Toronto, Ontario
Varsity Stadium: Blue and white are the colours for UToronto, so the track is thus themed. Summer session officially starts in 2 days, although the pandemic stay-at-home order precludes organized athletics, even outside. View south catches the CN Tower, a landmark years before the field was constructed. (Varsity Stadium, Bloor Street West, University of Toronto) 20210501Hamers Coffee: Imagery of sky and hands painted on #CommunityFridge, alongside green and white sign on pantry, is more artistic than other locations. Well-kept venue is open to all, at the corner of a major thoroughfare. Shelves were almost empty, maybe turnover is faster as elderly and families came to empty their bags in, and take a few items out. (Hamers Coffee, Dundas Street West at Manning Avenue, Little Portugal, Toronto, Ontario) 20210502Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade: Naturally rusted steel panels of varying heights obscure the trenches of construction to the south. Probably not intended as a brutalist art installation, temporary wall puts function first. Municipal facilities won’t be completed within this calendar year. (Ashbirdges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant, North Service Road, east of Leslie Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20210506Leader Lane: Looking south, in courtyard #AndrewPosa (1982) U. V. Ceti sculpture in honour of architect #EdwardIsaacRichmond. In the distance, the L Tower designed by #DanielLibeskind is shaped with a backward curve so that the 58-floor residential condominiums don’t block the light onto #BerczyPark. Biking down to the building, it’s the repurposing of the southern wing of #MeridianHall, formerly known as #SonyCentre, #HummingbirdCentre and #OKeefeCentre. (Leader Lane, 30 Wellington Street West, St. Lawrence district, Toronto, Ontario) 20210508Meridian Hall Plaza: View north from triptych @HarveyValentine (2016) Dream Ballet stainless steel sculptures, against a background of reflections with buildings in mirrored windows across Front Street at 33 Yonge Street. Grey tiles confuse the shapes in the chrome with strange angels. Plaza is a natural open space for children from the L Tower to the south. (Meridian Hall, Yonge Street at Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20210512Tommy Thompson Park: Convex mirror at fork in road suggests vehicles travelling too quickly on the asphalt trail? First tried direct southbound route, but there’s a high fence because the lift bridge is still out. Doubled back to then ride east and south around the wetland cells, on the alternate road along the endikement.(Tommy Thompson Park, Toronto, Ontario) 20210517Nelson Mandela Walk: Outdoor conversation pit features cantilevered granite plank with rectangular depression carved out of top near far end. Construction along pedestrian walk has been completed after two winters. No students on campus in late spring, a few people lounging on benches, enjoying clear weather. (Nelson Mandela Walk, Ryerson Community Park, Toronto, Ontario) 20210520
Centenary Hospital: Father receiving second Moderna vaccination after 10 weeks, accelerated from the 16 week expectation. Hospital was proactive in following up, to offer an earlier slot. Spent 15 minutes in observation room, amongst families and younger people getting first shots. Nurses caution that full immunity takes 2 weeks, keep wearing masks! (Margaret Birch Wing, Scarborough Health Network Centenary Hospital, Ellesmere Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20210628
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 […]
