Madrid long walks and museums, Barcelona beach and lectures, recovery from jet lag back in Toronto
Madrid, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Mora La Nova, Spain; Mora d’Ebre, Spain; Valleta de Piro; Toronto, Ontario
Puerta Del Príncipe: Changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Madrid on Saturday 1pm is for show, as only state ceremonies have been done in the building since the official residence moved in 1975. On the hour, the two guards and the horses are changed. Arriving late for the previous half hour, we strolled the greenery of the Jardines de Sabatini to the north, where stables were formerly located. (Puerta Del Príncipe, Calle de Bailén, Madrid , Spain) 20221001
Mercado de San Fernando: Saturday 3:30pm the market was noisy, with restaurants and bars full of customers. Aside from the light in the central atrium, the warren of corridors was full of occupied stools, that visitors would have to weave around to locate a very few real retail stores where food could be brought for meals at home. Earlier, we opted for a quieter lunch up in Los Mostenses, when the renmants of an old Chinatown were evident. (Mercado de San Fernando, Calle de Embajadores, Madrid, Spain, 20221001
La Casa Encendida: Courtyard exhibits for “Ecologías para otras arquitecturas” [Ecologies for Other Architectures] two-day show. Foreground TAKK [Mireia Luzárraga + Alejandro Muiño] 2022 (No)humanos: Refugios para cotorras [(Non-)human: shelters for monk parakeets] wooden slats and metal mesh catenaries covered with mud, branches and grass hope to attract descendants of the Argentine parrots who have become invasive and are under extermination. Background Pareid Architecture (2022) Desmantelamiento gamificado: Variaciones de una cabaña primitiva [Gamed dismantling: variations of a primitive cabin] made of reclaimed wood held together by clamps, is the minimum needs for a shelter for a physical computer gamer’s hut. (La Casa Encendida, Plaza de San Martin, Madrid, Spain) 20221001Chocolateria San Gines: Two orders of hot dark chocolate fondue with 6 churros each, to end off a full day of touring Madrid. At 9pm, the outdoor tables had a queue waiting, but we were seated within minutes at an indoor table of the cafe founded in 1894. DY calculates the calories higher in the churros than in the chocolate, possibly forgiveable with the 26,000 steps taken this day. (Chocolatería San Ginés, Pasadizo de San Ginés, Madrid, Spain) 20221001
Museo de Historia de Madrid: A litter to transport sick patients by the Hermandad del Refugio de Madrid [Madrid Brotherhood of Rufuge], founded 1615, for the needy and homeless on city streets. Learned that Madrid as primarily a centre for royals and finance, with few craftsmen or manufacturers before the 20th century. In addition, the disconnection between Spanish royalty and the common people led to the fall of the nation to Napoleon in the early 1800s, and issues with leadership for many centuries. (Museo de Historia de Madrid, Calle de Fuencarral, Madrid, Spain) 20221002
Teleferico de Madrid: Cablecar return from Estación de Casa de Campo in Parque Casa de Campo, eastbound to Estación Rosales in Parque del Oeste. Each journey is 11 minutes, crossing over Rio Manzanares, train tracks northwest from Príncipe Pío station, and the Autopista de Circunvalación M-30 motorway. Overivew of sparse trees in the arid climate, with a few picnics and solo thinkers under the shade. (Teleferico de Madrid, Estación Rosales, Madrid, Spain) 20221002
Estacion Madrid – Puerta de Atocha: Boarded Renfe Alta Velocidad Española [Spanish High Speed Train] to travel from Madrid to Barcelona. Up to peak 300 kph, the journey took 2.5 hours. Countryside terrain arid to almost desert, first travelling northeast to Zaragoza, and then eastbound with more civilization approaching the sea. (Estación Madrid – Puerta de Atocha, Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, Madrid) 20221003Platja de la Barceloneta: View from Barceloneta Beach down the coast south slightly after dusk might not have been improved 10 minutes earlier, because the set doesn’t set when facing east. The seaside neighbourhood is a peninsula, with restaurants and hotels ringing the waterfront. Coming from a hotel on the west side, the bus route took us by two large cruise ships at port. (Platja de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain) 20221003La Sagrada Familia: On the Nativity Facade, rode to elevator up to 65 metres of the 98 metre height, and started the 504-step descent on the spiral staircase. A few minutes down, through the chain links