Toronto, Ontario; Markham, Ontario; Scarborough, Ontario; Orillia, Ontario; Shanghai, PR China; Helsinki, Finland.
Chinese Visa Center: Mural of historical figures and stories of China’s five thousand years of civilization includes: 1. Houyi, Shooting Suns; 2. Shennong, the Ancient Herbalist; … 5. Hua Tuo, the Ancient Divine Chinese Medical Practitioner; 6. Sun Wu, the Great Military Theorist; 7. Qu Yuan, the Famous Poet; … 11. Confucius, the Great Chinese Philosopher; … 17. Mulan, the Chinese Girl-warrior; 18. Genghis Khan, the Great Conqueror; 24 Marco Polo, and The Travels of Marco Polo; … 27. Koxinga, the National Hero. Waiting in queue to drop off visa application folder, wondering about the process of choosing the 27. (Chinese Visa Application Service Center, University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20171102Cascon 2017: Clustering sticky notes in Strategic Foresight Workshop after discussions over lunch and ideation. After years of lecture layouts, ballroom is arranged with round tables to encourage sharing and capturing amongst participants. Many drawn away from collective activity towards posters at kiosks around the room, so maybe next time reducing options for distraction will lead to stronger inputs. (Cascon 2017, Hilton Suites, Warden Avenue, Markham, Ontario) 20171106Cascon 2017: Presentation #cascon on Cognitive Blockchain @DonnaExplorer, IBM Fellow. Clear demonstrations of pilots on cross-border supply chain traceability, Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for diamonds, IBM Verifier scanner to validate sources, Walmart Food Safety provenance. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/2017-11-07-1015-donna-dillenberger-cognitive-blockchain-cascon/Highland Farms: Ontario grown Flemish Beauty pears on destination shopping, later in the season that I had expected. This heritage variety grows locally, not as popular as Barlett, Anjou or Bosc. Childhood memories of the tree by my grandparents’ house on the southeast corner of Beverley Street and Cecil Street in the 1960s, gone by the 1980s. I’m appreciative of a smaller grocery store that supports local growers. (Highland Farms, Ellesmere Road, Scarborough, Ontario) 20171107Delicious Paradise Kitchen: Father’s choice for Chinese fast food lunch. When I saw the serving of rice pulled on the plate, I said “too much”, and the server put half back into the pot. Dad says one serving is enough to serve two seniors. (Delicious Paradise Kitchen, Silver Star Blvd., Scarborough, Ontario) 20171109Port of Orillia: Off season for boat cruise on Lake Couchiching, on the Orillia waterfront. Quick business trip driving north on overcast early afternoon, followed by southbound trip starting before dusk and then ending in rainy dark. Radio reports subsequently declared winter snow, relatively early for the season. (Port of Orillia, Centennial Drive, Orillia, Ontario) 20171109
Quick trip to Hämeenlinna and Helsinki, and a cool summer in Toronto
Toronto, Ontario; Hämeenlinna, Finland; Helsinki, Finland
Booth Avenue: Lightning struck tree, three fire trucks for house south of us. Hose filled briefly to extinguish for in tall tree. Electrical power to the block is off, wondering if transformer is impacted. Heavy rain is subsiding. (Booth Avenue, Riverside district, Toronto, Ontario) 20170804Copenhagen Airport: Enjoying the wood floors at the Copenhagen Airport, en route to Helsinki. I prefer the Danish style on the short connections, I should come for a real visit sometime. (Copenhagen Airport, Denmark) 20170809Tikkurila:. Suburban hub where airport rail ring connects to main northbound intercity line towards Tampere. Large station connects with buses, many shops inside. Half hour wait was made longer by train 30 minutes behind schedule. Might have hopped on commuter train instead, but tickets are specific to times. .