In this blog, I would like to share and discuss my thoughts in two areas. They have become the bulk of my work and personal reflections in the last three years.
The process of decision-making
Every day, every moment, as part of private and public life, we make decisions: Individual decisions such as where to live, whom to befriend and what to do with our days; Organisational decisions such as what mission to adopt, and how to go about achieving it; Societal decisions such as how to delineate one's boundary, how to allocate public resources, and how to distribute costs, benefits, and opportunities among one's members.
The three spheres are interwoven, as individuals are located within organisations and societies, and collectivities consist of individuals. I would like to explore how our personal decisions are shaped by inter and intrapersonal factors, and the implication of this on our ability to make decisions as a society.
The history and future of technology
Technology (from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. (Wikipedia)
I adopt a broad definition of technology, which includes the use of fire, agriculture and the formation of nation states as human-developed technologies. Particularly of interest to me is the parallel development of specific technologies and quantitative/qualitative changes in the way we harness and use energy.
Together, these two areas form the interior texture and external landscape of our lives, engaged in an eternal pas de deux. Now, we are faced with the challenge of consciously evolving in both; we need to innovate in the way we make decisions and in the way we develop technologically. Because, Homo sapiens are now experiencing our home, the Earth system, as a boundary condition, which is altered by our actions and in turn delimits them.
There is much to decide, much to do.