A Mouse is Edgier than a Musk Ox

I have so many notes, I’m not quite sure how much I’m going to write up Charles Foster ‘s Annual Mike Jackson lecture at Hull University on Tuesday 19th March “What is a Human?”. Suffice to say its scope was unsettlingly beyond expectations for our systems studies context. Excellent none-the-less. So I will, as usual, … Continue reading “A Mouse is Edgier than a Musk Ox”

The Holistic Mob

Dave Snowden, of who I’m a big fan as you know, very kindly linked to a post of mine commenting on last year’s Annual Mike Jackson Lecture given by him at Hull University. Turns out some of the things he included in last years talks were work-in-progress “open source development” extensions to his Cynefin “sensemaking” … Continue reading “The Holistic Mob”

The Limits to Science?

Preamble? How do I come to be writing this post right now? See the Background “Postamble” at the bottom if necessary 😉 Straight Down to Business: [START] The Assertion – In one Sentence – There are limits to science in the sense that some aspects of the world are beyond science. (Or alternative prior statements … Continue reading “The Limits to Science?”

The Way of Systems

“The Way of Systems” is maybe not a phrase I would choose. Religious connotations of “the way” (Christian as well as Buddhist) seem unnecessary baggage to lead with, even though I clearly see universal value in systems thinking. But nevertheless, whenever one is looking to improve on the “orthodox scientism” of western rationality all roads … Continue reading “The Way of Systems”

Freethought Project

(Just a holding page for content starting Nov 2023 on establishing a properly skeptical freethought environment. Note a page, not a post, and no public link yet.) My (relevant) bio: Born 1956 / raised NE England – Cultural Christian (naïve atheist) from childhood. Humanist from age 22/23 (Humanist wedding aged 25 in 1981, etc.) 45+ … Continue reading “Freethought Project”

Free Energy Principle Explains Consciousness

I’ve already documented my take that there really is no longer any mystery behind consciousness and our conscious (free) will – my simplest single reference being Mark Solms “Hidden Spring”. Surely, massively valuable in its own right to have solved that long-standing human riddle? And, more importantly, it takes away a massive source of confusion … Continue reading “Free Energy Principle Explains Consciousness”

Gender Wars 2023

I’ve been following and writing about the “TERF War” (transgender debate / gender wars) for about 8 years now, since 2015 when I read Alice Dreger’s “Galileo’s Middle Finger“, her book about her expert practitioner – and very personal – involvement in “The Controversy Surrounding The Man Who Would Be Queen: A Case History of … Continue reading “Gender Wars 2023”

Ian Glendinning, Psybertron & Robert Pirsig

I have maintained the “Psybertron Pirsig Page” (PPPage) as an online static (occasionally updated) resource simply to provide fixed public links and updates to other resources related to the life and work of Robert Pirsig including his two books ZMM (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – An Inquiry into Values) and Lila (Lila – … Continue reading “Ian Glendinning, Psybertron & Robert Pirsig”