Rebuilding the Planet as a Work of Art

Foundation Pieces

Quote Page

Concept
Context
Articles
Complexity and Chaos

Global issues that we face today are systemic by their very nature. These problems cannot be solved using traditional linear processes. As Ross Ashby articulated, complex, non-linear problems can only be solved using complex non-linear methods.

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Cycles
 
Models
At MG Taylor Corporation we refer to a model as a "slice of reality." A vantage point of perception. The Latin derivation, modulus is the diminutive of modus, which means measure, rhythm, harmony. So a model is a little measure, a little rhythm, a little harmony--a slice. Of these three terms, we're perhaps the most familiar with "measure", but the other two are more important to contemplate. We're used to building models to measure things--the effect of air pressure on the surface of a wing, or the profitability of a corporation. We may not be so comfortable with ferreting out models that divine the rhythm and harmony of the world around and in us. Or if we are, we confine those models to the realms of art, philosophy, essay, poetry. But the complexity of the world--even the corporate world--is too deep to be fathomed by measurements alone. Business is art and the Enterprise should call upon the qualities of rhythm and harmony inherent in art for assistance to lead it into the future.
Flocking Rules

'Flocking Rules' refer to simple rules which enable complex behavior. They are called 'flocking rules' because they have been used to understand the behavior of flocks of birds.

"A collection of many particles all interacting according to simple, local rules can show behavior that is anything but simple or predictable."

Collective behavior

"A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline."
Patterns

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Rebuilding Planet Earth as a Work of Art

Planet Earth - if you like the idea or not - is a human artifact. It will always be a Human artifact because there is no going back - even restoration to a "natural" place is now a Human act. The critical question, then, is what kind of an artifact are we going to have? And, more importantly, how are we going to evolve it? It will be, without question, the sum of all the Human actions taken - or not taken - primarily over the next 25 years. We face one of the greatest opportunities - or disasters - in the history of our species.

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Timescales
Humans living in modern societies typically have very short attention spans. We think in terms of days, months, or maybe a few years. This framing makes it impossible to solve the large systemic problem that we as a planet are now facing. Somehow we have to break-out of the short-term and start focusing on the long-term.

The Long Now Foundation

The 10,000 Year Library

The Clock Of The Long Now - A Talk With Stewart Brand

Nature's Timescales*:

State Changes and Tipping Points

The tipping point is where the rules of the game suddenly change. Up until the tipping point is reached, each step, each advance comes slowly and at great cost. Once the tipping point is reached, however, change comes fast and furious. The tipping point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.

Metaphorically, the tipping point can be thought of similarly to an inflection point.

The notion of the tipping point has been made popular by a recent book by Malcolm Gladwell.

Trim Tabs
"Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary - the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing on the edge of the rudder called a trim-tab. It's a miniature rudder. Just moving that little trim-tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim-tab. Society thinks it's going right by you, that it's left you altogether. But if you're doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go. So I said, "Call me Trimtab." - R. Buckminster Fuller
The Glass Bead Game
(das Glasperlenspiel)
The Glass Bead Game offers a new way of reporting out individual and team stories. It assists in the creation of a new language and reminds us how connected, complex, and wonderful the world is. This language is highly visual -- it displays the relationships that are described in the content. It utilizes pattern and form; it employs organization and color; it expresses cognitive and symbolic content.
Miscellaneous interesting stuff that may be useful ...
May provide some useful context and information ...

* Subscription to journal/magazine required for access.

^ KnetWeb registration required.

 

Useful Starting Places for Building the Global Agenda 2010 Knowledge Base
Link
Context
World Resource Institute
http://www.wri.org
Lots of information on a variety of global issues, mostly focused around environmental issues. Climate, sustainability, health, etc.
OneWorld.net
Good source of news stories that may be relevant.
Business for Social Responsibility
http://www.bsr.org
A potential source of information ... "Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is a membership organization for companies seeking to sustain their commercial success in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical values, people, communities, and the environment."
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
http://www.oecd.org/
Looks to be a very good starting point for searches on topics of interest to the GLTs. Don't miss the links page.
 