(Tikkurila, Finland) 20170809Visamaki: First workshop for Open Häme project since its official funding, discussing plans for open data activities in the region. Meeting conducted mostly in Finnish, my presentation a theoretical break in English. (HAMK UAS Visamäki C-Building, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20170810Verkatehdas: Elomessut weekend fair for Kanta-Häme region, at the civic centre. Live performances, and kiosk tents from local associations and businesses. Wide cross section of local residents in a small town by the river. (Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna, Finland) 20170812Kotkankatu: Fusion cooking with Finnish homemade vintage apple cider added to Korean sweet potato noodles in vegan japchae. Bean curd sticks with shitake mushrooms and oyster sauce are classic Chinese monk food. Last time I made mapo tofu for MT and PT, it included the ground pork that they now prefer to avoid. Cooking in this household is always a team sport. (Kotkankatu, Hameenlinna, Finland) 20170812Verkkokauppa: Sunday shopping in busy store, slow moves from waiting for salesperson, to roaming store with pager until merchandise brought upstairs, to long check out line. Friend amused as I squeezed in some extra questions of clerk out of order, as a rudeness excusable to foreigners but not locals. Computer parts to prepare laptop for another year behind the Chinese firewall. (Verkkokauppa, Tyynenmerenkatu, Helsinki, Finland) 20170813Harald Herlin Learning Centre: University library was been remodelled as more of a central gathering place for students. Coffee stand at entry level overlooks two-story atrium into work spaces below, with cloud-like light fixtures suspended from the ceiling. The streets outside are still under construction, with a new building at the hub. (Harald Harlin Learning Centre, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland) 20170814Metropolia Arabianranta: Building ties across institutions, regions, nations. Localized funding can still support global projects. Meeting in previous Media Factory, temporary space for one year as the university reconfigures prior spaces. (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Arabianranta, Helsinki, Finland) 20170816Vantaa Gate 22: Mobile installation of white sheets above an airport gate moves slowly with the air flows higher in the terminal. Walked from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in hopes of viewing the advertised art installations at Gate 31, but aborted that plan when the long linear nature of the terminal emperiled catching my departure from Gate 15. There used to be an art installation in Terminal 1, now since replaced by a boring row of carrals for working. (Helsinki Airport, Vantaa, Finland) 201708173600 Steeles Ave. E.: IBM Master Clock built circa 1945 in Endicott, NY, on display in the corridor outside IBM Canada HQ module A2. Noticed artifact on a “take your father to work day” informally with my son, as I had a lunch meeting with a friend. (IBM Canada Ltd., 3600 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario) 20170823 Edward Gardens: Renewal of vows for the 32nd time. Fountain was drained of water. Temperature was coolest that we remember. Park was full with concert listeners for jazz group. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20170824Edward Gardens: Ducks flocking to creek bank for snacks. Most paths from gardens at higher level closed, blocked for maintenance. Some bridges closed due to recovery from high waters. (Edward Gardens, Don Mills, Ontario) 20170824 Yorkville Park: Strolling south on Bellair Avenue, the urban park is lit up by green mist-emitting light columns between rows of trees. We usually don’t frequent this high-end neighbourhood. Unusually, we went for a movie on a Saturday night, with a one-week promotion of Tuesday night pricing. (Yorkville Park, Bellair Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20170826
Carroll Street: Public art launch with hoop dancer Nimkii Osawamick, celebrating Tkaranto Past / Tkaranto Future mural. West and south walls of The Edwin building had painting concept led by artist Odinamaad, in partnership with Chief Lady Bird and Dave Monday Oguorie, collaborating with Traditional Wisdom Keeper Philip Cote and youth participants from Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre. Support by Riverside BIA with City of Toronto StreetARToronto program. (Carroll Street, Riverside District, Toronto, Ontario) 20170827
In July, I travelled no further than bicycling distance from my desk at home.
