Dear all,
Steve Smith wrote: I feel we *don't* discuss as many Complexity topics as I would like, I will talk about tornado formation, a n y t I m e, Steve. Seriously, I wonder if the fact that we have stopped talking about complexity might have something to do with the state of play of that field. I reached a point where I began to feel that complexity-talk went on in some alternative universe that, without the initiation and the golden key, I was never going to enter. You will remember, Steve, that I worked for a couple of years, trying to make a translation between that universe and mine, and was never able to manage it. When the working vocabulary of a science is inaccessible to a diligent, moderately intelligent, practitioner of neighboring sciences, does that not limit the development of that science? By the way, when I first came out here I tried to make contact with SFI. At the time, I wrote up the result in a satirical account, which, to be honest, reeks of sour grapes. Still, in the present context you might find it funny. See attached. Omitted from this account was one life-changing exchange with Dr. X. At some point, during Phase II of The Ritual Reception and Rejection, I asked him, “Given that The Institute is such a charismatic place, and given that you have no room, where do all the people go when you reject them? There must be a lot of them around Santa Fe.” I am everlastingly grateful for his response. He thought a very long minute and then scribbled on a Posty and handed it to me. It said, “Call Steve Guerin. FRIAM.” The rest is history. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ From: Friam [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steven A Smith Sent: Monday, February 06, 2017 12:00 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] SFI to Trump: The dangers of simplicity in a complex world I appreciate FriAM, even though I don't attend Friday Congregation very often, or even WedTech Congregation either! The *active* voices here are familiar and even though I may have a lot of different perspectives and opinions, I truly value what I hear here, and more than anything I look forward to one of our *many* lurkers chiming in. I feel we *don't* discuss as many Complexity topics as I would like, but I like knowing that there are many with strong Complexity backgrounds engaged in the more sociopolitical discussions that seem to dominate. Since I feel a bit like Glen in his statement "Since I don't belong anywhere, I obviously didn't belong there"... I'm enough used to being an outsider or an interloper that I generally can slip into alien situations and keep a low enough profile to not raise alarm or cause disruption. This forum, being asynchronous and as Gary points out, "easy to delete" feels like a safe place FOR me to speak up above a hushed whisper... so I value it as well. SFx was intended to be a more open and welcoming environment to share the wealth from... I think we did a moderately good job much of the time, but still missed the mark in at least developing a sustainable funding model. - Steve On 2/6/17 11:49 AM, Gary Schiltz wrote: It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway - FRIAM, both the list and the actual gathering at the "mothership" of Santa Fe - has always felt welcoming. It's the only list I've stayed with since its inception. I don't know if there are any SFI lurkers here, but there do seem to be a lot of people who "used to" have some association with it rather than those who are actively involved with it. I've no idea how much is due to a bit of snobbery vs. just simply the fact that the list is open to such a wide range of stuff that isn't interesting to folks interested purely in complexity. I find it easy enough just to delete messages when I get too overwhelmed, confident that they are archived so I can eventually look them over. On Mon, Feb 6, 2017 at 1:34 PM, glen ☣ <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: FWIW, I felt fairly unwelcome soon after I left to work in our Agua Fria office (1997 maybe), perhaps since I was merely a research technician rather than any sort of academic. Then it got even worse when they expanded down the hill by staffing a receptionist. I always managed to sneak past without being grilled to badly ... but the concept was clear: do you belong here? Since I don't belong anywhere, I obviously didn't belong there. 8^) On 02/05/2017 03:40 PM, Frank Wimberly wrote: > That makes sense but I just sat there quietly and listened. No > self-aggrandizing questions. And then I left. -- ☣ glen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
A Tour of the Institute.docx
Description: MS-Word 2007 document
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
