Power, Knowledge, and the Radical Act of Resolve

Together, these quotes explore how systems of power use tools like confiscation, rhetoric, and cynicism to
maintain themselves, and how disrupting these systems requires critical awareness (of power's mechanisms) and a refusal to succumb to despair—actively reclaiming agency and insisting on change.

Quotes

"Once in power, fascist regimes confiscated property only from political opponents, foreigners, or Jews."
(Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism)

"Because power is knowledge, and power above all else seeks to sustain itself, we can see that the rhetoric around development knowledge—‘like light’—is not just optimistic but also clearly wildly inaccurate."
(Ben Ramalingam, Aid on the Edge of Chaos)

"Optimism is a political act. Those who benefit from the status quo are perfectly happy with a large population of people who think nothing is going to get any better. In fact, these days, cynicism is obedience. What’s really radical is being willing to look right at the magnitude and difficulty of the problems we face and still insist that we can solve those problems."
(Sam Daley-Harris  Jan. 16, Transformational Advocacy and the Disobedient Self)

Seeing the Mountain, Mapping the Path: Reflections on Systems, Selves, and Belonging

In the rush of daily life, it’s easy to fixate on immediate details and lose sight of the larger forces shaping our journey. Yet, as Dan Harris reminds us, the emotions we feel—anger, jealousy, fear—are not who we are. They’re passing states, signals to notice but not cling to. Daniel Levitin builds on this idea, highlighting the need to toggle between the work at hand and the broader vision we hold, much like a driver watching both the road and the distant mountain to stay on course.

This balance between the granular and the expansive echoes in other domains. Systems thinking teaches us that clarity begins with seeing the whole picture: the components, their relationships, and the invisible assumptions that shape them. Donella Meadows calls these paradigmatic assumptions the deepest leverage points for change—embedded ideas so pervasive they often go unnoticed, yet profoundly influence how we live and interact with the world.

But systems are not just abstract constructs; they are also deeply personal. Our longing to belong, as Brené Brown points out, can either ground us in authentic connection or drive us into hollow patterns of approval-seeking. This same tension applies to our relationships with others. Freddie deBoer reminds us that human connection is one of life’s greatest glories, but it requires discernment—not every connection will nurture us.

These reflections converge on a simple but powerful truth: to navigate both personal and systemic challenges, we need the courage to pause, the perspective to map our course, and the wisdom to question what we take for granted. Only then can we see clearly—not just the mountain in the distance, but the path that leads us there.

"The final step—“non-identification”—meant seeing that just because I was feeling angry or jealous or fearful, that did not render me a permanently angry or jealous person. These were just passing states of mind." (Dan Harris, 10% Happier)

"In many tasks, whether creative or mundane, we often need to shift back and forth between working and evaluating, comparing the ideal image in our minds with the actual work in front of us." (Daniel J. Levitin, The Organized Mind)

This idea can also be expressed as the need to step back from the details and focus on the bigger picture. If we remain too caught up in the details, we risk drifting away from our ultimate goal. As mentioned in this morning's Dhammatalk: when driving toward a mountain, you spend most of your time watching the road ahead, but you also keep track of the mountain to ensure you stay on course toward your destination.

"The Water Resilience Assessment Framework consists of four key steps: visualizing the system; developing a resilience strategy; testing the resilience strategy; and evaluating." (Home, Water Resilience Assessment Framework — Alliance for Global Water Adaptation)

The first step, visualizing the system, may sound straightforward or even casual, but it actually involves a significant amount of effort. It is valuable and essential work—but still, work. There are many ways to visualize a system, but one of the most effective methods is through a simple relationship map. This map identifies the components of the system and clarifies their relationships using drawn lines and minimal text. While these maps can become quite complex—evolving into causal loop diagrams or stock-and-flow models—keeping them simple has its own benefits. Simpler maps serve as valuable tools for pausing and reflecting. They help you stay oriented and focused on your "mountain," the ultimate destination you are striving toward.

Donella Meadows refers to "paradigmatic assumptions"—or mindsets—as the most powerful leverage points for systemic change. However, these assumptions are also the most difficult to recognize because they are deeply embedded in our core operating frameworks, almost like our mental "firmware."

