Abundant Systems

Algorithms are simply subsystems of the companies that create them, so when we want to examine the systems we use and are a part of, it is an extremely helpful lens to use.

Where we invest our time also has a Return on Energy (ROE).

By adopting a human-centric approach, a new structure or infrastructure – whether it’s a bridge, playground, park, or reservoir – isn’t simply a physical object consisting of raw materials and labour. Instead, it’s the manifestation of community aspirations. It’s a carefully considered design brought to life. It’s a way to solve underlying issues... See more

But you can’t optimize systems in a context that’s changing, especially if it’s changing in unpredictable ways. Removing inefficiencies when circumstances are as anticipated means that there isn’t much slack in the system to respond when the unanticipated happens. Optimization is intrinsically brittle , because it’s about closely matching the

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Over time, plenitude is a process in which more and more goods and services are provided to more and more people, as technologies advance and costs come down to grant new free ‘indulgences’ every year.

H]uman beings need all the relatives they can get–as possible donors or receivers not necessarily of love, but of common decency.

. . .

When we were children in Indianapolis, Indiana, it appeared that we would always have an extended family of genuine relatives there. Our parents and grandparents, after all, had grown up there with shoals of siblings

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As Brian Merchant argues in his book, Blood in the Machine , the rebellion was more nuanced than we realize, standing “not against technology per se but for the rights of workers above the inequitable profitability of machines.”

Kindness has unlimited upside.”