covering an open window, the pinnacles on the apse pediment feature sculptures of the spring fruit of the Virgin Mary. e.g. rose hips, oleaster, dates, olives and grapes. Other visitors were patient with our careful stepping on shaded steps, our thighs were wobbly near the end. (La Sagrada Familia, Calle de Mallorca, Barcelona, Spain) 20221004Museu d’Història de Barcelona: In 1995, a clock found in disuse at Boqueria market was handed over to the museum. It was traced back to 1907, by the watchmaker of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Barcelona, Josep Besses. This was part of the temporary exhibition “Alimentar Barcelona. Ciutat, proveïment i salut” [Feed Barcelona. City, supply and health] on food security within the municipality and region. We preceded that show with a walk underground through the ruins of the old city governed by Rome from 10 BCE until the fall of the empire. (Museu d’Història de Barcelona, Plaça del Rei, Barcelona, Spain) 20221014Pavimento Miro: The mosaic, 8-metres in diameter, was 6000 terrazzo tiles designed in 1976 by Joan Miró, intended to be unprotected, with pedestrians walking over it every day. With the surface deteriorating and colours fading, the Barcelona City Council restored the artwork in 2006 to mark its 30th anniversary. The pathway is busy, so inattentive travellers are likely interrupt any unrehearsed photograph. (Plaza de la Boquería, La Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain) 20221004Museu d’Historia de Catalunya: Diorama of farming when the region was called Al-Andulus, as dry farming of wheat was transitioned in the 11th century to more varied produce through introduction of the technology of irrigation, by the Moors (Muslim rulers). Museum traced Catalonia back to ancient Roman rule, up to the 20th century leadership by and after Francisco Franco. Educational short history of socioeconomics, coincided with two teachers giving lectures to classes of school-aged children. (Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Placa de Pau Vila, Barcelona, Spain)Mora la Nova train station: Arriving by train, this small town shows its size by the narrow pedestrian walk that crosses over tracks that are active only a few times per day. Terminus was less chaotic than departure at Barcelona-Sants, where the electronic signs were slow catching up the reality of late trains forcing a shift of platforms, back up the escalators and then down the other side. Attending research symposium across the river in Mora d’Ebre for 3 days, at a base set up by the CSRP Institute. (Mora la Nova, Tarragona, Spain) 20221005Cafe Noisette: Break for lunch at the CSRP Institute Symposium on one of the small plazas in town, just down the street from the 200-year old Catalan townhouse. Gained advantage of meeting in person, for continuing discussion and adding ideas. Hidden behind the trees is a statue of Julio Antonio, Spanish sculptor 1889-1990). (Cafè Noisette, Plaça de Dalt, Móra d’Ebre, Tarragona, Spain) 20221006
Castell de Mora, Ebro river: The castle of Mora is documented back to 1060, when the a Catalan nobleman Mir Geribert, the self-declared Prince of Olèrdola, attempted to to conquer the Muslim fortress, and died during the attack. In the 15th century, the castle was fortified for the First Carline War, and then again in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 as a command and supply centre. By the end of that war, the ruin was total. The river Ebre (in Catalan, or Ebro in Spanish) was the dividing line after the First Punic War (264-241 BC) between the Romans to the north (where Mora la Nova is today) and the Carthaginans to the south (where Mora d’Ebre has been). (Castell de Mora, Raval de Jesús, Móra d’Ebre, Tarragona, Spain) 20221006
Església del Sagrat Cor + Convent de les Mínimes: Arrived too late for doors to be open for the 6:30pm service, at the Church of the Sacred Heart, inaugurated in 1894. Alongside the Convent of the Minimes, the female branch of the congregation founded by San Francisco de Paula in the 1500s was chartered by Sister Filomena Ferrer Galzeran in her home town of Mora d’Ebre. While the tomb of Sister Filomena was destroyed in 1936, her cause for beatification was introduced on 1891, leading to Pope Leo XIII declaring her venerable in 1897, and Pope John Paul II approving her decree as a saint in 1989. (Església del Sagrat Cor + Convent de les Mínimes, Plaça de la Venerable Sor Filomena Ferrer, Móra d’Ebre, Tarragona, Spain) 20221007Valleta de Piro: Outer structure of a two-bedroom house unoccupied for some years, renovations are in the