For example: Money measures something real and has real meaning (therefore, people who are paid less are literally worth less). Growth is good. Nature is a stock of resources to be converted for human purposes. Evolution stopped with the emergence of Homo sapiens. One can “own” land. These are just a few of the paradigmatic assumptions prevalent in our current culture. Interestingly, many of these ideas have left other cultures utterly baffled, as they did not find such assumptions to be obvious in the slightest. (donellameadows.org, Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System)

"The truth is that while the glory of human life is found in other people, you must actively seek them out, discovering shared values and compatible beliefs." (Freddie deBoer, There Is No Such Thing as an Identity)

This is true—the potential for this glory exists in all people, and much of it comes from resonance, the deep connection we feel with others. However, some people can be like hungry ghosts: endlessly searching, consuming, and taking more than they can give. Therefore, it’s important to not only find resonance but also to recognize and avoid those who drain rather than nurture that connection.

And Brené Brown provides insight into what might underlie some of the behaviors of hungry ghosts—the almost insatiable desire to "belong."

"Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance." (Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness)

This deep longing to belong can sometimes drive people into patterns of endless searching and consuming, where they seek external validation rather than cultivating a grounded sense of self. In this way, the hungry ghost's endless hunger may stem from a lack of true self-acceptance—a barrier to authentic belonging.

Unpacking Power: The Evolving Concepts of Power-over, Power-to, and Power-with

Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash

The article "The New Concepts of Power? Power-over, Power-to, and Power-with" by Pamela Pansardi and Marianna Bindi provides a comprehensive review of the evolving interpretations of power within political and social theory. The authors outline the distinctions among three key types of power:

1. Power-over: Defined as an asymmetrical relationship, often associated with domination and coercion. It involves one actor or group exerting control or influence over another.

2. Power-to: Refers to the individual or collective capacity to achieve specific outcomes or goals. It is frequently tied to notions of empowerment and agency.

3. 
   Power-with: Emphasizes collaborative and collective action aimed at shared goals, reflecting solidarity and joint agency.

The article traces the historical and theoretical roots of these concepts, referencing foundational contributions from thinkers like Mary Parker Follett, Hannah Arendt, and Hanna Pitkin. It highlights the application of these power dynamics across various disciplines, including feminist theory, development studies, and environmental politics.

The authors note ongoing debates about the normative implications of these forms of power. While some scholars frame power-over as inherently negative (domination), others argue that it can be neutral or even beneficial when it enables power-to or collective agency (power-with). Similarly, power-to and power-with are often associated with positive values like emancipation and collaboration, though their specific definitions vary across contexts.

The article concludes by emphasizing that these concepts have crystallized into distinct frameworks for understanding power, reflecting broader shifts in scholarly discourse. Despite their growing institutionalization, debates about their interrelations and normative significance persist, underscoring the complexity of power dynamics in theory and practice.

The Art of Finding Meaning and Connection in a Transient, Borderless World

These quotes together encourage us to seek joy and resilience not in permanence or possessions but in shared experiences, deep relationships, and the courage to fully engage in the cycles of life.

Photo by Thorium

Quotes

"Happiness doesn’t rise when you buy stuff, but rather when you use your money to pay for memorable experiences or time with people you love, or when you give it away to causes you care about."
(Arthur C. Brooks, Why You’re Better Off Not Borrowing)

"greenhouse gasses neither recognize nor adapt to borders. Likewise, the effects of climate change do not respect lines on a map."
(washingtonpost.com, Opinion | What Canada’s Carbon Pricing Ruling Says About the Global Struggle Against Climate Change)

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."
(Theodore Roosevelt)

"Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance."
(Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning)

"With the loss of them there follows uncertainty, and with uncertainty, disequilibrium, since life, as both Nietzsche and Ibsen knew, requires life-supporting illusions; and where these have been dispelled, there is nothing secure to hold on to, no moral law, nothing firm."
(Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By)

"Teams need to believe that their work is important. Teams need to feel their work is personally meaningful. Teams need clear goals and defined roles. Team members need to know they can depend on one another. But, most important, teams need psychological safety."
(Charles Duhigg, Smarter Faster Better)

"Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy."
(Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart)

Shape-Shifting Robots?

