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Accidental Vagrant Substack: search & research - design inquiry

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Design, Wicked Problems & Throwness

Horst Rittel is one of the seminal residents in my 'Berkeley Bubble'. Recently a friend and colleague sent me an article about ‘double-wickedproblems’ . I have become ever more aware of the increasing number of references to ‘wicked problems’ in all forms of media that seem to have missed Rittel’s deeper insights . This brought up the concern I have about the use and miss-use of the term ‘wicked problem’. The term ‘wicked problem’, first introduced by Rittel in West Churchman’s seminars at Berkeley, was in reference to his conceptualization of the impossible challenge of dealing with significant social issues using traditional, rational, ‘problem solving’ methods. In most cases what are miss-diangnosed as ‘wicked problems’ are actually complex or complicated problems that can be simplified or broken into smaller 'tame' problems allowing for a straight forward 'problem solving' approach to be taken. This approach is believed by many to be capable

Center for Systemic Design draft prospectus

PROSPECTUS Center for Advanced Systemic Designing Introduction Our futures can be approached in four ways: 1) drifting—adapting to whatever happens, 2) colliding—reacting and enduring, 3) retreating—backing away from undesirable states or conditions, or 4) advancing—navigating into desirable states-of-affairs. The norm nowadays is to drift, collide or retreat into the future. The fourth approach, the proactive approach, is the more apt response given the complex challenges and rising expectations that are the new norm for the foreseeable future. The fourth approach depends on the agency of individuals who have the capacity to handle the challenge of securing desired outcomes in indeterminate situations on behalf of concomitant stakeholders and clients. They achieve this by serving—design agency—as members of design teams and design cohorts. These systemic designers are skilled polymaths who have the ability to create assemblies of essential elements into coherent whole system

Give Someone a Fish....Teaching & Learning

During the process of developing a series of master classes in systemic designing (www.haroldgnelson.com/masterclasses) I became aware of a critical issue. Many of the terms I was using, such as ‘learning’ and ‘teaching’, had been hollowed out by the predominance of AI-related terms in public discourse like ‘machine learning’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI). In addition, the dominating hype or shallow understandings of the ideas behind the terms I was using further hampered any meaningful communication with others. Even the term ‘masterclass’ had lost common meaning — much like the term ‘equal’ has lost shared meaning among mathematicians. Common terms like ‘innovation’, ‘change’, ‘creativity’, ‘agent’, or ‘paradigm shift’ are among a growing list of words that have become mere tags or indicators rather than carriers of useful information in shared discourse. In my master classes, for example, key terms like ‘learning’, ‘teaching’, and ‘knowledge’ are central concepts t

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