plans for the new owners. The land below is terraced, but the vegetation has reverted to the wild, and needs to be managed. On the ridge in the distance, windmills were turning and generating electricity. (Valleta de Piro, La Torre de l’Espanyol, Tarragona, Spain) 20221009Valleta de Piro: Picking ripe olives off the tree, they weren’t ready a few weeks ago. The nuts from the almond trees are finished for the year. Lots of rosemary and other herbs on the land, research required to identify other species. Shallow cave is a rock shelter, function to be determined. (Valleta de Piro, La Torre de l’Espanyol, Tarragona, Spain) 20221009Universitat de Barcelona Business School: Lectured on “Knowing Better Via Systems Thinking” for @ryanarmstrongHQ @ubbusinessbcn International Operations Management third-year class. Joined by colleagues from Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute towards building academic relationships witin Spain. Gave students a bigger perspective on learning, beyond the test scheduled for Thursday. (Universitat de Barcelona Business School, Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona, Spain) 20221010Universitat de Barcelona Business School: Explored common research interests @ubbusinessbcn with @ryanarmstrongHQ and Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute members coming in on day trip from Mora d’Ebre, Tarragona. Call for papers for special issue on disruption and change is well suited for our current systems thinking agenda. Discussed initiating students in a broader mindset, not encouraged by multiple-choice tests. (Universitat de Barcelona Business School, Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona, Spain) 20221010Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport: Sometimes hard to tell the difference between an airport terminal and a shopping mall. Relatively quick check in process, airport lounge is on pier D, AC flight is at end of pier E, a 10 minute walk. Focused time to get Systems Thinking Ontario announcement done before boarding plane. (Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spain) 20221011Matty Eckler Community Recreation Centre: Casted vote in last hour of advance polls for Toronto municipal election. No line up, showed voter card and ID, received ballot, filled in 3 bubbles. My preference is to judge the candidates from a bigger picture, rather than focusing on last minute promises and pleas. (Matty Eckler Community Recreation Centre, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20221014The Bentway: Road noise from Gardiner Expressway overhead mixed with musical field by @annebourne, #StripedCanary (2022) Confluence installation of stacked reshaped picnic tables evokes underground rivers of Toronto. Made online reservation for viewing timeslot, welcomed by friendly check-in staff. Walked west up ramps, crossing over marsh south of the railway tracks. (The Bentway, Fort York Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario) 20221016
The St. Regis: Toronto alumni of @KelloggSchool met with Dean #FrancescaCornelli , in town for Kellogg-Schulich graduation next day. I was the earliest graduate at the event by over 15 years. Side discussion with director on challenges of pandemic in-person student classes on Evanston campus. (The St. Regis, Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20221020Comedy Bar: Friday date night to @BadDogTheatre #Theatresports show, some laughs going into the weekend. Forty years of performances, two teams of three actors, improv games in three rounds. Moderator requests themes from the audience, scoring both by a judge and the levels of applause. (Comedy Bar, Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20221021The Rex: Started with daylight on Queen Street West, early evening set @andrewmarzotto guitar, @jonchapmanmusic bass, @austinonthedrums . Last of 4 week residency, covering familiar mainstream compositions. Glad to have options to listen to local music, aside from the few weeks of jazz festivals in the summer. (The Rex, Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20221027
Ace Hotel: Rooftop view with patio heaters, reception mostly inside celebrating @TimOkamuraArt hosted by @PRGallery in town for @ArtToronto. We arrived early at Evangeline on 14th floor, later hearing of others queued up downstairs due to capacity constraints. Walking back to our car, passed many clubgoers dressed for Halloween, not our typical evenings these days. (Ace Hotel, Camden Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20221028
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 […]