Researchers have developed miniature, shape-shifting machines capable of transitioning between solid and liquid states using magnetic fields. These devices, inspired by sea cucumbers' ability to change stiffness, leverage gallium, a metal that melts slightly above room temperature. Magnetic particles embedded in the gallium enable remote control of its movements and phase transitions.

Key advancements include:

1. Material Properties: The gallium melts when exposed to an alternating magnetic field and resolidifies at room temperature. Permanent magnets manipulate its movement in both solid and liquid forms.
2. Capabilities: The material can carry heavy loads (10,000 times its weight), stretch, split, merge, and flow through tight spaces.
3. Demonstrations: Examples include a toy figure escaping a jail cell by melting and reforming, and a device removing a ball from a model human stomach by enveloping and extracting it.
4. Applications: The material shows promise in tasks like soldering and potential biomedical uses. However, adjustments are needed to make it viable in the human body by raising its melting point with additional metals like bismuth and tin.

While the innovation represents a significant leap in soft robotics, challenges remain in precise control within biomedical contexts. Future advancements may involve integrating this material with others for broader applications.

These shape-shifting devices melt and re-form thanks to magnetic fields

Gallium plus magnetism equals something straight out of Terminator 2

Link

Quotes for December 22, 2024

Today's Quotes

Ben Ramalingam, Aid on the Edge of Chaos

"simplicity is repeatedly, consistently, and damagingly chosen over relevance and appropriateness." (Ben

Ramalingam, Aid on the Edge of Chaos)

Ben Ramalingam's quote highlights a critical flaw in decision-making, where the allure of simplicity often overrides the necessity for context-specific and nuanced solutions—especially relevant in addressing the complexity of global aid and development challenges.

Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems

"The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made." (Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems)

Donella H. Meadows reminds us of the emergent nature of systems, where the whole transcends the sum of its parts. This perspective urges us to look beyond components to understand relationships and dynamics.

Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance

"For so many of us, feelings of deficiency are right around the corner. It doesn’t take much—just hearing of someone else’s accomplishments, being criticized, getting into an argument, making a mistake at work—to make us feel that we are not okay." (Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance)

Tara Brach captures a universal human struggle—our vulnerability to feelings of inadequacy. Her insight encourages self-compassion and awareness of how external stimuli can shape our self-perception.

Robin Leichenko and Karen O'Brien, Environmental Change and Globalization

"recent economic research shows that "ceteris paribus, the more egalitarian a society, the better its growth record and growth potential" (Sanchez 2003," (Robin Leichenko and Karen O'Brien, Environmental Change and Globalization)

Robin Leichenko and Karen O'Brien provide a powerful argument for equity, reinforcing that societal structures fostering egalitarianism are not just moral imperatives but also drivers of sustainable economic growth.

Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Made to Stick

"This is the Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind." (Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Made to Stick)

Chip and Dan Heath underline the "Curse of Knowledge," a cognitive bias that complicates communication. Recognizing this bias is essential for effective teaching, leadership, and collaboration.

Planning When It Doesn’t Come Naturally: Neuroscience-Backed Strategies for Success

The article A Way to Plan If You’re Bad at Planning by Elizabeth Grace Saunders in Harvard Business Review explores how individuals can develop planning skills, even if their brains are not naturally wired for it. Saunders uses insights from neuroscience to explain why some people struggle with planning and offers practical strategies to improve.

Key Points:

1. Brain Dominance and Planning:

   • People with back-left brain dominance find planning easier as their brains are naturally wired for linear thinking.
   • Others must exert significantly more effort to plan, as their brain's neurochemistry makes it less natural for them.

2. Understanding and Accepting Difficulty:

   • Recognizing personal strengths and weaknesses through self-assessments (e.g., from Thriving in Mind by Dr. Katherine Benziger) helps set realistic expectations. 
   • Address the challenge from a position of strength. Know that normative expectations around the capacity to plan can restrict society's ability to fully access the broader ecosystem of awareness and knowledge.
   • Accepting that planning is challenging can reduce frustration and build resilience.

3. Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking:

   • Avoid perfectionism in planning. Progress, rather than perfection, is the goal.
   • Flexibility in adapting plans fosters consistency and reduces self-criticism.

4. Adapting Systems to Individual Styles:

   • Tailor planning tools to personal preferences:
     • Visual thinkers might use sticky notes or mind maps.
     • Spreadsheet enthusiasts could use Excel or numeric-based apps.
     • People who think in terms of flow may prefer adaptable paper lists.

5. Seeking External Support:

   • Collaborate with organized individuals for advice or borrow their planning systems.
   • Avoid overly critical feedback and focus on practical, beginner-friendly solutions.

6. Building Resilience Through Practice:

   • Planning skills improve through persistence and self-compassion.
   • Adjust plans as needed, embrace mistakes as learning opportunities, and focus on small improvements over time.

By understanding the neurological basis for planning challenges and adopting tailored strategies, individuals can enhance their ability to organize time effectively and build resilience in the process.

James Gray's film: Armageddon Time

James Gray's film Armageddon Time reflects on his childhood in 1980s New York, exploring themes of memory, class, and privilege. The story follows a young boy named Paul Graff and his struggles with family and school, set against a backdrop of significant political changes. Gray sees parallels between his past and today's polarized society, warning of the dangers of losing integrity in a transactional world.

James Gray’s Vision of American Dysfunction

Why Putting Down Your Phone Builds Trust

 The study "Smartphones undermine trust and cooperation" by N. P. Li and colleagues, published in the journal Social Networks, investigates how smartphone use during social interactions affects trust and cooperation. Through a series of experiments, the researchers found that individuals who used smartphones during face-to-face interactions were perceived as less trustworthy and were less likely to engage in cooperative behavior compared to those who did not use their phones. The findings suggest that smartphone use can negatively impact the quality of social interactions by reducing trust and willingness to cooperate. The authors recommend minimizing smartphone use during social engagements to foster better interpersonal relationships.

News Item: We’re Trusted More When We Put Down Our Phones

Academic journal article: Smartphone use decreases trustworthiness of strangers

Dancing with Systems: Navigating Complexity for Transformative Change

These systems quotes collectively emphasize the importance of understanding systemic behavior (e.g., delays, nested dynamics, resistance), embracing ambiguity, and fostering iterative learning. They advocate for a perspective that balances analysis with action, recognizing that transformative change requires navigating complexity with vision, adaptability, and respect for the interconnected nature of systems. 

Photo by Alina Grubnyak 

Systems Quotes

"Delays are pervasive in systems, and they are strong determinants of behavior. Changing the length of a delay may (or may not, depending on the type of delay and the relative lengths of other delays) make a large change in the behavior of a system."
–Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems

"Such challenges are often inhibited by individual and organizational ‘defensive routines’, firmly entrenched in minds, setting cognitive and social limits on learning."
–Ben Ramalingam, Aid on the Edge of Chaos

"Defensive routines" is an important concept when it comes to understanding how learning can be inhibited, both individually and organizationally. These routines, as Ben Ramalingam describes in Aid on the Edge of Chaos, are deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and behavior that create cognitive and social barriers to learning.

This idea also reminds me of something I recently came across about organizations exhibiting an "immune response" to resist change efforts. It seems closely related, as both highlight the instinctive resistance to disruption or transformation within systems.

"to date there is a lack of studies that bridge the divide between small case-based interventions and global systems at broader scales, and the complex interactions across scales and processes. This paper works with a leverage points framework to consider systems transformation. It focuses on four individual sustainability interventions in the textile sector and explores how they are embedded within a complex set of nested systems, and how these connected systems shape the transformative potential of the interventions."
–link.springer.com, Processes of Sustainability Transformation Across Systems Scales: Leveraging Systemic Change in the Textile Sector - Sustainability Science

"Understanding processes of systems change therefore requires us to ‘dance with systems’ (Meadows 2001), meaning to learn from and engage with systems through dynamic, rather than static, perspectives, with passion and vision, to understand their functions or purposes and connections, and see how our values and the system properties may interact (Meadows 2011; Constable et al. 2019)."
–link.springer.com, Processes of Sustainability Transformation Across Systems Scales: Leveraging Systemic Change in the Textile Sector - Sustainability Science

The Strata: A story of dystopian wealth

 

Over ten years ago, when I was living in Bangkok, a story idea—or at least the premise of one—began forming in my mind. It’s a dystopian, quasi-sci-fi narrative set in a future that blends darkness with a veneer of promise. I call it dystopian because, in many ways, the world it depicts is bleak. However, there are also elements that seem bright and hopeful—or at least appear that way on the surface. In this future, the wealthy will lead incredibly privileged lives, but the poor will suffer even more in relative terms than they do today.

