Toronto, Ontario; Munich, Germany; Krems, Austria; Vancouver, BC
Toronto, Ontario; Munich, Germany; Krems, Austria; Vancouver, BC
EditDX: Soap kettle interior illuminated @EditDX, in the former Lever Brothers plant. History of industry in a massive abandoned factory near urban centre celebrated, rather than hidden. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171003EditDX: New Urban Crisis @Richard_Florida @EditDX is growing inequality between winner-take-all cities and places in a poverty trap. Instead of iconic buildings and starchitecture, need a communing architecture, not a cutoff architecture. Retraced life history from Newark to Pittsburgh to Toronto. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/20171002-1305-richard-florida-urban-futures-keynote-editdx/ (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171002EditDX: Brigitte Shim @alexbozikovic @EditDX making ancient invisible fishing weirs visible. Mnjinkaning Fish Fence Circle by bridge at the Narrows between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171002UToronto iSchool: Digital @gamespacenl @ischool_TO Platformization of Cultural Production research on 3 pillars of business studies, political economy and platform studies. Multisided markets, with gaps for deeper inquiry into economics, governance and infrastructure. Research in progress, students in classes at Scarborough College partially immersed in ongoing knowledge development. (Faculty of Information iSchool, St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20171003EditDX: Good design @alicerawsthorn @EditDX has usefulness, beauty and integrity in light of sustainable development goals (unlike 1969 Olivetti Valentina typewriter in museums). Design is an agent of change that can help us to make sense of what is happening, and to turn it to our advantage … if society allows it to do so. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/20171008-1310-alice-rawsthorn-good-or-bad-design-editdx/ (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171008EditDX: Free lunch @EditDX Feeding the 5000 demo of cutting global food waste in half by 2030, as Sustainable Development Goal. Made from ingredients that would have been discarded, enjoyed fall minestrone and potato focaccia bread. Separate queue for vegans. Amidst volunteers, white hats from @GBCChefSchool. (EditDX, 21 Donway Road, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20171008Lalibela: Had turkey a few weekends ago, so Thanksgiving of Ethiopian cuisine an unusual choice as dairy-free, and the teff in injera is gluten-free. Combined with AKY’s birthday falling on same day, another way to celebrate as a family. Front window still open with fall relatively warm. (Lalibela, Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20171009Cineplex 4DX: Enjoyed Matinee of Blade Runner 2049, 4DX experience a change from our preference for 2D. The 3D effect was subtle, may not repeat the bucking seat, blowing air and cool water sprays. In hindsight, would have preferred the larger screen of Imax. Epic movie! (Cineplex VIP, Yonge-Dundas, Toronto, Ontario) 20171010Riverside: Woke up to urban foresters trimming branches in front of our house. The linden tree is officially owned by the city. Pruning away from the tangle of electrical wires is a service funded by tax dollars. True fall temperatures this week, and dusk comes early. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20171012Pinakothek der Moderne: At top of stairs, Olaf Menzel (2002) Reise Nach Jerusalem, made of acrylic, plastic and strobe light. Morning stroll through contemporary section and design, not so interested in modern. Took a little while to figure out that I had been to this art museum before, about a decade ago. (Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany) 20171018Danube U. Krems: Fall colours on Alaunbach stream from deck beside controlled flow through the campus of Danube U. Krems. Walking up from city centre hotel, pedestrian access to path beside the local prison. First day of Purplsoc conference, remembering some familiar faces, discussing with other semi-famous in the field. (Purplsoc conference, Danube University Krems, Austria) 20171019Heuriger Weingut Hambock: Local winery restaurant for conference dinner. White wine served in pitchers, complemented by buffet of smoked meats and bread. This neighbourhood tavern near the old town is hidden on a residential street. Attendees come from a wide variety of geographies. (Heuriger Weingut Hambock, Krems, Lower Austria) 20171020Kremser Gasse: Across from St. Polten train station is an attractive shopping street that I might visit, if I had more time. This town is the state capital on the main line between Munich and Vienna, and more developed than the destination of Krems where our conference was held. This brief stop was the first of three this evening to position for a plane westward tomorrow. (Kremser Gasse, St. Polten, Lower Austria) 20171021YYC: Canadian designed YYC Link passenger shuttle has human drivers, and no wait for ride. Shaves minutes off