Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Regi Teasley]

Amen to Melissa's points.  Think of Alta Mira, Lascaux, etc. and the quote 
attributed to Emma Goldman, "If I can't dance"

Regi
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, 
you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.


> On Dec 8, 2017, at 12:12 PM, Melissa Tuckey  wrote:
> 
> If I might add-- because it often is forgotten-- the arts are part of how we 
> create culture and culture is how we interact with the environment. Within 
> the arts-- language is how we know the world. We cannot have systemic and 
> sustainable change without the arts.  The arts create community and give us 
> new eyes to see the world.  They give us access to imagination and empathy.  
> Through the arts we are able to think beyond the confines of this moment.  At 
> a time when corporate propaganda is playing 24- 7 on our news, the arts offer 
> resistance, revitalized language and perspective, access to critical 
> thinking.
> 
> And yes, interdisciplinary work is necessary-- we no longer get to play the 
> game of one thing being more important than another. Every single thing 
> matters, all at once. It always did.  
> 
> 
> Melissa Tuckey
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Tony Del Plato  
>> wrote:
>> It's all about ecology. The relationship between economics culture 
>> environment everything
>> 
>> 
>>> On Dec 8, 2017 11:21 AM, "Regi Teasley"  wrote:
>>> Environmental Sociology and Cultural Geography should be part of the 
>>> conversation. Interdisciplinary work can be very fruitful.
>>> Perhaps, like massive stars, some species (ahem)  have dazzling, short 
>>> lives.
>>> 
>>> Regi
>>> 
>>> "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love 
>>> everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.
>>> 
>>> 
 On Dec 7, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller  wrote:
 
   That’s a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering 
 degrees in sustainability studies; I’m not sure what that actually 
 constitutes, in terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when 
 I was 18 that didn’t exist.  :->  Back then – maybe economics?  That’s 
 what it all really comes down to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses 
 all sorts of questions about what humans prefer and value, where those 
 preferences come from and what influences them, how those preferences 
 interact with politics, and how it ends up structuring society.  And 
 that’s where the solutions likely reside, too, in my opinion, because in 
 the end most people respond to incentives.  If the economic structure of 
 society rewards them for selfishness, pollution, etc., then that is what 
 most people will end up doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, recycling, 
 etc., then that is what most people will end up doing.  So the things that 
 I think are likely to provide real solutions will come from economics – 
 things like a carbon tax, things that manipulate the incentives to which 
 people respond.  But I agree that it would really have to end up being 
 multi-discliplinary; maybe economics with minors in ecology, sociology, 
 and political theory?  :->
 
 Cheers,
 -B.
 
 
> On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan  wrote:
> 
> 
> Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I 
> could go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet 
> relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It 
> seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that there's 
> really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few 
> isolated philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose ecological 
> economics, as far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it doesn't 
> address the cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
> 
> >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer.
> 
> 
> 
 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Coordinator, Eco-Justice Poetry Project
> Split This Rock

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Melissa Tuckey]

If I might add-- because it often is forgotten-- the arts are part of how
we create culture and culture is how we interact with the environment.
Within the arts-- language is how we know the world. We cannot have
systemic and sustainable change without the arts.  The arts create
community and give us new eyes to see the world.  They give us access to
imagination and empathy.  Through the arts we are able to think beyond the
confines of this moment.  At a time when corporate propaganda is playing
24- 7 on our news, the arts offer resistance, revitalized language and
perspective, access to critical thinking.

And yes, interdisciplinary work is necessary-- we no longer get to play the
game of one thing being more important than another. Every single thing
matters, all at once. It always did.