The idea revolves around a vision of a city with multiple levels, each offering a very different quality of life. This concept was inspired by my time in Bangkok, where I noticed the contrast between life at street level and life on the elevated walkways, especially downtown beneath the Skytrain (BTS). On the elevated walkways, it was often easier to walk—fewer vendors, fewer crowds—creating a distinct divide between the two levels of the city.

I imagined a futuristic city with many such layers, where people could move between them depending on their means. Each level would come with a cost, perhaps charging a small number of credits per kilometer to use. The lowest, "free" level would be the street level, but with the effects of climate change, it would likely be wetter, prone to flooding during high tides, and increasingly neglected. Over time, it might become grimy, dangerous, and difficult to traverse, as there would be no resources allocated for its upkeep. Life at this level would be a struggle, while the higher levels offered more comfort and security—at a price.

Future NYC

Imagine a futuristic New York City transformed by rising sea levels, where the lower parts of Manhattan are permanently submerged, and midtown experiences regular flooding during high tides. The city has adapted with a vertical design: a complex, layered infrastructure of roads and pathways at multiple heights. The lowest layers are accessible only by boats, creating a canal-like environment reminiscent of Venice, but shadowed by towering structures above.

Higher levels consist of elevated roads and platforms, reserved for those who can afford escalating fees. The wealthiest live and travel at the uppermost layers, enjoying cleaner air, sunlight, and exclusive amenities. Meanwhile, the poorest are confined to the damp, shadowed lower levels, enduring daily flooding and limited resources. Access to higher levels becomes a stark representation of privilege, with each ascending tier symbolizing increased wealth and power.

This cityscape embodies a stark socioeconomic divide, with verticality serving as both a literal and metaphorical representation of inequality. Describe this multi-scale, multi-height city, where every layer tells a story of adaptation, ingenuity, and disparity in the face of climate change.

Quotes for December 20, 2024

Greetings from "The West" - That is Western USA. It is December 20, 2024 and we here in the Northern Hemisphere are near the nadir of daylight hours. Hence, the pagan "season of lights" where trees are brought into the home.

The common theme in today's quotes is that we can achieve better results by working with our natural ways of thinking and feeling, rather than resisting them. This applies to using systems to solve problems (such as structured approaches to behavior or problem-solving), rethinking emotions like anxiety, or recognizing how our mindset influences decisions. The key is to accept and utilize our natural tendencies to create positive changes or manage challenges more effectively.

Quotes

"The Fundamental Attribution Error is the reason why we love TV shows like The Dog Whisperer or Supernanny, in which seemingly irredeemable dogs and kids are tamed by outsiders who come in with a new system of discipline."
–Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Switch

"It may sound counterintuitive, but telling yourself to be less anxious is “a signal to your brain to focus on anxiety more,” Dr. Galanti said. Having some anxiety is part of being human — so it is fruitless to try to banish the feeling entirely. “It’s more like, ‘If I feel anxious, then what?’” she added. So rather than focusing on your anxiety, think instead about the personal traits that you value."
–Christina Caron, New Year’s Resolutions for the Anxious

"These results are shocking. The mere act of calculation reduced people’s charity. Once we put on our analytical hat, we react to emotional appeals differently. We hinder our ability to feel."
–Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Made to Stick

Photo by Shelby Taylor Thorn 

Quotes for December 19, 2024

Reflections on Four Powerful Quotes

"Finally, new scientific evidence like last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report reveals that the impacts of climate change are leading to more devastating consequences sooner than anticipated, reinforcing the urgent need to curb emissions, drive adaptation and significantly increase financing for both."
–WRI.org, Next-Generation Climate Targets: A 5-Point Plan for NDCs

This quote resonates deeply because it’s grounded in an unflinching fact: the impacts of climate change are accelerating beyond expectations. The sooner we face this reality head-on, the sooner we can chart a path toward growth and resilience. Ignoring these truths is like squandering the legacy of our ancestors—the gifts of stability, resources, and opportunity they worked so hard to secure. We owe it to future generations to act decisively and stop living off borrowed time.

