I checked out your newsletter because you asked the question about Clinton's firing of federal employees and I was looking for the same thing. I posted a link from Academia.EDU to the encyclopedia entry.
So then I discovered you are writing about systems thinking, which is exactly what I am writing about in my yet-to-be-published post. I am writing about it because I am reading the most brilliant book Godel, Esher, and Bach by David Hofstadter ( published 1945) The discussion describes the creation of systems by sets of rules. Rule-based systems are called formal systems, a characteristic of formal systems is that you must not do anything outside the rules. He gets into a discussion of human and AI intelligence.
I wanted to check my interpretation on something I searched my question and I came up with a Medium article titled "It’s not about the code, it’s about the system" by Lucas Sunsi Abreu. The article describes the work process of a coder emphasizing the importance of the ability to conceptualize code as a function of the purpose of the system.
I grew up in a business in a home that was a very complex system but the first time I became aware of systems management as a thing was after my Dad fell down and suffered a brain injury. When I visited him in the hospital he was going on and on about fishermen and system's management< and I thought OH! That's his talent that I never identified before! ( Light bulb !). He was system-managing his own brain recovery!. The older doctor looked at the younger doctor and said " Just forget you ever saw that MRI!"
Reading Godel Esher and Bach is stimulating me about mapping idea of mapping economic development policy to the US and State Constitution. I have been independently studying Maine's policies since 1976 for about 15 years or more.
I couldn't watch your video because YouTube said to login and then I couldn't find it. Your project sounds interesting.
Thank you for letting me know about your past experience with Systems Thinking. I trust your father recovered fully from his brain injury.
Regarding the Clinton-Gore era "firing of Federal employees" subject, it just took me about one minute to research the subject and learn (no surprise) that the person saying "Clinton did it first" is feeding people a line of bullshit.
I do not know if you did any research on this, but here's the article describing how Congress approved Clinton's efforts to downsize the government in an organized way vs Trump acting like a dictator and using a "Everyone should be told they can quit" (I'm paraphrasing) approach.
I invite you to follow my work going forward. Thanks again for your comment.
And a word of advice... don't trust this "bothsiderism" justification stuff that comes from the GOP. There is NOTHING that has happened in the past that is anything like the coup currently happening.
Steve- Your tireless work on the museum and your homage to your mother as a kind of Wonder Woman is exemplary. Not enough is said about the need to reference those who had walked before us. By the way, hailing from CO, I'm especially appreciative of you spearheading John Denver's foundation. Hope you're well in OK? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you for your kind and insightful words. There are solutions to today’s crises that were developed literally decades ago. The Route 66 Spirit Of America Museum is dedicated to letting people know those solutions exist and helping them look for ways to implement them today.
I also appreciate your mentioning that I celebrate my mother‘s bravery as part of honoring all women of wonder for the contributions they make.
I have an endless amount of respect for what John Denver did and only regret that he didn’t live to a ripe old age so he could keep the work of the Windstar foundation going.
Lastly, I invite you to visit Route 66 in Oklahoma during next year‘s Centennial celebration. I believe that celebration will at least in part help bring attention to those American heroes both past and present who can help us get out of the crisis we are in today.
Congrats on the centennial milestone, Steve. Denver’s story is so influential. What were some memories that stood out in working on the foundation efforts there, Steve?
Steve, as a systems engineer, of course this sounds quite wise, and well informed (and in agreement with my own views), but I'm hesitant about a voice that calls itself wise, even where I agree. Why is this a good name? Seems a time for humility on the left, and right. AND middle.
I use the word “wise” because it is a technical term which I learned from Professor Russel Ackoff of The Wharton School. He used that term when describing the flow of how our minds work … with data being at the bottom and wisdom being at the top. This pioneer in the art of problem-solving (which is what system thinking really is) was my mentor for 10 years. For that reason, I’m quite comfortable using the term even as I also acknowledge to people I’ve spent a lifetime making mistakes and learning from them. I am in no way so full of myself as to think I am a guru. But I know what I’ve learned is a form of thinking that no civic leaders - with the exception possibly of Bill Clinton in the 1990s - has ever known. Sadly, Bill Clinton‘s efforts to offer a system thinking based solution way back then never saw the light of day. Here is a video of Russ explaining what the concept of wisdom comes is.
I checked out your newsletter because you asked the question about Clinton's firing of federal employees and I was looking for the same thing. I posted a link from Academia.EDU to the encyclopedia entry.
