So, there is a corking PhD that I am reading. It's called The politics of governing ‘system innovations’ towards sustainable electricity systems. You can find it here. Mustn't quote too much, obviously (copyright etc). but this was useful, from page 27- 8 *** Traditionally, “Political sociology and political science have focused on how the pursuit of self-interest... Continue Reading →
The upside of coal
See below for a truly extraordinary coal advert from 1975, where, looking for fresh workers, the UK National Coal Board basically says "this job is a fanny magnet." Meanwhile, I just finished Evelyn Waugh's Put Out More Flags, which some say is his best. Published in 1942, it is about the phoney war - it... Continue Reading →
Vale Erik Petersen – “Old time mem’ry”
Just found out that Erik Petersen, of Mischief Brew died earlier this year. I never saw him perform, and have only today been listening to his (excellent) work. Al Baker had covered one of his songs (co-written with Robert Blake), which he kindly played at my wedding. It's a corker; beautiful to listen to, the... Continue Reading →
Why argue with #climate denialists? It’s comforting is why
"Never wrestle with a pig, you both get muddy, but the pig enjoys it" as the old saying goes. But what if we, secretly, enjoy it too? Or if wrestling with the pig is a safer and more fun option that wrestling with the angry rabid hippo who is next in line? WTAF am I... Continue Reading →
Overflows and undertows – Callon, James and so on.
Bimbling around looking for work on how economic modelling is used to 'construct' reality/possibility, I stumbled on "An essay on framing and overflowing: economic externalities revisited by sociology" by M Callon, 1998. This (among other bits) struck me - The second attitude, typical of constructivist sociology in particular, takes the view that overflowing is the rule;... Continue Reading →
Innovation in complex systems? Oh, FFS…. And CCS
By FFS I mean “Full-Flight Simulators”. What am I on about? So, innovation in mass produced commodity products (aka “widgets”) is, cough, relatively straight-forward. Lots of opportunities for iteration, incremental learning, process and product innovation, tacit knowledge creation/management. Shakeouts after the establishment of a ‘dominant design’, followed by incremental shifts that squeeze a leetle more... Continue Reading →
Machiavelli on incumbency and insurgency…
As Mr. Machiavelli said- “It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This... Continue Reading →
Phantastic objects and concept fetishism
What are phantastic objects? This - phantastic objects are subjectively very attractive “objects” (people, ideas or things) which people find highly exciting and idealise. They engage core biological and psychological processes of human attachment and falling in love so that people seek to attach themselves to them because they imagine (feel rather than think) they... Continue Reading →
The writing of “independent” reports – a flowchart (first draft)
So, working on the creation of the acceptable limits of discourse, and the use of "independent" reports based on economic modeling to set and sustain those limits. Here is a flow chart (first draft). What have I missed?
Having the courage of your conviction…narratives
I'm googling around exposing myself... to ideas to back up a piece I've two-thirds written. It's on the use of economic modeling to justify action/inaction on climate change. It's based on my Australian case study, and looks closely at the key period - 1989-1992, slightly less closely at the next period 1993-1997, and then dips... Continue Reading →
marchudson.net 