get rubbed away. (The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Queen’s Quay West, Toronto, Ontario) 20190808Systems Thinking Ontario: Relaxed first-person reports on summer systems conferences from the west coast @ocadslab . Multiple attendees @asc_cybernetics Vancouver and @isssmeeting Corvallis, so coverage over parallel streams more complete. Many of us have longer history with these systems organizations, providing colour commentary on history and anticipated futures. (Systems Thinking Ontario, Strategic Innovation Lab, Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20190812Riverside neighbourhood: Home cooked meal for family travelling from the UK, on summer vacation back in the land where they started. Before they had kids, they used to look after our kids. After dinner, paper crafting session, as our family doesn’t normally include girls. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20190813Gravenhurst Opera House: Drove up to my hometown with my father, for a stay of one or two days, to check out the building across the street from the local landmark. Discovering how many loose ends for the family might need wrapping up. Could be the first overnight in the apartment since before DY and I married. (Opera House, Muskoka Road South, Gravenhurst, Ontario) 20190820Lions Pavilion: On a bright, warm afternoon walking Muskoka Wharf, noticed a Public Outdoor Room (as A Pattern Language #69 describes) that provides shade and a social place to rest. My father said that he was out of town on the two days of construction May 1-2, 1993, by 60 tradespeople and volunteers, but was part of the Lions Club crew who later painted the ceiling white. The colour has changed, and the site is well maintained. Chatted with a woman looking after her grandniece, who remembered saying that such a project would never come to be. Father said he was on town council public works, and approved a suggestion to invite clean fill from excavated sites, filling in the marsh. (Lions Pavilion, Muskoka Wharf, Bay Street, Gravenhurst, Ontario) 20190821Google Developer Group Cloud Toronto: Pacman game controlled by #RamkumarArunamoorthy turning head on camera #GDGCloudToronto demonstrating #TensorFlow. Self-paced Intro to ML (Image Processing) @quiklabs course, with leader on big screen helping people getting stuck. Completing the first lab with 60 minute timer countdown isn’t an issue those who came for the GDG Cloud Essentials a few months ago, but puts stress on those unaccustomed to a Linux terminal. (Google Developer Group Cloud Toronto, George Brown College Waterfront Campus, Dockside Drive, Toronto, Ontario) 20190824Edward Gardens: Renewal of vows for 34th year, original venue fountain is still the same, a few more flowers in the background. Noticed more improvements and construction around the grounds. Family dinner of Hakka cuisine a change. (Edward Gardens, Lawrence Avenue East, Don Mills, Ontario) 20190824Mums the Word: Social meetup @OpenIDEO_TO local chapter, describing design challenges towards building solutions to tough challenges. Small discussion groups, met some attendees new to city. Exercise on idea generation using How Might We starter, then group refinement to ensure not too broad or narrow. Session sets expectation for upcoming design challenge next month. (Mums the Word, College Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20190827Systems Thinking TO: Summer retrospective and thinking forward for #SystemsThinking Ontario, relaxed discussion on plans for rest of year amongst small group. Session was organized on short notice, as last month was prorogued in vacation season. Will bring back swashbooking, and try some case studies as coming events. (System Thinking TO, Loyalty One, King Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20190828Muskoka Road South: After-dinner couples stroll on main street, Friday of Labour Day long weekend. Dad says that the summer vacationers have already left, preparing children to start school on Tuesday. Brewpub a few blocks north busy serving flights, live music attracting hipsters. (Muskoka Road South, Gravenhurst, Ontario) 20190830
Rickshaw Restaurant: Revisited the place I knew as a child 60 years ago as Queen’s Cafe, where our family had a start in this small town. The basic layout is the same, with a section raised a small step to the east, and the kitchen beyond. The counter facing the south wall with pies in refrigerator cases and milkshake makers is gone, with small tables now in front of a mirror. The room looks smaller, of course, beyond the perspective of a 4-year old. (Rickshaw Restaurant, Muskoka Road South, Gravenhurst, Ontario) 20190831
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 […]
