The story of #JosephNeedham by @simonwwriter, about the scholar behind the 27-volume Science and Civilisation in China starting in 1954 and continuing after his death in 1995. Arriving in China in 1942, Needham discovered gunpowder, printing and the magnetic compass…
Blog Archives
2019/04/09 Larysa Essex, “Linux Unhatched Learning Circles at Toronto Public Library” (web video)
Talk at @gtalug on Let’s Learn Tech Online @torontolibrary with @p2pu @CiscoNetAcad @TorontoESS. Linux Unhatched online course conducted in groups of 8 to 12, meetings twice per week in person. Non-technical facilitator encourages peers to work out understanding together. Found…
2018/03/13 Tara Vancil, “Imagine This: A Web Without Servers” (web video)
Having heard mentions of Beaker Browser, this video helped to explain how editing and publishing web pages could be simpler
2013/07/27 Beau Lebens “Taking WordPress to the Front End with O2” (web video)
The WordPress O2 plugin with P2-Breathe theme results in a Facebook-like or Twitter-like streaming interface. The idea was first presented in 2013, evolving from the P2 theme in 2009 (originally launched as Prologue in 2008) when hosted on wordpress.com. “Beau…
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2016/09/10 Tim Ingold, “The Sustainability of Everything” (web video)
Talk at the Centre for Human Ecology, Glasgow, announced at http://www.che.ac.uk/tim-ingold-talks-about-the-sustainability-of-everything-10th-sept-2016/ Video posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncLv9Gk7XrI and https://vimeo.com/182572764 This digest was created by editing the text transcript generated by Youtube. View the video yourself for a more authentic reproduction. Lapses, grammatical…
2016/09/07 “One World Anthropology | Tim Ingold | AIBR
Plenary presentation by Tim Ingold, at the 2nd @AIBR_ International Conference of Anthropology. The 2nd AIBR International Conference of Anthropology brings together anthropologists from different parts of the world under the theme “Identity: Bridges, Thresholds, and Barriers.” [….] [6:58] So…
Service Platforms, Living Labs, The Future of Open Innovation | Henry Chesbrough | Sept. 2016 | Berkeley Exec Ed (web video)
Responses @HenryChesbrough on service platforms, living labs, and the future of open innovation. Since 2003, he has provided a precise definition, as the godfather of open innovation. InFocus Podcast with Dr. Henry Chesbrough. Dr. Chesbrough is the Program Director for…
- Classes of executive functions: homeostatic, mediative, proactive | Zaleznik (1964)The idea of managers being proactive only dates back to 1964, as classes of functions described by Abraham Zaleznik: homeostatic, mediative, and proactive. Predispositions may or may not be altered through educational development.
- Inquiring systems and asking the right question | Mitroff and Linstone (1993)Fit the people around an organization; or an organization around the people? Working backwards, say @MitroffCrisis + #HaroldLinstone, from current concrete choices to uncertain futures, surfaces strategic assumptions in a collective decision, better than starting with an abstract scorecard to rank candidates.
- Doing, not-doing; errors of commission, errors of omissionShould we do, or not-do? Russell Ackoff, over many years, wrote about (negative) potential consequences: There are two possible types of decision-making mistakes, which are not equally easy to identify. (1) Errors of commission: doing something that should not have been done. (2) Errors of omission: not doing something that should have been done. For […]
- Systemic design agendas in education and design researchThe final publication of the October 2016 Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium workshop "Some Future Paths for Design Professionals: DesignX and Systemic Design" was published as “Systemic Design Agendas in Education and Design Research” in FormAkademisk, following 2 years of rewrites, reviews and revisions.
- A federated wiki site on cPanelFederated wiki is deployed on a node.js server, an environment which has become available on some cPanel shared hosting providers. Here are some instructions written while restoring a wiki site originally installed in 2014-2015 on a cloud provider.
- Artificial intelligence, natural stupidityReading The Undoing Project, by Michael Lewis, reminded me of a PhD course at UBC with Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, before they were recognized as Nobel prize candidates.
- 2019/05 Moments May 2019Family time, empty nest, short trip to conference nearby, friends at home.
- 2019/04 Moments April 2019End of a 23-day visit in Shanghai, readjusting to Eastern Time with the many lecture, meetup, friends and family distractions of Toronto.
- 2019/03 Moments March 2019Month of intensive lectures and research meetings, in Toronto and then in Shanghai, with social breaks on local excursions to clear minds.
- 2019/02 Moments February 2019Reduced exercise outside with a cold and snowy February, with excursions out of the house to warm places with family, friends and colleagues.
- 2019/01 Moments January 2019January in Toronto has lots of intellectual offerings and artistic exhibitions to attract the curious out of warm homes, through cold and snow.
- 2018/12 Moments December 2018Tried to have a normal month, with a busy social calendar of birthdays, a funeral plus Christmas season, while daily temperatures hovered just above freezing.
- Yin-Yang theory alongside meridians, Five Elements as secondary emblems | Kaptchuk (1983)In deciphering Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Five Phases) thinking, #Kaptchuk (1983) has a footnote and then an appendix that clarifies the way forward for appreciating foundations of Chinese medicine favouring the former.
- Defining the ‘field at a given time’ | Lewin | 1943The field theory in psychology by #KurtLewin 1943 derives from classical field theory (viz. electromagnetism and gravitation), predating quantum field theory (viz. subatomic particles). For psychology, Lewin wrote in 1943 how history (and a subjective view of the future) matters. It is correct that field theory emphasizes the importance of the fact that any […]
- Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management | Cummings, Bridgman, Brown (2016)Many who cite #KurtLewin haven't read the original 1947/1951 writings, say @strategybuild @ToddBridgman @kgbphd with the "refreezing" part of "unfreezing → changing → refreezing" emerging in a subsequent career of an idea that can be traced genealogically and archaeologically.
- Group Sizes of Wolves Hunting Bison | MacNulty, Tallian, Stahler , Smith (2014)Human organizations may learn from wolves, with groups of 2 to 6 taking down elk, and cooperative expert groups of 9 to 13+ taking down larger bison. #DanielMacNulty, #AimeeTallian #DanielRStahler #DouglasWSmith (2014).
- Effect of Size on Group Performance | Hackman and Vidmar (1970)Completing tasks in teams of two produces the most satisfaction, but members are most comfortable with 4 or 5 people, found Hackman & Vidmar (1970).
- The Rule of Seven for meetings | Blenko, Mankins, Rogers (2010)Meeting effectiveness is reduced after 7 people are involved, say @BainInsights consultants #Blenko, #Mankins, #Rogers. Follow the Rule of Seven for meetings. Who should come to a meeting is always a sensitive issue, and the basic precept is often “The more the merrier.” But more is rarely better when it comes to making decisions. Our […]
