Accidental Vagrant

The recently held Russell L. Ackoff Centennial Celebration at Thomas Jefferson University was a great reminder of how valuable and durable Russ's ideas have proven to be. As was said at the celebration, he did not suffer fools and did not hand out compliments lightly which reminded me of one a the great moments in my professional life. Russ congratulated me on an article I had written: From:  Harold Nelson <nelsongroup@comcast.net>  Date:  April 6, 2006 10:56:33 AM MDT To:  Russell Ackoff < RLAckoff@aol.com >  Subject:  Thanks  Dear Russ; Thanks for your note. I appreciate comments on my work, especially positive ones. Hope you are staying well. I will not be at the ISSS meeting this year but hope our paths cross again at some point.  Regards  Harold  -------------- Forwarded Message: -------------­From:  RLAckoff@aol.com To: nelsongroup@worldnet.att.netSubject: Your 1994 article on DesignDate: Wed, 5 ...

Chapter just published:  The Promise of Systemic Designing: Giving Form to Water  Learning, Design, and Technology pp 1-50 |  Cite as Harold G. Nelson (1) Email author ( nelson.group43@gmail.com )  1. Computer Science, University of Montana, , Missoula, USA  Abstract The world is understood to be more complex and dynamic than previously thought. Design is understood to be a deeper mystery than previously assumed. Design creates reality. Humans have engaged in design activities – designing – from the beginning of history, but little is known of its true nature or full potential. Familiar approaches to design and design education no longer match the real-world necessities and expectations of modern societies. Everything is connected, and it is difficult, or it seems often impossible, to determine what course of action is prudent when designing within such complexity. Systemic design is an emergent means for creating desired change that takes a broader ...

Design in the 21st Century video . Talk given at the University of Idaho.

There are no natural systems left on Earth. Everything, everywhere shows the traces of human activity. It is time to take responsibility and become accountable for our actions. We need to own the Age of Design - Welcome to the Anthropocene.

There are ongoing discussions about the value of generalists versus specialists . The discussions are long running, only occasionally morphing into discussions championing people who are both competent generalists and able specialists —what businesses calls ‘T’ people. However the discussions quickly self-correct back to the debate between the value of generalization versus specialization. ‘T’ people display competency in both breadth and depth of knowledge and skills—but interest in them primarily remains academic. You don’t actually see many advertisements and hiring campaigns for people with ‘T’ skills but the rhetoric declaiming the value of combining such skills remains popular.  ‘T’ people have been occasional objects of interest in government and the military, but nothing serious enough to actually cause changes to be made to accommodate them. Agencies and military branches remain primarily committed to siloed organizational designs. Structured differentiation...