What’s blowing my hair back? See below.
- Internal Family Systems came on my radar when Paula recommended it to me. Tim Ferris has a good interview with the progenitor, Richard Schwartz. I’m diving into his book Introduction to Family Systems.
- Why it’s relevant: I find this practice related to both Shamanic healing and complexity science by relating parts to wholes and the dynamics between them. The method resonates in that I have certainly said “a part of me wants X and a part of feels Y”. Good first-and-second line work here. I think it can be harnessed as a good rhetorical tool and may be one method of inching people towards embodying opposing ideas. “I know a part of you is mad as hell…what might the other parts believe about X…”
- A video of Dr. Simone Gold came onto my radar where she advocates for hydroxychloroquine and against the new Sars-COV-2 vaccines. It was great sense-making practice to debunk her ideas and spot the cognitive biases she employs amidst her talented oration. I was subsequently very pleased when Dr. Wilson Debunked the Funk of Simone Gold two days after she was arrested for taking part in the ‘insurrection’. In parallel, I was pleased to find that Dr. Wilson was interviewed on the Conspirituality podcast where he demonstrated his dedication to good science and healthy dialogue. After vetting his videos, I assess that Dr. Wilson is a trustworthy source.
- Why it’s relevant: It’s important to track the anti-vaccine movement and how it has moved parallel QAnon and ethnonationalism as well its intersections with the Christian right (Simone’s video took place at a church as ministry because the link between faith in Jesus and rejecting the vaccine is apparent…). The principle here is to invest more time with the perspectives that make less sense to me such that I understand their merits or lack thereof.
- I’ve enjoyed the podcast Conspirituality in general, having listened to more than a dozen episodes now. Their latest episode, which I haven’t finished yet, dives into the allure of esoteric knowledge before addressing a number of known channelers.
- Why it’s relevant: If we’ve been talking recently, you’ve likely heard me rail agains the spiritual marketplace and it’s associated industries of funnel marketing and consulting. I see this podcast as a good faith effort to disassemble much of the new age bait that many have swallowed (including myself at various points). Most importantly: they are addressing their critics directly. With their material, like all sources, I have practiced discernment in understanding what biases are present and its clear to me their work falls squarely in the realm of skepticism. The hosts’ willingness to use their platform to address critique is modelling the behavior of engaging in a healthy dialogue. Kudos!
- As I dive deeper into Cynefin as a sense-making tool that assists in determining which actions/tools are appropriate for the task at hand given its domain, I find this article on scaffolding and constraints applicable beyond the Cynefin framework. I am working my way through the references listed.
- Why it’s relevant: Constraints are real characteristics of complex systems. Understanding the typology of constraints is necessary to understand the environments in which we operate. The nature of the constraint dictates how we might design with it in mind.
- In my disinformation research this week, I came across Playmaker Systems which has a full taxonomy of influence strategies. They link to the blog and podcast over at the Information Professionals Association which looks rich and is on the TBH (to be harvested) list.
- Why it’s relevant: Our media landscape is littered with overt and covert agendas. Deception is not new though it certainly is increasing. Deciphering signal from noise is essential for those intent on seeing and operating in the larger environment. A study of the tactics and strategies available to the many actors in our systems reduces the first-mover advantage of information operations.
At some interval, I’ll continue this type of link sharing to leave a trail of artifacts to track over time.