Completed round-the-world trip Helsinki-Hameenlinna-London, then busy holiday season including an Achilles tendon injury from parkour, and our da shou Double 60 celebration.
Helsinki, Finland; Hameenlinna, Finland; London, UK, Scarborough, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario
Kiasma: Julia Varela (2016) X/5.000 from the series Hijacked, plasma screens crumpled and rendered useless. Inspired by terrorists erecting screens in Mosel to promote propaganda. Museum exhibition of Ars17 features contemporary artists on the digital revolution. (Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Mannerheiminaukio, Helsinki, Finland) 20171201HAMK: Saturday lecture to master’s students scheduled in the luxury of space of a large classroom. Reorganized discussion into small groups, sitting around a table might have improved interactions. In a new building on the university campus. (HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20171202Ahvenisto Lake: Winter swimming area kept clear of ice by air bubbling near shore. Steps down from public sauna are kept warm for health enthusiasts who want to warm up before plunging into the cold. In early evening, saw visitors headed towards the building, then a woman emerged in near freezing temperatures to enter the water. We walked a path around the lake, illuminated after the sunset before 3:30 p.m. (Ahvenisto Lake, Hameenlinna, Finland) 20171202Rosso: Our friendship is a continuing conversation since my first visit to Finland in 2003 (and meeting in California in 1999). This restaurant has been truly local for over 50 years, predating fast food chains. Neapolitan pizza with vegan cheese an indulgence leading to overconsumption. (Rosso, Sibeliuksenkatu, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20171202Museo Militaria: Days before centenary of Finland’s independence, immersed in longer history of land controlled by Sweden, and then Russia until the revolution of 1917. Jaegers trained in Germany in the few years preceding, became core of white (anti-communist) army who defeated the red and Russian forces. History explains why Finnish engineering and telecommunications figure large in the society. (The Artillery, Engineers and Signals Museum of Finland, Vanhankaupunginkatu, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20171203HAMK: Soft launch @daviding with @MinLii of Open Innovation Learning book in Finland, in advance of formal event in January. In conjunction with Open Data Hame meeting, led to practical questions about engaging greater participation supporting regional travel and tourism initiatives. (HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences, Visamäentie, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20171204Dipoli: International students on intercept lunch between other activities on campus. Completed renovation of Dipoli touted as first step in the new university campus plan. The granite interior was part of the original design from 1966 for the Student Union of the Helsinki University of Technology. Hope they got a good price when it was sold to Aalto University Properties a few years ago. (Dipoli, Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland) 201712015
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 […]
