Interesting problems: a definition
A problem is interesting when… 1. It’s important to someone Presumably because solving it will make things better.* The problem won’t be important to everyone,… Read More »Interesting problems: a definition
Search Results for: systems
Resource: Tim Harford on 50 Things that Made the Modern Economy
If you haven’t thought much about economics, this series from the BBC is a first-rate introduction to a lot of key ideas about how markets… Read More »Resource: Tim Harford on 50 Things that Made the Modern Economy
Marc Andreessen: Scenius
Here’s another highlight from Brian Koppelman’s interview with Marc Andreessen on The Moment. This time they’re talking about the importance of ‘scenes’ – groups of… Read More »Marc Andreessen: Scenius
Cutting edge – learning and change
The edge on a knife is important – it’s the sharp end (okay, side) where the cutting actually takes place. It needs to stay sharp,… Read More »Cutting edge – learning and change
Machine. Ecosystem. (7) – Style is content (text as system)
Style is content. Poet Marvin Bell reminds us that the content of a poem is not the same as a poem’s contents, reminding us that… Read More »Machine. Ecosystem. (7) – Style is content (text as system)
Kicking cans: job descriptions versus culture
A few days ago I watched a schoolboy kicking a can down the road. He kicked it a couple of times and then miskicked, sending… Read More »Kicking cans: job descriptions versus culture
W. Brian Arthur on combinatorial innovation
The idea … that we have is that there’s some genius in an attic… cooking up technology and coming up with inventions. But it started… Read More »W. Brian Arthur on combinatorial innovation
Podcast recommendation: Marc Andreesen on The Moment with Brian Koppelman
I’ve already shared an extract from this episode about systems thinking here, but the whole interview is fascinating and everyone I’ve recommended it to has… Read More »Podcast recommendation: Marc Andreesen on The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Machine. Ecosystem. (6) – Kevin Kelly on the techium
Okay, so machines are simple, largely linear, and predictable, and systems are complex, adaptive and ‘dispositional’… but look a bit closer and the distinction gets… Read More »Machine. Ecosystem. (6) – Kevin Kelly on the techium
Machine. Ecosystem. (3) – Peter Morville
Peter Morville on the unpredictability of complex systems: