Category Archives: theory of knowledge

LOA and solution-space constraints

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Daniel Erwin

John H Holland, in his book Emergence on page 185, amplifies a description of the creative process that I presented to my students in Mexico (though – like almost all of the quotes and references I write about – it’s … Continue reading →

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analogies and inspiration

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Daniel Erwin

I’ve always been a wanderer with insatiable curiosity – and since I was introduced to *D*esign I’ve seen that as an asset and a skill. Building that skill has meant looking for bigger and bigger abstractions. To have any idea … Continue reading →

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economics

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Daniel Erwin

There are two basic principles on which economics is based, and they are both false. 1. People act in their own best self-interest. In fact, that doesn’t always happen – it’s demonstrable that people don’t do this. They have social, … Continue reading →

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assertionism

Posted on February 14, 2009 by Daniel Erwin

When trying to lead, the most effective statements are assertions. Laying out a form or structure gives people something to see and feel – even if they don’t like it, they can hardly ignore it, and since most people don’t … Continue reading →

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vonnegut’s lobotomy

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Daniel Erwin

In Galopogos, Vonnegut suggests that in a million years humans will have evolved much smaller brains (and turned into dolphin-like creatures), laughing and crying about the ridiculous machinations and complexities of our current society. Indeed, it’s doubtless that much of … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural evolution, information anxiety, information overload, theory of knowledge | Comments Off

acting

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Daniel Erwin

maybe actors are born by never learning, intuitively, to act. These simplest of people always show what they are feeling with direct, un-second-guessed earnestness. When somebody puts them into a situation, they baldly display their reaction to it. When a … Continue reading →

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knowing value

Posted on December 7, 2008 by Daniel Erwin

I don’t remember Pirsig writing about this – he probably thought it was too obvious to state: Identifying value is, itself, valuable. This means that just sifting out gold from the dust is a value-creating activity. That’s an easy one, … Continue reading →

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levels

Posted on December 1, 2008 by Daniel Erwin

is there a difference between high-level and dumbed-down?

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intersections

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Daniel Erwin

I was browsing for sources for the systems project and came across a quote from Neil Gershenfeld of MIT: …’but “the bubbles kept interfering,” ­Gershenfeld says. “It eventually occurred to us that we should use them.” ‘ (http://www.technologyreview.com/article/18673/) This “occurred … Continue reading →

Posted in emergence, philosophy of science, planning, theory of knowledge | Comments Off

conceptual

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Daniel Erwin

Last night I discovered I have no idea what a concept is. Over the past few years, I’ve been pushing myself to get comfortable with really difficult, confusing ideas like “close enough to be wrong,” which refers to the fact … Continue reading →

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