So then I discovered you are writing about systems thinking, which is exactly what I am writing about in my yet-to-be-published post. I am writing about it because I am reading the most brilliant book Godel, Esher, and Bach by David Hofstadter ( published 1945) The discussion describes the creation of systems by sets of rules. Rule-based systems are called formal systems, a characteristic of formal systems is that you must not do anything outside the rules. He gets into a discussion of human and AI intelligence.
I wanted to check my interpretation on something I searched my question and I came up with a Medium article titled "It’s not about the code, it’s about the system" by Lucas Sunsi Abreu. The article describes the work process of a coder emphasizing the importance of the ability to conceptualize code as a function of the purpose of the system.
I grew up in a business in a home that was a very complex system but the first time I became aware of systems management as a thing was after my Dad fell down and suffered a brain injury. When I visited him in the hospital he was going on and on about fishermen and system's management< and I thought OH! That's his talent that I never identified before! ( Light bulb !). He was system-managing his own brain recovery!. The older doctor looked at the younger doctor and said " Just forget you ever saw that MRI!"
Reading Godel Esher and Bach is stimulating me about mapping idea of mapping economic development policy to the US and State Constitution. I have been independently studying Maine's policies since 1976 for about 15 years or more.
I couldn't watch your video because YouTube said to login and then I couldn't find it. Your project sounds interesting.
Thank you for letting me know about your past experience with Systems Thinking. I trust your father recovered fully from his brain injury.
Regarding the Clinton-Gore era "firing of Federal employees" subject, it just took me about one minute to research the subject and learn (no surprise) that the person saying "Clinton did it first" is feeding people a line of bullshit.
I do not know if you did any research on this, but here's the article describing how Congress approved Clinton's efforts to downsize the government in an organized way vs Trump acting like a dictator and using a "Everyone should be told they can quit" (I'm paraphrasing) approach.
I invite you to follow my work going forward. Thanks again for your comment.
And a word of advice... don't trust this "bothsiderism" justification stuff that comes from the GOP. There is NOTHING that has happened in the past that is anything like the coup currently happening.
https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/feb/06/yes-bill-clinton-offered-mass-federal-employee-buy/
Let's meet in The Big Middle and build a majority consensus for action to solve our common problems
Steve- Your tireless work on the museum and your homage to your mother as a kind of Wonder Woman is exemplary. Not enough is said about the need to reference those who had walked before us. By the way, hailing from CO, I'm especially appreciative of you spearheading John Denver's foundation. Hope you're well in OK? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you for your kind and insightful words. There are solutions to today’s crises that were developed literally decades ago. The Route 66 Spirit Of America Museum is dedicated to letting people know those solutions exist and helping them look for ways to implement them today.
I also appreciate your mentioning that I celebrate my mother‘s bravery as part of honoring all women of wonder for the contributions they make.
I have an endless amount of respect for what John Denver did and only regret that he didn’t live to a ripe old age so he could keep the work of the Windstar foundation going.
Lastly, I invite you to visit Route 66 in Oklahoma during next year‘s Centennial celebration. I believe that celebration will at least in part help bring attention to those American heroes both past and present who can help us get out of the crisis we are in today.
Congrats on the centennial milestone, Steve. Denver’s story is so influential. What were some memories that stood out in working on the foundation efforts there, Steve?
Steve, as a systems engineer, of course this sounds quite wise, and well informed (and in agreement with my own views), but I'm hesitant about a voice that calls itself wise, even where I agree. Why is this a good name? Seems a time for humility on the left, and right. AND middle.
I use the word “wise” because it is a technical term which I learned from Professor Russel Ackoff of The Wharton School. He used that term when describing the flow of how our minds work … with data being at the bottom and wisdom being at the top. This pioneer in the art of problem-solving (which is what system thinking really is) was my mentor for 10 years. For that reason, I’m quite comfortable using the term even as I also acknowledge to people I’ve spent a lifetime making mistakes and learning from them. I am in no way so full of myself as to think I am a guru. But I know what I’ve learned is a form of thinking that no civic leaders - with the exception possibly of Bill Clinton in the 1990s - has ever known. Sadly, Bill Clinton‘s efforts to offer a system thinking based solution way back then never saw the light of day. Here is a video of Russ explaining what the concept of wisdom comes is.
Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/MzS5V5-0VsA
We got this! https://open.substack.com/pub/republia/p/the-difference-between-monarchies?r=4ucf6d&utm_medium=ios
Thanks for commenting