changing terminals. Amazed that 60 minute connection including immigration and terminal changes is comfortable. (YYC, Calgary, Alberta) 20171022Hyatt Regency Vancouver: View southwest towards the University Endowment Lands of the Burrard Peninsula, from the 34th floor in the West End. Skyscrapers in foreground in contrast to trees in the distance. For now, sitting away from the windows, remembering visitors often get distracted by the view. (Hyatt Regency, Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171023PLoP 2017: Intro to Writers Workshop @rpg Richard P. Gabriel. Inspired by U. Iowa since 1936, style evolving. Originally group leader was like a traffic cop around discussion, more maturity now should have leader serving as a teacher, asking questions and giving clarity on process and content. In this first session learning by showing, inner circle discussing the paper, with outer circle of observers. (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023PLoP 2017: Workshop @plopcon @daviding with @HeleneFinidori @chrisimweb “Negotiating Order with Generative Pattern Language” taking a more theoretical bent. May repeat next year, after discussants have an opportunity to catch up reading Christopher Alexander (2012) “The Battle for Life and Beauty of the Earth”. High-level sensemaking. Slides at http://coevolving.com/commons/20171023-negotiating-order-with-generative-pattern-language . (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023Vancouver Art Gallery: Neil Campbell (1992/2017) East, a site-specific wall painting dominates visitors walking by. Tuesday night visit unfortunately saw many galleries closed as exhibitions are changing, for an opening later in the week. (Vancouver Art Gallery, Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171025PLoP 2017: Traditional closing of event, participants calling names and tossing yarn to connect to colleagues old and new. Games with parachute limited by low ceiling in the hotel. (PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs, colocated with ACM SPLASH, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC) 20171023Caveman Cafe: Paleo vegan dinner low in carbs, emphasizing proteins and greens. We split the Caveman pizza and a Lamburgini sandwich made with cassava bread. Servers behind the counter attentive to needs, advising on suggestions, in a semi-chaotic lines jumping around delivery as hand-made timing. (Caveman Cafe, E. Pender Street, Vancouver, BC) 20171026Kitstaya: Relaxed lunch in neighbourhood where I lived 1982-1984. I met DY back then, and KY and TW were still dating. Nostalgic, and a lifetime ago. (Kitstaya, West Broadway, Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC) 20171026UBC University Blvd: Rain or shine rail jam @UbcSkiAndBoard club trucked in snow on a cool fall day. Student climbed to top of bales of hay, and then slid downhill to grind a rail skateboard style. Discovered this was the 10th annual event, a wild spectacle that eastern Canadians find bizarre. Another change in UBC since I studied here in the 1980s. (University Blvd., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC) 20171027Sunset Beach: Bernar Venet (2007) 217.5 Arc x 13, unpainted Corten steel , installed in 2013 as part of Vancouver Biennale public art. In the background, ships moored in English Bay. (Sunset Beach, Vancouver, BC) 20171028Granville Island: Pyramids of berries seem to be a new standard in produce presentation, exhibited by multiple vendors. Nostalgic of grad school days when I would come for a quick shopping trips on quieter weekdays. Leisurely weekend stroll as an old married couple. (Granville Island Market, Vancouver, BC) 20171029Shady Island Seafood: Dinner at dusk by Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf. Walked down shoreline to the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Park, observing restorations of buildings of Japanese and Chinese fishing workers back to the 1900s. (Shady Island Seafood, Bayview Street, Steveston Village, Richmond, BC) 20171028Lonsdale Quay: Rode Seabus to the north shore, climbed up four flights of stairs to a crow’s nest by the Quay Market for a view southwest to Coal Harbour. We chose to wear fall coats, many locals seem to be in denial of the changing seasons, some still braving shorts. (Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver, BC) 20171029Bene Sushi: North shore experience of carefully prepared sushi with piano jazz playing over the speakers. Conversation with old friends picking up where we left off, trying to remember how many years since the last visit. (Bene Sushi, Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC) 20171029
Libby Leshgold Gallery: Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan (2017) “Bound: Project Another Country”, luggage and rope. Gallery just opened last week in new building. opened in September, fortunate timing for our west coast visit. (Libby Leshgold Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, BC) 20171030
Family and conferences came to Toronto, so I could sleep in my own bed.
