What, Why & How do we Know ?
Two observations … The last 2 or 3 months …. been getting repeated bursts of direct hits from “Limelight Networks” in Tempe, AZ. No idea why – are they testing out some content crawler at Uni of Az ? Last couple of years …. I get constant search hits from people all over the world … Continue reading “Web Traffic”
I blogged about Eestor recently. That’s not an anomalous energy patent, but an electrical capacitance alternative to the internal combustion engine. Will it work commercially and socially ? The point is that there may be reasons for engineering scepticism, but the basic physics is not (yet) in doubt. Brian Josephson has been a regular champion … Continue reading “Anomalous Energy”
Interesting post from Sam Norton. A thoughtful Christian positioning on recent “blasphemy furies”. Amongst other things I was taken by this quote from Rene Girard. “The invention of science is not the reason that there are no longer witch-hunts, but the fact that there are no longer witch-hunts is the reason that science has been … Continue reading “Would Science Consider This Blasphemous ?”
Also from Mark Federman, a piece on research he is doing on organisational effectiveness. The point that interested me, apart from the general parallel with my agenda, and my earlier dissertation is his focus on Chris Argyris “espoused theories” concept – ie the idea that they are different to actual “theories in use”. Something I’ve … Continue reading “Organisational Effectiveness”
Here it’s the debate about the “right to offend” sparked by the recent Sikh religious debate over the content of the play at the Birmingham Rep. This is at the highest political / public / human / artistic rights level, but Chris Argyris showed that avoidance of offence (and embarrassment) was at the root of … Continue reading “Political Correctness Disguises Facts”
I’ve not yet finished reading Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” – great 14th century murder mystery with philosophers, inquisitors and church leaders thrown in – hard to spot where fact ends and fiction starts … anyway the point is I’ve also just received and started reading the 2nd edition (2002) of Nils Brunsson’s “The Organization … Continue reading “Managing Hypocrisy”
Informal Education – Been browsing the INFED site since I linked to their Argyris biography earlier. As well as the site’s own collection of educational content, it is dedicated to promoting the idea of informal education & lifelong learning, and other resources on the subject of education and learning. It’s heavily based around a 1997 … Continue reading “Informal Education”
At last …. blogged about this over a year ago, when BBC Radio 4 “Today” reported on a Dutch experiment to do away with traffic signs and road markings, and just leave the drivers to it. Sounds irrational, but it’s proven that there are less accidents and more courtesy, because the humans have to use … Continue reading “Putting Humans Back in the Traffic Loop”