Toronto, Ontario (summer, all within bicycling distance of home)
Pho House: Casual Canada Day dinner out in neighbourhood resto, at leisure. Sons used to eat lunch at this location in high school days. The business across the street moved in, when the other Viet business moved out. (Pho House, Gerrard Street East, Toronto) 20170701Wong’s Ice Cream: Took home vegan coconut mango sticky rice ice cream + vegan lemongrass lime sorbet, after we sampled a variety of flavours. Wanted to take a packed pint of the former, but small daily production lots meant two scoops of two flavours instead. New business only opened in neighbourhood in the past few months. (Wong’s Ice Cream, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170701Nathan Phillips Square: Universal Breaking League on the Pond Stage for Battle for the North two-on-two competition, as part of Canada Days celebration. Big screen alternating with musical acts on the Main Stage. Large crowds out for Sunday evening, statutory observance will be on Monday. (Nathan Phillips Square, Bay Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170702HTO Park: Mama Duck 61-foot rented by Province of Ontario for 3 day Redpath Waterfront Festival from Craig Samborski, attracting major crowds. The “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” was last shown in Tacoma, Washington; next stop is Owen Sound. Copyright dispute with 105 foot Rubber Duck at Saint-Nazaire, France, by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. (HTO Park, Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario) 20170703Sugar Beach: Ride by DY along Waterfront Trail from Portlands to HTO Park and back was the first time in many years. Canada Day weekend a less than ideal time on the bike paths, as so many pedestrians obliviously inattentive. (Sugar Beach, Queens Quay East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170703Danforth Mennonite Church: Cute book house for Little Free Library, by well-kept front garden on major east-west city street. Mennonite Community opened church in 1911, and urban development has filled in around it. Through mutual ties in Ethiopia, the building is shared since 2011 with the Freedom Gospel Church who worship in the Amharic language. (Danforth Mennonite Church, Woodbine-Lumsden neighbourhood, Danforth Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170704Trillium Park: Bridge over the lit ravine walls with Moccasin Identifiers, northbound at dusk from Ontario Place towards the Martin Goodman Trail and Lakeshore Boulevard. Biked south through the CNE grounds with barricades in progress for the Indy race in two weeks, then east by the marina. (Trillium Park, Ontario Place Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario) 20170705Scrap Metal Gallery: Augustas Serapinas (2017) “Four Sheds”, reclaimed woods, nails and wallpaper reassembled from existing shed on Barr’d Islands, Fogo Island, destined to be demolished. East wall illuminated by lights from adjacent installation by Abbas Akhavan (2013) “Study for a Garden”. Collaboration in “Belonging to a Place” exhibition by Fogo Island Arts. (Scrap Metal Gallery, Dublin Street, Bloordale Village, Toronto, Ontario) 20170708Lowkong Society: Bimonthly meeting of family village society, with elders over 80 years old getting greater involvement by younger under 60. New members on the board of trustees, started definitional discussion on governance and membership. (Lowkong Society, Huron Street, Chinatown, Toronto, Ontario) 20170709Trinity Square Park: Noon @DowntownYonge @esltrio #playtheparks under the canopy on a sunny summer day. Playing instrumental versions of familiar tunes, more pop than jazz. Took a request to play bossa nova, responded with a Jobim medley. Bassist and drummer challenged keeping up on short guitar solo of Bright Size Life. (Trinity Square Park, Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20170711Vari Centre: Lightning talks at GTALUG Greater Toronto Area Linux User Group are being recorded on video. First time attending, I offered to talk for 5 minutes on Desktop Environments, followed by 5 minutes for questions. Others are technically deeper. Linux isn’t my full time job, but I’ve spent the past 10 years of my life using it. (George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Ryerson University, Church Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20170711Woodbine Park: Dance platform in front of Son de Cuba Orquestra at Beaches Jazz Latin Carnival, for audience who can’t sit still to the beats. Many families in lounge chairs enjoying the music and weather, fenced off area for beer garden to the south. Such an embarrassment of riches for music festivals this summer, so little time. (Beaches Jazz Latin Carnival, Woodbine Park,
