tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22690766992094604592024-03-08T16:59:21.373-05:00CJ-SyntropyCJ Fearnley's Memos to the Net.<br><br>
"Dare to be Naive" --- R. Buckminster Fullercjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-26855414020551135032020-12-07T18:21:00.000-05:002020-12-07T18:21:22.829-05:00The Value of Multiple Working Hypotheses<p>My new essay <a href="https://www.cjfearnley.com/CfC/2020/12/the-value-of-multiple-working-hypotheses/">"The Value of Multiple Working Hypotheses"</a> explores two major considerations in reflecting on a profoundly important paper T. C. Chamberlin published in the journal Science in 1890 under the title "The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses".</p>
<p>There will be a free on-line event exploring Chamberlin's paper and my essay on 16 December 2020: <a href="https://www.meetup.com/52LivingIdeas/events/twpxvrybcqbvb/">Event at 52 Living Ideas</a>. <a href="https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/274664479/">Crossposted event at the Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society</a>.</p>cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-50313974410915068432019-08-20T14:13:00.001-04:002019-08-20T14:13:08.569-04:00Addenda to My First 2019 Conversation with Harold Channer<a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2019/08/20/addenda-to-my-first-2019-conversation-with-harold-channer/">Three addenda to expand on my first 2019 TV interview with Harold Channer</a>
<br />
"Linux: An Empowering Computer Operating System"<br />
"Heidegger and The Challenge of Humanism"<br />
"Martin Heidegger & Buckminster Fuller: Connections between Two Visionary Thinkers about Technology"cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-84881355360937402712014-11-26T16:45:00.000-05:002014-11-26T16:45:04.759-05:00My Conversation with Harold ChannerYesterday I was in Manhattan to talk with Harold Channer, a producer
with <a href="http://mnn.org">MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network)</a>. Harold has interviewed more
than 2000 guests including R. Buckminster Fuller on his TV program
<a href="http://www.channer.tv/">Conversations with Harold Hudson Channer</a>.
The HD videos of the conversation are already on YouTube:
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oERnIw31Wbk" width="480"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GotUd0PXERA" width="480"></iframe></p>
Let me know what you think of the conversation.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-80620126151406258302012-02-11T09:26:00.004-05:002012-02-11T09:38:13.159-05:00Understanding, Predicting and Designing the world with Models<blockquote>"So if you want to be out there helping to change the world in useful ways, it's really really helpful to have some understanding of models."<br>— Scott E. Page</blockquote><br /><br />This is one of several arguments that <a href="http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~spage/">Scott E. Page</a> makes in motivating his <a href="http://www.modelthinker-class.org/">free on-line video course <strong>Model Thinking</strong></a>. Essentially, Page argues that models help us to understand, predict, and design or re-design our world. This is going to be an important class. I am getting ready for a deep dive!<br /><br />I have only dived deeply into two other free on-line courses. They are <a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/04/15/study-linear-algebra-at-mit-with-gilbert-strang/">Linear Algebra</a> and <a href="http://blog.remoteresponder.net/2012/01/19/learn-open-source-database-tools-from-stanford-for-free/">Introduction to Databases</a>. I love learning about big picture, broadly useful subjects.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-62574598941023078722011-08-24T09:44:00.004-04:002011-08-24T09:56:32.065-04:00Syntropy blog: A Big Picture, Conceptual Introduction to Biology: EEB 122I wrote a <a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/">detailed review</a> of <a href="http://oyc.yale.edu">OpenYaleCourses</a>'s <a href="http://oyc.yale.edu/ecology-and-evolutionary-biology/principles-of-evolution-ecology-and-behavior/">EEB 122: Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior</a>.
<br />
<br />Here are some highlights:
<br /><ul>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#fittest">Startling: "survival of the fittest" is wrong!</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#theater">The wonderful metaphor of the theater in evolution (due to Evelyn Hutchinson)</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#elnino">A remarkable description of El NiƱo</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#medicine">Evolutionary Medicine may be one of the most significant benefits of the theory of evolution</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#geologicalevents">I was inspired to research the frequency of major geological events (earthquakes, volcanos, etc)</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#biodiversity">A poignant discussion on biodiversity</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#biogeochemistry">Biogeochemistry is one of my biggest "discoveries" of the course: it may be one of the most important interdisciplinary fields for Human survival</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#bfichallenge">I reference the Buckminster Fuller Challenge</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#geography">The importance of geography</a></li>
<br /><li><a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/08/23/a-big-picture-conceptual-introduction-to-biology-eeb-122/#survey">A survey of other freely available introductory biology courses</a></li>
<br /></ol>cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-42786175685763496462011-07-21T18:54:00.002-04:002011-07-21T18:56:50.310-04:00Sugar is a chronic toxinI wrote a <a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2011/07/21/sugar-is-a-chronic-toxin/">summary of my research into the chronic toxicity of fructose and sugar</a>.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-88553389648255990992010-10-29T14:50:00.003-04:002010-10-29T14:54:04.249-04:00Syntropy blog now on-lineI finally got <a href="http://blog.CJFearnley.com">a real Wordpress blog going at blog.CJFearnley.com</a>. My first substantial post is on <a href="http://blog.cjfearnley.com/2010/10/26/buckminster-fuller-and-the-oer-movement/">Buckminster Fuller and the Open Educational Resources Movement</a>. I was pleased that several people found it and started commenting right away.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-53555787099036175222009-12-22T13:05:00.004-05:002009-12-22T13:09:04.926-05:00Managing FOSS for Business ResultsFor a few months I've been posting to a new blog <a href="http://blog.remoteresponder.net">Managing FOSS for Business Results</a>. It is focused on FOSS or Free and Open Source Software and the problems involved with managing or administering systems built on FOSS. Check it out at <span style="font-weight:bold;">blog.RemoteResponder.net</span>.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-34252704427780966752009-10-10T00:18:00.003-04:002009-10-10T00:22:57.308-04:00Interesting post on Virtualization on new blog about Managing FOSSThere is a <a href="http://blog.remoteresponder.net">new blog about Managing FOSS (Free and Open Source Software)</a>. The most recent post is on <a href="http://blog.remoteresponder.net/2009/10/09/xen-virtualization-migrating-32-bit-domus-to-64-bit-dom0s/">Xen Virtualization</a>.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-35196013076201320972009-02-03T13:39:00.005-05:002009-02-03T14:34:51.490-05:00Comprehensive Anticipatory Systems AdministrationLinuxForce announced some exciting new news this morning about our <a href="http://www.LinuxForce.net/newsroom.html?article=20090203#03Feb2009">Expanded Partnership with The Franklin Institute</a>.<br /><br />Several people have asked me about LinuxForce's signature approach to the maintenance and monitoring of computer systems as mentioned in the news release which we call <span style="font-weight:bold;">Comprehensive Anticipatory Systems Administration</span>.<br /><br />To put it simply: the world is continually changing. Best practices are continually changing. Software is continually changing. As Buckminster Fuller said "change is normal". Change frequently comes from unexpected directions. So to be proactive (the old buzzword for managed services which is just a glorified name for systems administration of software systems) one must comprehensively anticipate the changes and develop software infrastructures that are maintainable, secure, and effective on an on-going basis.<br /><br />To put it another way: omitting any relevant detail in security, configuration, boundary case catching, etc., can result in system failure. The way to avoid system failures is to anticipate everything. That inherently requires a comprehensive approach to identify all salient factors and administering to them in support of the design requirements for the system.<br /><br />A complex, <span style="font-style:italic;">ecological</span> approach is required. That's what <a href="http://www.linuxforce.net/newsroom.html?article=20080902#02Sep2008">my talk on Comprehensive Anticipatory Systems Administration</a> at the September 2008 <a href="http://www.phillylinux.org">PLUG</a> meeting was about. <a href="http://www.cjfearnley.com/comprehensive.anticipatory.SA.pdf">My slides on systems administration</a> from that talk are available on-line.<br /><br />Let me know of ways in which you see that software administration can become both more comprehensively anticipatory in its attentiveness to change.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269076699209460459.post-55699687601699353472008-03-21T15:33:00.007-04:002008-03-21T17:01:28.710-04:00My Foldable Great Circles PresentationI gave a <a href="http://www.cjfearnley.com/folding.great.circles.2008.pdf">presentation on "Explorations to Define a Theory of Foldable Great Circle Origami"</a> to <a href="http://synergeticists.org/snec.announce.meeting.2008.03.html">the AMS Special Session on Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics and Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (NYU)</a>.<br /><br />Some important elements of this mathematics research are <ol><li>The subject is at least partially accessible to young people (I have built these models with young children and undergraduates should be able to understand the work "completely")</li><li>The models can be built with paper, fasteners (bobby pins), and a protractor. So the material is concrete and tangible.</li><li>The statement of the problem is easy enough that one would think, at first, that the problem is "easy"</li><li>The problem is still unsolved</li><li>My research supports the view that there are still easy to state, easy to explore, exciting unsolved mathematics problems</li></ol><br />I am looking for collaborators to finish the research. I would be willing to give a simplified version of my presentation to educational and/or research audiences.cjfsyntropyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00663583265179654030noreply@blogger.com0