"He’s nothing. No substance. But having him there, the latest in a two-and-a-half-century-long line of American Presidents make people feel that the country, the culture that they grew up with is still here—that we’ll get through these bad times and back to normal.”
–Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower

Written in the early ’90s, Butler’s words feel eerily prescient today. They capture a dangerous illusion—that a figurehead, a symbol of stability, can somehow return us to “normal.” Denial won’t solve our problems. Pretending everything is fine or that we just need a strong leader to set things right is a recipe for failure. This is a time that demands clarity of thought and responsibility, not the dangerous mix of performative politics and authoritarian impulses that dominate our era. True leadership must be forward-thinking, rooted in care for generations to come.

"Because we are afraid of being embarrassed or hurt, we hold back our openness and our love."
–Adam Kahane, Power and Love

Kahane’s words remind us that true courage lies in vulnerability. Fear often holds us back—whether it’s the fear of failure, rejection, or looking foolish. But only by embracing openness and love, even in the face of potential pain, can we foster the connections and progress that truly matter.

"We construct our beliefs, mostly unconsciously, and thereafter they hold us captive. They can help us focus and make us more effective, but sadly, they also can limit us: they blind us to possibility and subject us to fog, fear, and doubt."
–Dave Gray, Liminal Thinking

Gray insightfully points out how the very beliefs we construct to navigate the world can also trap us. They provide structure but can also blind us to new possibilities, leaving us stuck in fear and self-doubt. In the midst of challenges, it’s easy to forget that many of our barriers are self-imposed. Remembering this truth can help us break free from those limitations and see the path forward more clearly. 

Quote for the day - Dec 18, 2024

Not much to add today other than here are some quotes that I found interesting that showed up in my Readwise feed today.

"The core value of the working class is being part of a like-minded group—a family, a union, or a community, which engenders a strong sense of loyalty. The core value of the middle class is achievement by the individual."
–Alfred Lubrano, Limbo

"The division between the emotional brain and the rational brain runs deep in our culture and is clearly expressed in the cultural divide between religion and science that first emerged during the European Enlightenment. It is, in the words of Tony Leiserowitz at the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, “a long cultural mistake” to divide the two."
–George Marshall, Don't Even Think About It

The Landscape Approach to Global Health

The relationship between personal health, community health, and landscape health can be understood as an interconnected system, where each component influences and is influenced by the others. From a climate perspective, this connection is especially significant, as environmental changes—such as shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, or biodiversity—create cascading effects that impact health at multiple levels.

For example, changes in the landscape, such as deforestation or urbanization, can directly degrade air and water quality, leading to increased respiratory illnesses, waterborne diseases, and heat-related conditions. Conversely, the resilience of the landscape—its ability to sustain diverse ecosystems and provide critical services—helps buffer communities from health risks associated with climate extremes, such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves.

Examining these linkages through a climate lens opens the door to innovative approaches to health and environmental stewardship. For instance, restorative practices like reforestation, wetland conservation, and regenerative agriculture offer co-benefits for both the environment and communities. These practices can improve food security, reduce exposure to pollutants, and enhance mental health by providing greater access to green spaces.

The concept of biophilia—our innate connection to nature—further highlights the importance of healthy landscapes. Biodiverse and aesthetically rich environments have been shown to reduce stress, enhance cognitive function, and foster social cohesion. This reinforces the mental and emotional benefits of living in harmony with nature.

Additionally, climate change alters disease dynamics, creating new challenges for public health. For example, shifting ecosystems may provide habitats for disease vectors like mosquitoes, enabling the spread of illnesses such as malaria or dengue fever to regions previously unaffected. This demonstrates the need to integrate climate resilience into public health strategies to mitigate such risks.