Jackfruit 20 lb.: More effort to cut up jackfruit than we expected. With the whole family at home, we picked up the fruit for dessert after dinner in Chinatown. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20170717
Riverside: Jackfruit 20 lb. after Chinatown family dinner, with all sons at home. Their grandfather had never tried jackfruit before, it grows in Vietnam, not China. Boiling seeds, they are supposed to taste like potato. (Riverside district, Toronto, Ontario) 20170717Tabule: Accept invitations when a friend calls to meet for lunch! First met AL when we moved back to Toronto in 1984, and we haven’t kept in good contact over the years. Noontime rain showers changed original plans, he suggested a destination in my neighbourhood. (Tabule, Riverside district, Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170720The Power Plant: Ydessa Hendeles (2016) Blue Beard, in the Fleck Clerestory, viewed from the second floor. Heroine is the victor in a power struggle in a short marriage, from which she escapes. Normally bright venue is totally shrouded with curtains for the exhibition of “The Milliner’s Daughter”. (The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario) 20170720Hacklab.to: Linux in the Park GTALUG potluck BBQ, diverse group sharing the common language of technology. Hamburgers, italian sausage, brownies, cherries, watermelon in a dry period between two rain showers. (Hacklab.to, Parkdale, Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170722Queen Jones Pawnbroker: Dealing on a used bike, AKY negotiated a bike helmet and a better seat with seat post. Moving here from Vancouver, wanted a bike for winter. Chose lighter model without front shocks. Also tried out guitar amplifier, but will defer to another day. (Queen Jones Pawnbroker, Leslieville, Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20170726Design Exchange: Northern Touch exhibition includes late 1960s Electrohome and Clairtone stereos, all Canadian manufacturing (except for German and English turntables). Enthusiastic guided noontime tour on the last Friday of the month, enlightening visitors on things they may not have known were designed in Canada. Upstairs former Toronto Stock Exchange currently a wide open space, building registered as historic. (Design Exchange, Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20170728
Natrel Pond: Paddleboat congestion around the fountain at the Natrel Pond. Busy summer Saturday, lineups for 15-minute rentals. Water is only thigh deep, saw a boater jump out to change direction by pushing. (Natrel Pond, Harbourfront, Queen’s Quay West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170729
Fairfield, Iowa; Iowa City; Iowa; Coralville, Iowa; East Moline, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; Kerwood, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario
Fairfield, Iowa: Mock duck with spinach, mock abalone curry with coconut milk and avocado, successful experiments with canned Chinese vegetarian glutens. Rainy day with everyone falling into afternoon naps in the house by the farm, recovery from long travel yesterday. (Fairfield, Iowa) 20170501Visual Arts Building, U. Iowa: Striking central atrium with ramps spiralling multiple levels upward. Arts installations still in progress, with end of term nearing. Walking tour of campus on a clear spring day. (Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa) 20170502Coralville Center for the Performing Arts: Iowa City Girls Choir spring recital in an opulent venue. Our block of seven sent upstairs to the balcony, as ground floor space was packed. Experiencing the American lifestyle, as foreign visitors. (Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Coralville, Iowa) 20170502Maharishi University: Collection of instruments in the Maharishi Vedic Observatory, to observe and align with natural law. Walked around campus with a local resident who has friends who studied in the school, providing some explanations of the contrasting belief system. (Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa) 20170503Deere & Co. World HQ : Combine has 14-foot wide wheelbase, so can be legally driven on the road, if the corn header is removed. Impressive front entrance display for a Fortune 100 company. (Deere & Company World Headquarters, East Moline, Illinois) 20170504Deere & Co. World HQ : Henry Moore (1973) Hill Arches, on island beside water fountain, in landscape designed by Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche. Crossing on small bridge over koi pond, swan approached as threatening, mate on other side nesting. (Deere & Company World Headquarters, East Moline, Illinois) 20170504
Toronto, Ontario; Shanghai, PR China; Kalamazoo, Michigan