Melissa Tuckey






On Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 11:38 AM, Tony Del Plato 
wrote:

> It's all about ecology. The relationship between economics culture
> environment everything
>
>
> On Dec 8, 2017 11:21 AM, "Regi Teasley"  wrote:
>
>> Environmental Sociology and Cultural Geography should be part of the
>> conversation. Interdisciplinary work can be very fruitful.
>> Perhaps, like massive stars, some species (ahem)  have dazzling, short
>> lives.
>>
>> Regi
>>
>> "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love
>> everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.
>>
>>
>> On Dec 7, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller  wrote:
>>
>>   That’s a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering
>> degrees in sustainability studies; I’m not sure what that actually
>> constitutes, in terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when
>> I was 18 that didn’t exist.  :->  Back then – maybe economics?  That’s what
>> it all really comes down to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses all
>> sorts of questions about what humans prefer and value, where those
>> preferences come from and what influences them, how those preferences
>> interact with politics, and how it ends up structuring society.  And that’s
>> where the solutions likely reside, too, in my opinion, because in the end
>> most people respond to incentives.  If the economic structure of society
>> rewards them for selfishness, pollution, etc., then that is what most
>> people will end up doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, recycling, etc.,
>> then that is what most people will end up doing.  So the things that I
>> think are likely to provide real solutions will come from economics –
>> things like a carbon tax, things that manipulate the incentives to which
>> people respond.  But I agree that it would really have to end up being
>> multi-discliplinary; maybe economics with minors in ecology, sociology, and
>> political theory?  :->
>>
>> Cheers,
>> -B.
>>
>>
>> On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan  wrote:
>>
>>
>> Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I
>> could go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet
>> relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It
>> seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that there's
>> really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few isolated
>> philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose ecological economics,
>> as far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it doesn't address the
>> cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
>>
>> >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer
>> 
>> .
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>


-- 
Coordinator, Eco-Justice Poetry Project
Split This Rock 

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Michael Miles]

Back when some of us where 18, sustainability programs didn't exist.  Today, it 
just may be too broad and you kinda have to pick an area that you want to focus 
on.  My daughter graduated recently with a degree in Energy and Environmental 
Policy.  During her 4 years, she had been housed in 3 different colleges at her 
university.  So, even now, you see academia struggling on where to put such 
programs that can cross many disciplines.
  
 Michael Miles
  
  


 From: "Tony Del Plato" <tonydelpl...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2017 11:39 AM
To: "postingsustainabletompkins" <sustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution   
 It's all about ecology. The relationship between economics culture environment 
everything  

   On Dec 8, 2017 11:21 AM, "Regi Teasley" <rltcay...@gmail.com> wrote:
Environmental Sociology and Cultural Geography should be part of the 
conversation. Interdisciplinary work can be very fruitful.
 Perhaps, like massive stars, some species (ahem)  have dazzling, short lives.
  
 Regi  
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, 
you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.   

On Dec 7, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller <bhal...@mac.com> wrote:
 
  That's a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering degrees 
in sustainability studies; I'm not sure what that actually constitutes, in 
terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when I was 18 that didn't 
exist.  :->  Back then - maybe economics?  That's what it all really comes down 
to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses all sorts of questions about what 
humans prefer and value, where those preferences come from and what influences 
them, how those preferences interact with politics, and how it ends up 
structuring society.  And that's where the solutions likely reside, too, in my 
opinion, because in the end most people respond to incentives.  If the economic 
structure of society rewards them for selfishness, pollution, etc., then that 
is what most people will end up doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, 
recycling, etc., then that is what most people will end up doing.  So the 
things that I think are likely to provide real solutions will come from 
economics - things like a carbon tax, things that manipulate the incentives to 
which people respond.  But I agree that it would really have to end up being 
multi-discliplinary; maybe economics with minors in ecology, sociology, and 
political theory?  :->
  
 Cheers,
 -B.
  
 On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan <jcn_ith...@twc.com> wrote:
 
Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I could go 
back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet relationship and 
how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It seems the academic 
factions have been calcified for so long that there's really nobody studying 
this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few isolated philosophy or anthropology 
classes maybe? I suppose ecological economics, as far as that goes - but as far 
as I'm aware it doesn't address the cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking 
about.

