Things I’m learning about. Concepts I’m developing. Quotes I like. Debates I’m engaging in. Run away before it’s too late…
The human body is a great source of metaphors. One of my favorites is how the framework of our skeletons is “fleshed out” with the necessary tissues to create a human that might be just like you. The framework/”tissue” pattern is likely repeated in more places than we realize, but … Continue reading
Understanding the current political insanity is helped by understanding the broader forces in play. This post by Gail Tverberg is helpful. Continue reading
The only perfect model of reality and the universe is reality and the universe. All other models fall short in some way. Continue reading
The picture at right is a view of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil from my hotel window. While I can’t see it, I know that there are people… Continue reading
Yesterday I had an energetic discussion with a former minister friend on the topic of faith. Continue reading
I’ve been pondering the contribution of major life changes to growth. We have several opportunities for these, but not all of them happen to all of us. Continue reading
All technologies are nothing more than applying energy to rearrange atoms and/or bits[1. Whether or not it’s actually atoms or bits in the end is a deeper more interesting question. It’s really about substance and pattern.] within a system of constraints. Engineering is the discipline of understanding and applying those … Continue reading
On August 25-27, 2015 I attended the SFI short course on complexity in social systems and economics. Continue reading
I read this introduction to the book The Battle for God, By Karen Armstrong, and thought it was very insightful. It appears to be taking a balanced historical view of the causes of religious fundamentalism. [iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ align=”right” src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=hawksprphotog-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=0345391691&asins=0345391691&linkId=WE2KJZC43LARAYNA&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”]What I thought was particularly interesting was the … Continue reading
A system is considered to be intelligent if it more or less reliably produces a desirable outcome from a range of unexpected circumstances. A system is considered to be a machine if it more or less reliably produces a desirable outcome from a range of anticipated circumstances. Continue reading