Pearson Airport T1: Between Gates E77 and E78, colorful glass cylinders enclosing light bulbs, suspended from overhead arches. Design by Norr Architects for OTG, a company operating high-end restaurants at the airport, including Hemant Bhagwani’s Marathi Indian. (Terminal 1, Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario) 20170401Shanghai Pudong Airport: Whimsical rooster themed installation on middle of airport, lightens the spirit on the long walk from the airplane, through immigration, to the Maglev train. Impressed on short ride hitting 430 km/h peak, before slowing down at western terminus. (Pudong International Airport, Shanghai, PR China) 20170402Zhangwu Sichuan: Dinner for Qingming Tomb-Sweeping Day, since public holiday on a Monday still has most people off work. Chose Sichuan resto near Tongji University, left half of dishes filled with red peppers too spicy to eat. (Zhangwu Sichuan, Shanghai, PR China) 20170403People’s Park Pond: Father with small net skimming somethings from top of pond, and placing into small bucket for son. Game players involved in own activities in the background. Tuesday is still an extended Qingming weekend holiday, the park was popular with families. (People’s Park, Shanghai, P R China) 20170404Shanghai Gallery of Art: Yin Xiuzhen 2005 TVT-Rocket installation of three cloth towers, extends from third floor in light well up to 6th. Gallery is open to public, and closer to the Bund, but maybe the Whampoa Club upstairs enjoys less traffic. (Shanghai Gallery of Art, Three.on the Bund, Shanghai, P R China) 20170404Rockbund Art Museum: Song Dong 2017 Back Image, screen plus 50 benches. Extensive show covering long career over 6 floors. Well curated contemporary art venue, building walls show a sense of humour with dimensions marked everywhere. (Rockbund Art Museum, Huangpu Qu, Shanghai, P R China) 20170404
Helsinki; Finland; London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Toronto, Ontario; Fairfield, Iowa
Mei Lin: Lunch to catch up on news with Satu in advance of teaching class at Metropolia tomorrow. Students are mid-career professionals interested in practical international experiences, as tighter university budgets mean fewer lecturers from abroad. Industrial Management program will move from historic Bulevardi building out to Leppävaara campus in 2018. Chinese cuisine from Chongqing region included cumin lamb, unusual. (Mei Lin, Lönnrotinkatu, Helsinki, Finland) 20161201Juttutupa: Meetup with some 2nd year students from the Systems Thinking 2 February class, and a few more from the 1st year of the master’s program in Creative Sustainability. Glad to hear that knowledge they gained was useful in subsequent studies, as they then explain concepts to other group team members who didn’t take this session of the intensive course. This restaurant a quieter place to talk, until an excellent band started playing after 8 p.m.. (Juttutupa, Säästöpankinranta, Helsinki, Finland) 20161201Metropolia U., Bulevardi campus: Lectured in Industrial Management master’s program, collaborating on generative pattern language writing for an hour, after 90 minutes of lecture. Students are mostly working professionals with practical experience, so we jointly felt our way through using the format for service systems thinking. We’ve come a long way since the program was initiated in 2006. (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Bulevardi, Helsinki, Finland) 20161202Kiasma: Brian Eno (1999) Memory Flowers is 16 speakers facing upwards on stems, playing ambient music. First shown in 2000 in a solo show, brought out of storage for Kiasma Collection Exhibition. Emmi and J.P. came in late afternoon for the first Friday of the month free admission, well-timed to avoid the 5 pm crush at the coat check. (Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Mannerheiminaukio, Helsinki, Finland) 20161202Vanha Kauppahalli: Buying salmon in the same way that Finns have since 1889 when the Old Market Hall opened. Also bought little fried vendace at the next stall, to be used in an appetizer. Saturday afternoon sees a lot of tourist visitors, many eating salmon soup facing out from the renovated stalls to become part of the scenery (Kalakauppa E. Eriksson, Vanha Kauppahalli, Eteläranta, Helsinki, Finland) 20161203Lapinlahdenkatu: Dinner with all Finnish ingredients (unless the salmon came from Norway). Discussed 2016 as a transitional year with lots of change, released now positively towards 2017. Missu the cat hid for most of the dinner, either not enjoying the streaming jazz, or suspicious that the catsitter would take him away. (Lapinlahdenkatu, Helsinki, Finland) 20161203Moomin Shop, Helsinki Airport T2: Looked at plush toy, saw “Design from Finland” but no country of manufacture. Phoned to wake up DY at 4 a.m. Toronto time to ask if 15cm 100% polyester figure was worth the money, she