Participation without complicity

“I participate in this system, so I’m complicit in it.” All the cruelty, the racism, the poverty, the abuse of power in US capitalist patriarchy–this is my fault too? The guilt can crush us. TL;DR: no, it isn’t our fault. It is ours to do something about, while participating. Participate in the system to fill … Read moreParticipation without complicity

Software Design: Beyond Boxes and Lines

Keynote at YOW! December 2021: Software design: Beyond Boxes and Lines – Jessica Kerr – YouTube Slides Latest: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_l6zV8Lg=/ References Domain Driven Design, by Eric Evans (book) Learn Wardley Mapping, by Simon Wardley; documented by Ben Mosier (site) Team Topologies, by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais (book) Grokking Simplicity, by Eric Normand (book) Functional Programming … Read moreSoftware Design: Beyond Boxes and Lines

In defense of rationality and dynamic programming

Karl Popper defines rationality as: basing beliefs on logical arguments and evidence. Irrationality is everything else. He also defines comprehensive rationality as: only logical arguments and evidence are valid basis for belief. But this belief itself can only be accepted by choice or faith, so comprehensive rationality is self-contradictory. It also excludes a lot of … Read moreIn defense of rationality and dynamic programming

Ascendency

What makes one system more organized than another? More developed, more … civilized? How can we measure advancement? In Ecology, the Ascendent Perspective, Robert Ulanowicz has an answer. Along the way, he answers even bigger questions, like: how do we reconcile the inexorable increase in entropy with the constant growth, learning, and making going on around … Read moreAscendency