On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:  
 >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer.
  



For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Tony Del Plato]

It's all about ecology. The relationship between economics culture
environment everything


On Dec 8, 2017 11:21 AM, "Regi Teasley"  wrote:

> Environmental Sociology and Cultural Geography should be part of the
> conversation. Interdisciplinary work can be very fruitful.
> Perhaps, like massive stars, some species (ahem)  have dazzling, short
> lives.
>
> Regi
>
> "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love
> everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.
>
>
> On Dec 7, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller  wrote:
>
>   That’s a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering
> degrees in sustainability studies; I’m not sure what that actually
> constitutes, in terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when
> I was 18 that didn’t exist.  :->  Back then – maybe economics?  That’s what
> it all really comes down to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses all
> sorts of questions about what humans prefer and value, where those
> preferences come from and what influences them, how those preferences
> interact with politics, and how it ends up structuring society.  And that’s
> where the solutions likely reside, too, in my opinion, because in the end
> most people respond to incentives.  If the economic structure of society
> rewards them for selfishness, pollution, etc., then that is what most
> people will end up doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, recycling, etc.,
> then that is what most people will end up doing.  So the things that I
> think are likely to provide real solutions will come from economics –
> things like a carbon tax, things that manipulate the incentives to which
> people respond.  But I agree that it would really have to end up being
> multi-discliplinary; maybe economics with minors in ecology, sociology, and
> political theory?  :->
>
> Cheers,
> -B.
>
>
> On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan  wrote:
>
>
> Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I could
> go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet
> relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It
> seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that there's
> really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few isolated
> philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose ecological economics,
> as far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it doesn't address the
> cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.
>
>
>
>
> On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
>
> >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer
> 
> .
>
>
>
>
>

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Regi Teasley]

Environmental Sociology and Cultural Geography should be part of the 
conversation. Interdisciplinary work can be very fruitful.
Perhaps, like massive stars, some species (ahem)  have dazzling, short lives.

Regi

"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, 
you will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.


> On Dec 7, 2017, at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller  wrote:
> 
>   That’s a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering degrees 
> in sustainability studies; I’m not sure what that actually constitutes, in 
> terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when I was 18 that 
> didn’t exist.  :->  Back then – maybe economics?  That’s what it all really 
> comes down to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses all sorts of questions 
> about what humans prefer and value, where those preferences come from and 
> what influences them, how those preferences interact with politics, and how 
> it ends up structuring society.  And that’s where the solutions likely 
> reside, too, in my opinion, because in the end most people respond to 
> incentives.  If the economic structure of society rewards them for 
> selfishness, pollution, etc., then that is what most people will end up 
> doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, recycling, etc., then that is what 
> most people will end up doing.  So the things that I think are likely to 
> provide real solutions will come from economics – things like a carbon tax, 
> things that manipulate the incentives to which people respond.  But I agree 
> that it would really have to end up being multi-discliplinary; maybe 
> economics with minors in ecology, sociology, and political theory?  :->
> 
> Cheers,
> -B.
> 
> 
>> On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I could 
>> go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet 
>> relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It 
>> seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that there's 
>> really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few isolated 
>> philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose ecological economics, as 
>> far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it doesn't address the cultural 
>> issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
>> 
>> >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer.
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Elan Shapiro]

Hi Ben and Joe
I appreciate your exchange and here's my two cents. Though I'm nervous
about exhauting others on this list, I decided to risk it rather than reply
off-list.

There's no single causal starting point of change in a living system like,
for example,  the Earth,  yet I hear you, Ben, that since economics
obviously drives so much, maybe it's the *key *causal point.  But it's also
true that some of the *key* causal points of economic systems are the
cultural assumptions, social norms  and groups' relationship to nature and
place that underlie the working principles of the economic systems, which
is  an important part of what the literature being referred to is talking
about.