Ultimately, the interplay between personal, community, and landscape health forms a dynamic and complex system. Adopting a holistic, climate-informed approach allows us to address the interdependencies between environmental health and human well-being. By doing so, we can create solutions that are more sustainable, equitable, and impactful across scales.

Article

Health and landscape approaches: A comparative review of integrated approaches to health and landscape management

This article explores the relationship between health and the landscape approach, a form of systems thinking. It focuses on three distinct applications of the systems approach, each grounded in unique ontological foundations.

Link to article

Description:

Landscape approaches focus on managing specific areas by bringing together ideas from different fields to create sustainable solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on how people live, move, and interact with the environment, highlighting the need for health approaches that connect humans and nature. This has led to an increased focus on integrated health approaches in policy discussions.

Approaches like One Health, Ecohealth, and Planetary Health are all types of landscape approaches because they address the connections between health, the environment, and society. This study reviews these health-oriented approaches to understand their shared ideas and unique differences. It looks at their history, how they’ve developed, and their approaches to solving health and environmental challenges.

The study finds that all these approaches share key features, such as systems thinking, working across disciplines, and promoting collaboration across different fields. However, they differ in the specific problems they address, the areas they focus on, and the ontological roots (the underlying mindset) guiding their research. By examining these approaches together, the study suggests ways to strengthen landscape approaches by using health-focused methods to better understand the connections between health and landscapes.

Quotes for December 15

 Hi everyone, here are the quotes from my readwise stream this morning. Happy Sunday!

People often complain about the present times, but human life has never been better than it is now.

As Yuval Noah Harari states in Homo Deus:

"For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists, and criminals combined."

Despite this progress, social divisions persist. These divisions often rely on "othering" narratives to uphold power structures within their domains—a phenomenon that could be described as "ontological blinkardness." Our institutional silos, our tendency to "other," and our self-centered thinking prevent us from making further progress.

Jim Sidanius and Felicia Pratto highlight this in Social Dominance:

"The split earlier in this century between sociology and social psychology contributed to these divisions and continues to hinder a more comprehensive and rich understanding of the problems of racism, sexism, classism, and general group oppression."

But perhaps, the issue isn’t just out there—maybe it’s me.

Anthony De Mello and J. Francis Stroud, in Awareness, suggest:

"We see people and things not as they are, but as we are. That is why when two people look at something or someone, you get two different reactions. We see things and people not as they are, but as we are."

On growing up, Lulu Miller offers a profound insight in Why Fish Don’t Exist:

"‘Growing up,’ she told me, ‘is learning to stop believing people’s words about you.’"

And maybe, it’s also about letting go. As Silvio Funtowicz said in a discussion on post-normal science advice:

"You have to abandon this idea that you can predict and you can control."

But wait, there's more

Breaking Ontological Silos Through the Zettelkasten Approach

Sönke Ahrens, in How to Take Smart Notes, describes how the Zettelkasten method disrupts traditional, siloed ways of thinking:

"That the slip-box is not sorted by topics is the precondition for actively building connections between notes. Connections can be made between heterogeneous notes – as long as the connection makes sense. This is the best antidote to the impeding way most information is given to us in our learning institutions. Most often, it comes in modular form, sorted by topic, separated by disciplines and generally isolated from other information. The slip-box is forcing us to do the exact opposite: To elaborate, to understand, to connect and therefore to learn seriously."

By avoiding rigid categorization, the Zettelkasten approach encourages a deeper understanding through the creation of meaningful connections, breaking down institutional silos that often isolate knowledge into disconnected disciplines.

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Understanding the Difference Between Chaotic and Complex Systems

Per Bak, in How Nature Works, explains the key difference between chaotic and complex systems:

"Chaotic systems have no memory of the past and cannot evolve."

This distinction helps clarify why chaotic systems remain unpredictable and stagnant, while complex systems—like human societies—retain memory and adapt over time.

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The Complexity of Humans and the World

The world is undeniably complex, as are humans. Yet, as Ben Ramalingam points out in Aid on the Edge of Chaos, we often try to impose simple solutions on deeply complex problems:

"Aid tends to try and solve simple problems through narrow, prescribed interventions."