said no. Suggested Moomin shopping bags hanging outside, with tags saying Made in PRC, DY declined. On walk back to T1, noticed Moomin troll toys also available in the duty free shop. Not a motivated shopper today. (Moomin Store, Gates 26-27, Terminal 2, Helsinki Vantaa Airport) 20161205Niven’s: From online The Ecology of Systems Thinking group to meeting in person, PJ came for a coffee, talking while watching me eat a full English breakfast. Worked through jams of orange marmalade vanilla, raspberry rose, blood orange marmalade, pear. Discussed history of science within the systems thinking community and the variety of notable figures, up to current day theoreticians and practitioners. (Niven’s, King Cross Road, London, England) 20161206
Douglas Austrom and Carolyn Ordowich shared some reflections developed jointly with Bert Painter (Vancouver, BC) on some draft humanistic principles, the three Tavistock perspectives, and a meta-methodology with Systems Thinking Ontario. Proponents of Socio-Technical Systems design refer back to the 1960s-1980s research of Fred Emery and Eric Trist of the Tavistock Institute. Calls to reinvent […]
Doug Schuler joined the monthly Systems Thinking Ontario meeting for a conversation about the potential for patterns and pattern languages to help address wicked problems on a large scale, via technology, loose coordination, and social commitments. Doug was exposed to the original A Pattern Language in the mid-1970s. It aimed to generate towns and buildings […]
Literacy has been proposed as an understanding of a small number of pervasive principles appropriate to making informed personal and societal decisions. Systems literacy includes an understanding of systems that influence you, and your influence on systems. Peter Tuddenham has been leading an initiative on Systems Literacy across a variety of systems organizations, particularly with […]
The Creative Systemic Research Platform (CSRP) Institute, led by Susu Nousala and Jelena Sucic, is distinctive in approaching systemic design from a bottom-up, longitudinal perspective. The co-presidents were able to join us in conversation at a Systems Thinking Ontario session, remotely from Finland and Switzerland, at a significant time disadvantage. Many approaches to systemic design […]
To appreciate how systemicists worldwide collaborate, Gary S. Metcalf joined Systems Thinking Ontario for a conversation. Gary served as president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences 2007-2008, and of the International Federation for Sysrtems Research 2010-2016. From 2003 to 2018, he was a graduate instructor in Organizational Systems and Research on the faculty […]
While the term “theory of change” is often used by funders expecting an outcome of systems change for their investment, is there really a theory there? The November 2020 Systems Thinking Ontario session was an opportunity for Peter H. Jones (OCADU) and Ryan J. A. Murphy (Memorial U. of Newfoundland) to extend talks that they […]
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 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 […]
While Ackoff’s definitions of goals, objectives and ideals have been republished (and rewritten) multiple times, the 1972 definitions were derived from his original dissertation work. Accordingly, in addition to the human-readable definitions, some mathematical notation is introduced. — begin paste — OUTCOMES 2.30. End (an immediate intended outcome) of a subject A in a particular […]
The fifth way of knowing, as described by West Churchman, is a Singerian inquiring system. (This fifth way of knowing is more colloquially called Unbounded Systems Thinking in Mitroff and Linstone (1993)). The book On Purposeful Systems (Ackoff and Emery, 1972) was derived by Ackoff’s dissertation that was controversially coauthored with West Churchman. Purpose can […]
Understanding Process-Function Ecology by Ashwani Vasishth leads to luminaries in the systems sciences, including C. West Churchman, Eugene P. Odum and Timothy F.H. Allen.
As an irony, the 2020 book, The Innovation Delusion by #LeeVinsel @STS_News + #AndrewLRussell @RussellProf shouldn’t be seen as an innovation, but an encouragement to join @The_Maintainers where an ongoing thought network can continue. The subtitle “How Our Obsession with the New has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most” recognizes actual innovation, as distinct from […]
An online social network reproduces content partially based on algorithms, and partially based on the judgements made by human beings. Either may be viewed as positive or negative. > The trade-offs came into focus this month [November 2020], when Facebook engineers and data scientists posted the results of a series of experiments called “P(Bad for […]
