Toronto, Ontario
St. Michaels Hospital: Emergency room visit checked ultrasound and xray as normal, but soft tissue brusing ln wrist and hip could take a few days to unstiffen. On Dundas Street eastbound just before Bond Street, a car struck my bicycle, and I fell on top on my left side. Traffic continued, no pedestrians stopped. Ambulance drove me one block, police came and noted the event, but it was a hit-and-run with no witnesses. (St. Michael’s Hospital, Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20230207
The Theatre Centre: Dinner-theatre @CahootsTheatre production of #BetweenAWokAndAHotpot with #mandamlin later plays name-that-actor, not scripting @jean_yoon in audience stage left. Instructing audience members not only on ingredients and protocol for communal dining, but also the history of Taiwan, immigration, and Asian-Canadian identity. (The Theatre Centre, Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20230209
Hirut: Reinterpreting Black Disciples from The Triodes band, called by @robocchipinti (bass) with @michaelocchipintimusic (guitar), @hug_the_mod (violin), #DavideDiRenzo (drums). Paul Neufeld was listening in the audience, and then left to play another gig. World class musicians in a neighbourhood east end venue, casual and low stress, (Hirut Cafe and Restaurant, Danforth Avenue, Toronto) 20230211
Hirut: Without sequencer, #AreYouGoingWithMe called by @robocchipintii (bass) with @michaelocchipintimusic (guitar), @hug_the_mod (violin), #DavideDiRenzo (drums). One of two #PatMetheny tunes played in the early set. More improvised than rehearsed, key features of the composition were preserved. (Hirut Cafe and Restaurant, Danforth Avenue, Toronto) 20230211
Heartland: Halftime show is highlight for non-fans of professional sports, with an ex-varsity football player providing commentary this year. Resumption of annual Superbowl party tradition a reason to celebrate, after some years of pandemic shutdowns. Representation from our family members was low due to travel schedules, we invited a few friends to round up the numbers. (Heartland, Mississauaga, Ontario) 20220212St Michaels Hospital: Struck by car 2 weeks ago, right hand x-rays last week, finger splint today installed in hand clinic to be worn for 6 weeks, 24 hours per day. Fourth distal interphalangeal joint noted to be in hyperflexion on all views consistent with a mallet deformity, implying extensor tendon insertion avulsion. No associated fracture detected. discomfort is on left side rather than right, just problems typing the letter O. (St. Michael’s Hospital, ‘Queen :Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20220222Centre for Social Innovation Spadina: Special community lunch @csiTO prepared by @NewcomerKitchen, drawing attention to conditions following recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkiye. First speaker direct from Syria a few days ago, spoke about difficulties with cold weather even before the earthquakes. Supporting groups locally in Toronto packing supplies to be airlifted to the region, and doctors reaching out across the ocean. (Centre for Social Innovation, Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20220222
Fortune Seafood Restaurant: Cake topped with fresh fruit to celebrate grandfather’s birthday (on the Western calendar) slightly early, and Noah’s birthday slightly late. Courses of Vancouver crab, Peking duck, white cut chicken, pork chop, beef with greens, grouper tofu in pot, all finished off by our sons. Restaurant is operated by a new owner since the many years we’ve been here, the quality will see us return. (Fortune Seafood Restaurant, Midland Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20230225
Beyond city-building as urban planning is the idea of a Music City. This sees development of cultural life across a wide variety of arts, alongside economic benefits brought to the region. At the 119th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario in March 2024, socio-cultural designer Adam Hogan and musician-designer Ziyan Hossain joined moderator Zaid Khan in conversation. […]
Having reached year 6 of an espoused 10-year journey, the Systems Changes Learning Circle is (again) convening monthly Dialogues on Social Innovation at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto. Starting up in 2019, the Circle was convening regularly in the Climate Ventures space at 192 Spadina Avenue. The pandemic interrupted in-person meetings, and the […]
EQ Lab runs Dialogic Drinks, “the kind of philosophical discussion you have in a coffee shop or bar”, twice per week. Wtih this group interested loosely in questions on leadership, I was invited to host an online session on March 12 (evening in Hong Kong and Singapore, really early in Toronto) and on March 14-15 […]
At the 118th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario in February 2024, behavioral scientist Cameron D. Norman and design strategist Tara Campbell were invitied for a conversation guided by Zaid Khan. The panelists are both alumni of the Strategic Foresight and Innovation program at OCADU. Some time ago, they had conducted a research project on evaluation […]
An article on “sciencing and philosophizing”, coauthored by Gary S. Metcalf and myself, has been published in the Journal of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, following the ISSS 2023 Kruger Park conference in South Africa, last July. There’s a version cacned on the Coevolving Commons. This article started in a series of conversations […]
For the January 2024 Systems Thinking Ontario session, educational game designer Scott DeJong and innovation designer Geoff Evamy Hill joined a conversation moderated by Zaid Khan. Mutual interests in the new field of educational design and games were at the core of the discussion. This was an opportunity for systems thinkers to expand their knowledge on […]
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 ›
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 […]
In a recording of the debate between Michael Quinn Patton and Michael C. Jackson on “Systems Concepts in Evaluation”, Patton referenced four concepts published in the “Principles for effective use of systems thinking in evaluation” (2018) by the Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group (SETIG) of the American Evaluation Society. The four concepts are: (i) […]
How might the quality of an action research initiative be evaluated? — begin paste — We have linked our five validity criteria (outcome, process, democratic, catalytic, and dialogic) to the goals of action research. Most traditions of action research agree on the following goals: (a) the generation of new knowledge, (b) the achievement of action-oriented […]