So I see economics, culture, and relationship to nature and place as a
process of mutual causality. And real changework (and change study)
therefore has to be many-layered and multi-vocal, speaking not just to the
science and economics of the matter but to the assumptions and experiences
of the many constituencies and cultures
Elan

On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 9:23 PM, Ben Haller  wrote:

>   That’s a neat question.  Nowadays there are some schools offering
> degrees in sustainability studies; I’m not sure what that actually
> constitutes, in terms of what you do academically.  In any case, back when
> I was 18 that didn’t exist.  :->  Back then – maybe economics?  That’s what
> it all really comes down to, in my opinion.  Economics encompasses all
> sorts of questions about what humans prefer and value, where those
> preferences come from and what influences them, how those preferences
> interact with politics, and how it ends up structuring society.  And that’s
> where the solutions likely reside, too, in my opinion, because in the end
> most people respond to incentives.  If the economic structure of society
> rewards them for selfishness, pollution, etc., then that is what most
> people will end up doing.  If it rewards them for sharing, recycling, etc.,
> then that is what most people will end up doing.  So the things that I
> think are likely to provide real solutions will come from economics –
> things like a carbon tax, things that manipulate the incentives to which
> people respond.  But I agree that it would really have to end up being
> multi-discliplinary; maybe economics with minors in ecology, sociology, and
> political theory?  :->
>
> Cheers,
> -B.
>
>
> On Dec 8, 2017, at 10:51 AM, Joe Nolan  wrote:
>
>
> Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I could
> go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet
> relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? It
> seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that there's
> really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A few isolated
> philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose ecological economics,
> as far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it doesn't address the
> cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.
>
>
>
>
> On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
>
> >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer
> 
> .
>
>
>
>
>


-- 

Elan Shapiro
Building Bridges Coalition
Frog's Way B
www.frogsway-bnb.com
607-592-8402
elanshapiro...@gmail.com
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850

Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It
is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future
year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of
tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow
comes the harvest and the playtime.   W.E.B. Du Bois

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Joe Nolan]

Interesting. Speaks to a question I've long pondered, which is, if I 
could go back to being 18 and wanted to study the overall human-planet 
relationship and how to improve it, what academic field would I enter? 
It seems the academic factions have been calcified for so long that 
there's really nobody studying this most-important-of-all phenomena. A 
few isolated philosophy or anthropology classes maybe? I suppose 
ecological economics, as far as that goes - but as far as I'm aware it 
doesn't address the cultural issues that Joe Brewer is talking about.




On 12/6/2017 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:

 >I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer 
.




For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

Re:[sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Gay Nicholson]

Hello all, for some reason David's post didn't go to the list so I am
sharing it at his request.

-- Forwarded message --
From: "David Gower" <gowerda...@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 7, 2017 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution
To: "Sustainability in Tompkins County" <sustainable_tompkins-l@list.
cornell.edu>
Cc:

Gay,
>
> Thanks for sharing this.  I recently was introduced to the writings of R.
> Buckminster Fuller...who I had only heard of in regard to his fame in
> architecture circles for the geodesic dome design, however this was only an
> application of his much deeper philosophy about the connections between the
> structure of nature's geometry and efficient design and systems.
>
> I would recommend that everyone read this very short, aptly titled book
> that he wrote in 1969.
>
> <http://designsciencelab.com/resources/OperatingManual_BF.pdf>
> Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
> <http://designsciencelab.com/resources/OperatingManual_BF.pdf>
>
>  In it, I believe he gets to one of the main problems in society today
> that is related to the article you share; in essence a hyper intent focus
> on FOCUSand the mantra that our society has taken on in regards to how
> we all have to FOCUS to achieve successwell, my working hypothesis is
> 'F#~K FOCUS!'  (trademarking that as it is a working title for a
> book...collaborators welcome!).
>
> With academia doing less and less cross contamination with other fields
> and corporate environments being documented to the point where optimally
> any person (and eventually robot) can be plugged into a position, and
> education focusing on STEM only without context of history and humanities,
> we are losing our ability to see connections...and turning ourselves into
> experts reliant on other experts that cannot see the connections that allow
> for collaborative solutions and innovative technological as well as
> societal advancement...Fuller explains how our diversity of knowledge is a
> crucial part of our evolutionary ability to solve problems through seeing
> the 'synergy' of separate systems and how by combining systems we can
> achieve 'ephemerialization' which in effect is to advance by 'doing more
> with less'.  This is the biggest argument I get from people in my own
> start-up idea that combines data centers and energy...I can't tell you how
> many VCs, and people that are supposed to help start-ups have told me that
> I need to 'focus' on either data services or energy services...and when I
> protest that the novelty is in combining the two, they lose interestI
> think it is this frustration and my searching for an answer in
> communicating my concept that serendipitously led me to someone suggesting
> I read Fuller's Critical Path...Fuller also takes this philosophy to the
> next level with an enigmatic character, E.J. Applewhite, in documentation
> of his philosophy in a very scientific manner in a really large and
> challenging tome, Synergetics and its sequel.
>
> At any rate...the link above to Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth is
> the place to start and I think something everyone should read.  For me it
> was both reaffirming and enlightening...it is very short and easy to
> read...I read the book, but I found the PDF online for the link above, so
> no need to even buy the book...but please read and share and let me know
> your thoughts.  The more I learn about this man's thoughts, the more I am
> amazed at how prescient he was...and how optimistic he was that we would
> find solutions.  (though another book that I have not finished yet called
> 'Utopia or Oblivion' seems to indicate that he also believe that it is
> entirely possible to go too far in the hyper focused direction.
>
> Gay, I think it would be great if you could start another Salon series on
> this topic...It would be very useful discussion to get viewpoints on
> development of this book that I am hoping to write that would connect the
> idea of how focus is leading us to extinction.
>
> DG
>
> David D. Gower
>
> 716.969.4899 <(716)%20969-4899>
>
> https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgower
>
> On Wed, Dec 6, 2017 at 7:25 PM, Gay Nicholson <gaynichol...@gmail.com>
>  wrote:
>
>> Hello Listmates,
>>
>> I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe Brewer
>> <https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-complexity-of-cultural-evolution-63e28e117f6b>
>> .
>>
>> And I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on this topic - as they apply to
>> our efforts as sustainability advocates and activists.
>>
>> What do we need to learn more about in order to more actively 'design'
>> the e

RE: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

[Jeff Piestrak]

Thanks for sharing Joe's work and vision Gay. Very relevant to realizing the 
goals of this list.
I've also been following Joe and other travelers on that path, including local 
David Sloan Wilson, who CCE Tompkins hosted at this week's annual breakfast 
meeting. One of the things David (copied here) talked about was the need to 
consciously cultivate the conditions which allow our better angels (and 
solutions) to emerge. That includes eight "core design 
principles" for effective groups, 
identified through his work with Elinor Ostrom and applied through approaches 
like PROSOCIAL.
He's keen on working with folks in our region on this.

Cheers, Jeff

From: bounce-122110452-79897...@list.cornell.edu 
[mailto:bounce-122110452-79897...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Gay Nicholson
Sent: Wednesday, December 6, 2017 7:25 PM
To: SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L 
Subject: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the complexity of cultural evolution

Hello Listmates,

I'd like to recommend an article on cultural evolution by Joe 
Brewer.

And I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on this topic - as they apply to our 
efforts as sustainability advocates and activists.

What do we need to learn more about in order to more actively 'design' the 
evolution we want to see?

thanks,
Gay

--
Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
President
Sustainable Tompkins
309 N. Aurora St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
www.sustainabletompkins.org
607-533-7312 (home office)
607-220-8991 (cell)
607-272-1720 (ST office)

g...@sustainabletompkins.org

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.