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A sampling of articles from the iterations Knowledge Base (not yet categorized)

Added 010824

Agent Title
Agent Author
Agent Source
Keywords
Luis Cifuentes et al.
Science
climate change, greenhouse, economics, health, pollution,

Added 010823

Agent Title
Agent Author
Agent Source
Keywords
Ian Mount
Business 2.0
tipping points, viral marketing, state change, memes,
Alex Carter
Focus - News from the Harvard Medical, Dental & Public Health Schools
tipping points, trends, state change, viral, memes,
Rachel Pruitt
Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
story telling, myths, legends,

Global Commons Institute
climate, greenhouse, commons, global,
Ricardo Semler
Harvard Business Review
innovation, strategy, flocking rules, Semco, control,
M. L. Birk and P. C. Zegras
International Institute for Energy Conservation
architecture, design, building, urban, land use,
David C. Korten
Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
money, wealth, economics, capital, commonwealth,
Alexandra Stikeman
Technology Review
digital divide, affordable computers, innovation,
Donald J. Johnston
OECD Observer
sustainable, economics, environment, OECD, vantage point,
Danny Hillis
WIRED
evolution, state changes, communication, feedback, tipping points, computers,
David Bollier
Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
community, commons, commonwealth, open source, gardens, gift economy,

Principia Cybernetica Web
global brain, communication, organism, cybernetics,
Tom Ehrenfeld
The Industry Standard
tipping point, state change, viral, memes,
Jim Merkel
Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
commons, commonwealth, community

 

 

Added 010822

Agent Title
Agent Author
Agent Source
Keywords
Tamas Vicsek
Nature
complexity, complex adaptive systems, collective, flocking rules
Scott Westerfeld
Nature
‘spoze, information bottleneck, biodiversity,
Brenda Cooper
Futurist.com
philanthropy, David Brin, EON,
Shawn Carlson
Scientific American
flocking rules, boids, cyberbirds,
Timothy Egan
The New York Times
prairie, environment, land use, development
Heike Langenberg
Nature
tragedy of the commons, atmosphere, global, spaghetti plot,
Steve Bunk
The Scientist
biodiversity, ecology, ecosystems, biocomplexity,
Cheryl Hogue
C&E News
environment, climate change, global commons, air pollution,
Stephen Cole
Scientific American
meteorology, economics, atmospheric chemistry, aerosols, unintended consequences
Ivars Peterson
Science News
AI, flocking rules, complexity, ants, metaphors, robots,
Fred Pearce
New Scientist
climate change, Kyoto Protocol, economics, environment, philosophy of science,
Andrea Graves
New Scientist
genomics, health, cloning,
Jocelyn Kaiser
Science
conservation biology, migration, Planet as a Work of Art, biodiversity,
Gretchen Vogel
Science
biodiversity, Planet Earth as a Work of Art, conservation,
Kathryn Cramer
Nature
‘Spoze, genetics, biodiversity, extinction, biotechnology, cloning, zoo,

Science@NASA
Gaia, Earth songs, VLF,
H. J. Schellnhuber
Nature
Earth System, Gaia, environment, planet as a work of art,
Gretchen C. Daily
Nature
biodiversity, conservation, Planet as a Work of Art, biogeography, ecosystem services,
Arielle Emmett
The Scientist
genomics, biotechnology, genetics, health,
David Brin
Futurist.com
philanthropy, EON, Solution Box,
James Randerson
New Scientist
climate change, health, pollution, economics, greenhouse gases,
Andy Coghlan
New Scientist
genomics, cloning, unintended consequences,
Ricki Lewis
The Scientist
biodiversity, database, All-Species Inventory,
Frank Vogl
Earth Times
WEF, GLT, global issues,
Duncan Graham-Rowe
New Scientist
wireless, cell phone, translator, language,
Alison Jolly
Science
biodiversity, time scales, extinction,
Reuters
ABC News
unintended consequences, environment, environmentalists, mink, ecosystem,
Edward Ayensu et al.
Science
environment, ecosystem, biodiversity, economics, assessment,

The Long Now Foundation
Long Now, time scales,
Marina Murphy
New Scientist
climate, geoengineering, Planet as a Work of Art, weather, unintended consequences,
Gregory Benford
Nature
time scales, engineering, geoengineering, ‘Spoze,
Stewart Brand
KurtzweilAI.net
10,000 year library, Long Now, Stewart Brand,
Paul Jepson, James K. Jarvie, Kathy MacKinnon, Kathryn A. Monk
Science
biodiversity, rain forests, economics,

The Long Now Foundation
Long Now, time scales,

The Long Now Foundation
linguistics, languages, diversity, archive, databases,

Nature
time, scenarios, conservation, biodiversity, past, computers, life extension, climate change, cosmos
Hardin Tibbs
Buckminister Fuller Institute
systemic issues, global context, normative scenarios, strategy, technology, values,
Hardin Tibbs
Buckminister Fuller Institute
systemic issues, global context, normative scenarios,
Philip Ball
Nature
complexity, self-organizing systems, flocking rules,

World Resources Institute
economics, environment, WRI, digital divide,
* Subscription to journal/magazine required for access.

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