Eiffel Over

Tag: uncertainty

  • Field notes from chaos

    The wind was getting up. The waves were starting to blow in from different directions. The sea scape seemed to be changing at random. The day before, the waves had been rolling in with a nice rhythm.

    This is another blog post that comes from the sea. And this one is about chaos. One characteristic of chaotic systems is the rules of the system keep changing. And this seemed to be what was happening around me. The wind was gusting from different directions, the tide was turning, the sun was coming in and out from behind clouds. And all of this was making a chaotic mess of the surface of the water.

    Standing there trying to figure out what was going on I started to think about ways of coping with chaos. Think of these as working notes rather than a developed theory. 

    Get into the field – the sea looked messy from the shore but only in the water could I really feel how changeable it was. 

    The signal in the noise – there can be a lot of randomness but are there underlying patterns. There did seem to be a beat of waves heading in to the shore, confused by another set rolling in from the side. When you find a pattern in the system it is easier to work with. 

    Notice when the pattern ends – the rules of chaotic systems change. A pattern in the system is only useful as long as it persists. Look out for the pattern changing. 

    Think on your feet – you can’t rely on the normal patterns of working (see yesterday’s post on creating cycles in work). Instead you have to make the most of the situation you are in. 

    Learning is difficult – if learning relies on loops of action and reflection, then learning is much harder when the conditions keep changing.

    Chaos is tiring – if you are constantly on alert trying to figure out what is going on then you are not getting time to rest and recuperate. 

    Writing these notes up I am left wondering:

    • How can we support ourselves, other people and organisations when they enter into periods of chaos?
    • How might our own actions, behaviours and design decisions cause chaos for others?
    • How might we design for increasing chaos as climate breakdown rolls on?
  • Self-learning in systems, hair engineering + Idler Festival Day 1

    Self-learning in systems, hair engineering + Idler Festival Day 1

    A day of two halves: book writing this morning and then swing dance teaching at the Idler festival this evening, with some hair engineering in the middle.

    Enabling systems to self learn

    I have about ten days to finish the first draft of the two chapters I am writing for James and my book on regenerative design for structural engineers. Today I was writing one of 12 principles for thinking about regenerative design. This one is about enabling systems to self-learn, adapt and evolve.

    As ever, with regenerative design, we are thinking about how to enable healthy system qualities to emerge. It is difficult to write about because for one thing we are not talking about directly doing something ourselves, but thinking about how to set the conditions for a certain desirable quality to arise. The second is it doesn’t always feel close to structural engineering. But with our writing, we are not attempting to fully resolve the picture, rather to show what the arguments are and how they might intersect with structural engineering.

    The question I keep coming back to to guide the writing is, how can we move away from seeing the design of buildings as the ends in itself, and instead as the means of creating a society that thrives within ecosystem boundaries.

    In the built environment context, this idea of self-learning in the system could manifest itself as communities being better able to design and adapt their own buildings. And that that process can put them in greater harmony with their supporting ecosystems. The barriers to this process I wrote today were:

    • A design process that starts too late and stops too soon
    • Specialist knowledge not being distributed in the system
    • Lack of local systems knowledge
    • Discomfort with uncertainty
    • The challenge of hearing our nature responds to our plans.

    Tomorrow I will be writing about how design can enable the emergence of a healthy socio-ecological system structure.

    Hair Engineering

    I have a phenomenal amount of hair. When ever I get it cut, it renews at an astonishing rate. You could say it is an abundant natural system. I am impressed with how tall she was able to make it. You could say I have a High Barnet.

    Idler Festival Day One

    For the first time in two years it feels great to be back teaching at a Festival. This time it is back with my friends at the Idler, for their Idler Festival at Fenton House.

    This evening I was second on the bill, teaching a group of about 30 a solo taster Charleston class. On the playlist:

    Around the World (Daft Punk)/I’ve Got That Tune (Chinese Man)/A Cool Cat in Town – Aerophon Mix (Tape Five)/Booty Swing (Parov Stelar)/Lone Digger (Caravan Palace). Link here to playlist.

    Halfway through the class I spotted someone who had been there in the classroom when I had my first swing dancing classes 18 years ago.

    I was happy to see my friend, dancer Constructivist collaborator, Peter Ayres. Looking forward to spending more time together on the Idler lawn over the next two days.

    Three more classes tomorrow.