It is probably bad practice to reprint articles in a blog. But this one, copied with kind permission from the author, (his title) captures the zeitgeist of many concerned and informed citizens at this point in our planet’s history. Hopeful, but tense. And watching the floods, tsunamis, typhoons and earthquakes in our region (remember, geology […]

For those who like economics as their bottom line, perhaps this article by Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman will appeal: http://tinyurl.com/ya9q558. He even mentions the Sydney dust storms, how’s that for topical? Won’t it be interesting to see how well the Rudd gov stacks up in Copenhagen, and how well their stand will serve […]

Complex adaptive systems are what we are. Not so hard to understand: are we not part of very complex systems? Our bodies, with their intricate sub-ecosystems of microbacteria, and the evolution of cities has now been found to mimic that of our brains. But adaptive? Some of us, sometimes. Obviously Manila has not adapted adequately […]

A long weekend at the coast with friends. Can’t beat that for a spring outing. The benign if sometimes dysfunctional public service allows me to work just 4 days per week. This helps me stay balanced. It is no longer too cold at the coast overnight, as even the insulation and lining the walls isn’t […]

Today I spent much of the morning talking with an academic colleague about sustainable business practices, what they mean and why students are enrolling in these courses. We discussed the triple bottom line business sustainability, and systems thinking. This means the environmental, the social and the economic benefits are coupled, to use a phrase from […]

This morning I clumsily misjudged how full my coffee cup was, and some splashed on the startled cat. I thought I could manage it while walking and carrying a newspaper. This trivial blunder reminded me that our tendency to think in straight lines, lines of logic and control, must be hardwired into our brains. Maybe […]

Of course you are. Nearly everything is non-lnear, including the intricate braiding of water tumbling from a faucet, if you have ever observed that in fascination. If your heart is healthy, this means it displays subtle fluctuations around a stable pattern, rather than machine-like rhythm. Such patterns, like the distribution of leaves on a tree, […]

Perhaps cognitive dissonance is a necessary element of our psyche. Our delusions help us to maintain our sanity. A friend suggested I read his copy of ‘Straw Dogs’ by philosopher John Gray. Gray says the Tasmanian Aborigines were so incapable of comprehending the English ships that they could not see them. Instead, they turned away […]

Have you seen Casino Royale? Not being a James Bond fan, I only saw it last night, partly drawn by Daniel Craig’s resemblance to Vladimir Putin (but Craig is so much better looking.) It was certainly entertaining, especially the amazingly choreographed violence. A crucial scene revolves around a poker game for extremely high stakes. Unacceptable […]

You frequently hear complaints that with all our sunlight Australia ought to be a leader in solar energy. They reached a crescendo about the time that Dr Shi Zhengrong was revealed as a billionaire after training at the University of Sydney and taking his solar research home to China where he made his fortune. Of […]