Merle -
I seem to remember that Norm Johnson was one of your collaborators at CNLS?
Do you have some specific publications that might "summarize" your
work/thinking in the application of CAS to social science and the
peace-building process in particular?
I think this is the area I am most interested in the application of
CAS... there is plenty of work in the harder sciences and economics I
think, but it feels as if the biggest leverage or payoff might be in the
understanding of sociopolitical systems.
- Steve
On 2/6/17 2:23 PM, Merle Lefkoff wrote:
When I received an unexpected and overly-generous research grant to
see how Complex Adaptive Systems science might have something to
contribute to the search for coexistence in a world of endless war, I
felt like Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a I searched for a home
for this windfall. I am not a "scientist" (I'm a social scientist),
and I don't write code, so SFI rapidly scooted me out the door; the
Advanced Concepts Group at Sandia invited me in, but after attending a
few sessions with them I decided they were just blah, blah, and I
wanted the REAL complexity science! So I took my grant to CNLS at Los
Alamos, where I was greeted with open arms (I was deemed a "domain
expert" in terrorism because I had mediated in N. Ireland and the
Middle East) and given an office, a computer, post-docs from all over
the world, and a title as Guest Scientist and Affiliate--enabling me
to present my team's research at conferences in the credential-crazed
world of academia.
After four years, I left to reinvigorate our small social-profit
organization (we don't like the term "non-profit") and find new
partners with whom we could apply the principles and concepts of CAS
to peacebuilding. It's been an amazing journey ever since, and FRIAM
has been an important part of that journey. Count me among the
grateful--even though I leave for awhile when Complexity science is
put on the back burner, supplanted by esoteric dialogue that I'm too
unschooled to understand.
I just finished teaching a graduate course in Complexity Thinking for
Integrative Peacebuilding, and my students were adult learners who
work for Trudeau in the Canadian government--many deployed around the
world in conflict zones. I've never looked back after getting the
boot from SFI. Fuck 'em! And thank you, FRIAM.
On Mon, Feb 6, 2017 at 1:39 PM, Nick Thompson
<nickthomp...@earthlink.net <mailto:nickthomp...@earthlink.net>> wrote:
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/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
*From:*Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com
<mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com>] *On Behalf Of *Steven A Smith
*Sent:* Monday, February 06, 2017 12:00 PM
*To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
<friam@redfish.com <mailto:friam@redfish.com>>
*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 ☣ <geprope...@gmail.com
<mailto:geprope...@gmail.com>> 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
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--
Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D. President, Center for Emergent Diplomacy Santa
Fe, New Mexico, USA merlelef...@gmail.com
<mailto:merlelef...@gmail.com> mobile: (303) 859-5609 skype:
merle.lelfkoff2
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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