Toronto, Ontario
Perfect Chinese Restaurant: Double set dinner of lobster, peking duck, chicken, steamed fish plus extra hotpots was too much food again. Occasion started as birthday celebration, but then moved date to include family visiting from Bay Area. Large family means that there’s always an excuse to get together. (Perfect Chinese Restaurant, Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario) 20170902Consensas: Systems journals for @consensas @ftjco. @ryantaylor prefers hardcopy for handwritten annotations, I’ve moved to softcopy for font sizing on tablets. Five cartons of Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Systemic Action and Practice Research some ISSS conference books and General Systems Yearbooks from 1998; plus Organization Science since 1994. Metaphorically old wine for new bottles, inside packaging courtesy of the LCBO. (Consensas, Parliament Street, Cabbagetown, Toronto, Ontario) 20170903Second City: Intermission in Sunday sketch comedy early show, free improv would be really late after second show. Family is seated house right. Second City Toronto has upstairs balcony, larger venue than Second City Chicago. (Second City Comedy Club, Mercer Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20170903Ashbridges Bay Park: Southwest view from peninsula sees moorings of yacht club, smokestack from Hearn Generating Station, and CN Tower in the distance. Portlands are landfill into the original Ashbridges Marsh, now deep enough for sailboats. (Ashbridges Bay Park, Toronto, Ontario) 20170905DCSIL UToronto: Academic workshop @CoopsCanada #platformcoop, learning together with panel on current research (DCSIL Dept. of Computer Science Innovation Lab, Gerstein Science Information Centre, University of Toronto) 20170908Appel Salon: Main day of @CoopsCanada #platformcoop conference, with presentations from both emerging and established organizations. Knowledge base is nascent on digital platforms, multi-stakeholder coops seem complicated. Typing during day and posting blogs online at night is tiring. (Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Public Library) 20170909Beeton Hall: Intensive workshop @CoopsCanada #platformcoop, with practicalities of legal, governance and financing. Questions on “if you had to do it again, what would you do differently” from firms both Canadian and international insightful. (Beeton Hall, Toronto Public Library) 20170910Cafe Boulud: Family celebration in French restaurant, an extravagance with servers mindful of food sensitivities to butter and gluten. Pulled braised rabbit petit plats, Canadian oysters and Parisian steak tartare all a departure from our normal cuisines. (Cafe Boulud, Yorkville, Toronto, Ontario) 20170910Princess of Wales Theatre: Fan zone with security guards keeping order, yet no movie stars in sight near the main screening room of the Toronto International Film Festival. Nearby financial institutions and Metro Hall running business as usual, relatively unimpacted by the inconvenience. (Princess of Wales Theatre, King Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170911Ikea: Vackis alarm clock at $1.99 was cheaper than the package of Knackebrod Rag rye crispbread made in Finland. DY really misses her old Braun with the luminous hands, quality analog products are now hard to find. (Ikea, Provost Drive, North York, Ontario) 20170914HoSu: From UK to Toronto @hubofallthings community with @jonathanholtby briefing @cognetfx . Update since meeting in London last December, there’s been a lot of progress. Poke and sushi! (HoSu Bistro, Yonge Street, midtown Toronto, Ontario) 20170915Onsite Gallery: Make your own @ONSITEatOCADU Raise The Flag street party, material, stencils, paint, brushes provided. Outside public grand opening of new cultural space for art, design and new media. New show with works from the Indigenous Art Collection, 2000-2015. (Onsite Gallery, OCADU, Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20170916Lambert Lounge: Systems Thinking Ontario recap discussion from ISSS and ASC meetings over the summer. Selected content as a starting point, conversation wandering according to the ideas of the attendees. (Lambert Lounge, OCADU, McCaul Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20170920Victoria College Chapel: Used book sale fills the pews, pipe organ not in use late on Saturday afternoon. Inventory seems depleted halfway through the event days, volunteers said the first day was jammed with people. Minor purchase of two paperbacks, we have cartons of our own castoffs ready for donation. (Victoria College Chapel, Charles Street West, University of Toronto, Ontario) 20170923Riverside: Rare occasion with entire family in town, so Chinese beef stew plus last minute duck and BBQ pork. Unusual congregation in front of television to watch Star Trek Discovery premiere. (Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20170924Gould Street: Unexpected installations for @timberfever @RyersonDAS design-build competition in middle of pedestrian mall. Shells of reading room with books scattered, in case passersby pause for some literary edification. (Gould Street, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario) 20170926EdiDX: Wrong theory @sdadich @EditDX is not ignoring the rules, or failing fast. It’s making all of the right choices, building consensus to find common values, and then breaking one thing. Otherwise, everything converges to look the same and is boring. www.wired.com/2014/09/wrong-theory/ (EditDX, 21 East Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20170929EditDX: Prosthetic @unyq Lisa Ludwig @eythorbender @EditDX personalized style, 3D printing economics brings cost within government copayment ranges. Success on legs, now focus on orthodics for scoliosis, starting from medically approved designs, iterating with aim to reduce design time from 1 hour to 5 minutes. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20170927EditDX: Innovation @ActuaCEO @EditDX with youth, build confidence with doing science; show role models in middle years; and then build skills. Need to invest in the innovation capacity of youth. Using technology is a small part of being digitally literate. (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20170929EditDX: Panel @jamescowan @rsomerson @codezebra Luigi Ferrera @EditDX on The Future of Design Thinking. Designers accustomed to messy, iterative process, as opposed to business people who want to systematize to be comfortable. Artists may be even more comfortable with radical disruptive change than designers. Digest at https://ingbrief.wordpress.com/2017/09/29/20170929-1635-future-of-design-thinking-editdx/ (EditDX, 21 Don Roadway, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20170929EditDX: Waterlicht @SRoosegaarde @EditDX says design should create experiences that you can’t download. Virtual flood shows how high water could reach without human intervention. Also Van Gogh path as demo of smart highways that charge in daylight and glow in nighttime. Smog Free project starts with tower that cleans air, next will attempt smog free bicycle with Ofo bike sharing in China. (EditDX, 21 Donway Road, East Harbour, Toronto, Ontario) 20170930
Sky Dragon: Mid-autumn festival dinner on a busy a Toronto weekend. Streets blocked for Nuit Blanche and Invictus Games, delaying arrivals. (Sky Dragon, Spadina Chinatown, Toronto, Ontario) 20170930
For five immersive days, a team of six researchers had the opporunity to collaborate on ideas on rhythmic shifts (mostly based on Systems Changes Learning) and anticipatory systems (in the legacy of Robert Rosen). The 2024 Banathy Conversation was organized by the Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute, facilitated by Susu Nousala, Gary S. Metcalf, and […]
Systems Processes Theory has been under development for many decades, led by Len Troncale, a past president of the International Society for the Ssytems Sciences. Many have found getting a grip on the science to be a demanding task, both in scope and in depth. Over many decades, Lynn Rasmussen was a collaborator, refining and […]
The Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective, dating back to the studies of Eric L. Trist and Fred E. Emery, was on the reading list of organizational behaviour classes in my undergraduate and master’s degree programs. It wasn’t until 15 years later, when I got involved with the systems sciences and David L. Hawk, that the Socio-Ecological […]
Civic Tech can be described as projects using technology “for the public good“. Civic Tech may be related to, but different from Gov Tech. For the May 2024 Systems Thinking Onrtario, we had two knowledgeable guests in conversation. Dorothy Eng, executive director of Code for Canada since 2021, related her professional journey from engineering to […]
On my May trip through the UK, I accepted an offer to lead an Expert-Led Session at the University of Hull. I had previously been a Research Fellow of the Centre for Systems Studies, but haven’t travelled to the Hull for some years. As we worked out the arrangements, I found out that the seminar […]
I’ve been checking on the breadth of some personal research on systems thinkers. (The list is incomplete, and may orient more towards systems scientists). Searching on Scopus gives an h-Index that counts scholarly references (with a boost, for the first person on the list who received a Nobel prize in chemistry). The list below is […]
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 ›
The appreciation of change is different in Western philosophy than in classical Chinese philosophy. JeeLoo Lin published a concise contrast on differences. Let me parse the Introduction to the journal article, that is so clearly written. The Chinese theory of time is built into a language that is tenseless. The Yijing (Book of Changes) there […]
In trying to place the World Hypotheses work of Stephen C. Pepper (with multiple root metaphors), Nicholas Rescher provides a helpful positioning. — begin paste — Philosophical perspectivism maintains that substantive philosophical positions can be maintained only from a “perspective” of some sort. But what sort? Clearly different sorts of perspectives can be conceived of, […]
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 […]
