Change an assumption
and save the world.

— Heinz von Foerster, 1970

Quoted after Paul Schröder who 2009-11-14 at the Heinz von Foerster Congress 09 said he found this quote several times in his notes.

[Dow Jones Industrial Average Index from 1900 until today on a logarithmic scale; chart courtesy of StockCharts.com, click the image for details.]

Now that there is so much talk about the (financial) crisis I see that the word crisis of course shares its etymology with one of my most favorite words: critique.
Come on folks, let’s have a closer look. Let’s be critical about the “crisis”.

[w]

Tomorrow will be cancelled due to lack of interest.

— *nix fortune

Can a single question make change? Ask yourself!
– dropping knowledge, 2006-09-07

On 2006-09-09, dropping knowledge shall bring together some 100 people from all over the world to “engage in the most pressing questions of our age”. Their answers shall be recorded, and they may become seeds of a new “knowledge portal and dialog platform” starting 2006-09-10.

Here are some of the questions which have been submitted and which are likely to be discussed:

• Is resistance a new form of revolution? Between non-violent resistance and armed struggle where do we go? What is effective? What is the right thing to do? Or do we need a biodiversity of resistance? Is change possible without violence?
• What is worse, death or everlasting silence and solitude?
• Is sustainability a luxury of the developed world?
• What is the most important unreported story?
• Can the world ever agree on the meaning and implementation of democracy?
• Are we ready to change anything in case we get answers to our questions?
• Do you think anything will change by donating questions here?
• Why do human beings agree to evil?
• What is God’s religion?
• Permaculture has solved sustainability, Moshé Feldenkrais has solved the physical problems of the human body, Krishnamurti has solved wisdom, what problems doesn’t the planet know how to solve?
• What does every human being on this planet agree on?
• What is the global definition of freedom?
• Why am I me and not you?
• Is there at least one basic truth, we all can agree on?
• What is consciousness and how do we observe the observer?
• Do you trust your government?
• Why don’t you do something?
• How can consciousness be increased in the world?
• How can we discuss global problems even when we are not able to solve our local ones?
• How does any of this affect me?
• Why do we believe mankind is something apart from nature, and therefore, not bound by its laws?

Hugh MacLeod provides us with a first pretty ingenious answer: The untitled pyramid.

Join us in the attempt to drive planet Earth into a new orbit, by letting millions of people jump!

Let’s jump!

Let us trust in the power of the human community.

[R]

It’s time.

It’s time. This is what the crusaders of ecology and sustainability keep telling us, too.

It’s time that we ask what is time.
Never forget.

[G]

Bigger Smash: Hurricanes cause more damage because there’s more for them to wreck. By Gregg Easterbrook, posted Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Being wrong or at least being contradicted always charmingly embraces my
confidence in being right.

No, I am not criticizing it (I am just lying). I wonder what it means. I am asking what those who dare to answer with this slogan want to say. More so, what do they say? What is it they are demonstrating?

Who were the ones that explained us that global thinking tends to fail miserably? At least, a good number of ecological catastrophes serves as endorsement.

What does thinking globally mean anyway? Is there a global thinking without acting? Is the act of thinking globally a local act?
Whether globally or locally we act and we think in networks of causes and effects. Are local networks less complex than global networks? If so, at what level of complexity may we stop? What is the opposite? If I am to act locally how do I know what is local and what is global? What does acting globally mean? Who decides? And is this decision an act? A local one?

What about recommendations, rules, laws, and limits? Are they global or local? In which contexts do they operate? Who is held responsible?

Of course, I am responsible for my local actions, am I not? Who is responsible for my global thinking? Me, too. That’s what we think. So, why are there laws? What does it mean that I do act in contexts of habits, traditions, ethics, and for instance European laws?

And how comes my actions are bound by the fact that an American company does not care about how their computers are produced by a company in Taiwan both of which my local dealer can’t get hold of even though it entirely broke down yesterday only 3 months after I bought it?

Do you know what the answer is? — Think globally, act locally! And the other way round.

How much time do we have?
And what are we going to do with it?

When I started thinking about these two questions I quickly found myself trapped in a number of feedback loops; time consuming loops, to say the least.

Yet, a whole bunch of people and scientists keep reiterating their unfortunately most valuable theories, ideas, findings, and models about what might have happened and what might happen (see e.g. Wikipedia: Global Change, start.org, or essp.org).

Assuming we have 10 years left (for whatever) what are we going to do?
Assuming we have only 1 year left (for whatever) what are we going to do?
And assuming we do not know how much time we have left what are we going to do?

Apparently, we are using time asking questions, and reading and writing posts on strange blogs.

As if the notion of time alone was not complicated enough.