Putting a bokmark here for the idea of social objects, which has much to do with some of the thinking we are doing on harvesting these days. Social objects are, if I understand them correctly, exactly the kind of powerful collective harvest that we can help co-create with a well designed conference, or other social initiative. More to come…and thanks to John Dumbrille for turning me on the idea while he stood next to me at a Hallowe’en disco party last night dressed like a Kitsilano steroid monkey.
Photo by Khalid Almasoud A note on some very interesting recent psychiatric research that shows that decision-making has much to do with finding an inner equilibrium: Martin Paulus, M.D., professor in UCSD’s Department of Psychiatry, has compiled a body of growing evidence that human decision-making is inextricably linked to an individuals’ need to maintain a homeostatic balance. “This is a state of dynamic equilibrium, much like controlling body temperature,” said Paulus. “How humans select a particular course of action may be in response to raising or lowering that ‘set point’ back to their individual comfort zone. In people with psychiatric …
Chicago, Illinois It comes off almost as a sigh. Chicago-O’Hare is well known for being a finicky place to make connections, due to weather or traffic. I’ve mostly had good luck coming through here, with only one weather delay. Today though I have enjoyed the hospitality of the C concourse for most of the day, compliments of a United flight to Vancouver that was cancelled at 9:00. I’m now awaiting the call for the 3:25 flight home. So what does the C concourse have to offer the stranded traveller? There are Starbucks outlets, but they …
Burlington, Vermont Opened Space this morning along with my colleague Lenore Metwon with around 150 community planners who are interested in the heart and soul of place. You can follow along on the conference wiki at CommunityMatters07.
I’ve been in this inquiry lately about the responsibility of love, by which I mean that the work of supporting open heartedness comes at a cost. It;s not that we need to stop supporting open heartedness, just that we have to do it with a degree of care and consciousness. Rob Paterson today posted a photo that captures this dilemma, along with a post about NGOs in a messy world.