This highlights a critical flaw in many systems of aid and intervention: they fail to account for the intricate, interconnected nature of the challenges they aim to address. 

Today's Public Service Post

I saw this in a CapitalOne email, and these two scams stood out to me as some of the newest and latest schemes that need to be highlighted.

“My family member sounded like they were in trouble.”

Impersonation of a loved one Scammers may use artificial intelligence or other technologies to mimic voices when impersonating a trusted individual or organization. On these calls, they often impersonate a loved one in an emergency who needs money fast, or a trusted business needing to verify sensitive information. New technology makes it increasingly difficult to tell fake video or audio clips from real ones.

Helpful tips

Listen for unnatural pauses or robotic speech. Question unexpected requests for personal or financial information. Always verify the caller’s identity—often a loved one claiming to be in trouble—through a trusted source. To protect yourself, you can set up a code word with loved ones for true emergencies.

“My bank called me about fraudulent transactions.”

Bank impersonation scams Scammers may pose as a financial institution, like Capital One, to try and gain access to your account. They often use a fake caller ID that shows up as the financial institution and claim you’ve had fraudulent transactions on your account. To resolve the situation the scammer will have you make payments to reverse the fraud and protect the account. They’ll also sometimes ask for your Social Security number, government ID, or a digitally sent one-time passcode (OTP) to gain access to your account. Once they gain unauthorized access to your account, the real fraudulent transactions begin.

Helpful tips

If you’re ever in doubt when speaking over the phone, hang up and call the number on the back of your card. Financial institutions will never ask you to purchase gift cards to make payments to your account. Never send money transfers or give the number on the back of a gift card to anyone you don’t know.

The Power of Listening and the Peril of Oversimplification

In a world buzzing with voices, the art of listening often takes a backseat. Kate Murphy, in You're Not Listening, reminds us that true listening goes beyond hearing words. "To listen well is to figure out what’s on someone’s mind and demonstrate that you care enough to want to know." This simple yet profound insight underscores a timeless truth: authentic connection comes not from speaking louder, but from listening better.

But what happens when this skill is absent in times of crisis? Robert O. Paxton’s reflection in The Anatomy of Fascism offers a stark warning. He writes, "For all these reasons, the economic crisis of the 1880s, as the first major depression to occur in the era of mass politics, rewarded demagoguery. Henceforth a decline in the standard of living would translate quickly into electoral defeats for incumbents and victories for political outsiders ready to appeal with summary slogans to angry voters."

The juxtaposition of these ideas reveals a critical tension. Listening fosters understanding and empathy; oversimplification preys on frustration and fear. In challenging times, the path we choose—to listen or to fall for easy slogans—shapes not only personal relationships but also the health of our democracy.

To navigate the complexity of modern life, perhaps we should take Murphy’s advice to heart: let’s listen with care, especially when the stakes are high. In doing so, we may resist the pull of demagoguery and instead create a space where nuanced solutions can flourish.

Quotes

"To listen well is to figure out what’s on someone’s mind and demonstrate that you care enough to want to know." 
–Kate Murphy, You're Not Listening

"For all these reasons, the economic crisis of the 1880s, as the first major depression to occur in the era of mass politics, rewarded demagoguery. Henceforth a decline in the standard of living would translate quickly into electoral defeats for incumbents and victories for political outsiders ready to appeal with summary slogans to angry voters." 
–Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism

Exploring Paradigms: How Societies Decide What to Remember and What to Forget

Societies are shaped not just by the actions of their people but by the invisible frameworks that dictate what can be thought, remembered, and discussed. These paradigms—unwritten rules about what belongs in the social psyche—are influenced by collective anxieties, historical shifts, and the impulses that drive political movements. Examining the works of George Marshall, Heather Cox Richardson, and Robert Paxton reveals how these forces operate and evolve over time.

Denial and Anxiety: The Silent Architects of Paradigms

George Marshall, in Don't Even Think About It, explores how denial and anxiety are deeply interlinked. Societies, much like individuals, repress ideas that they cannot reconcile with their existing worldview. This repression stems from a collective need to avoid anxiety, leading to what could be described as societal cognitive dissonance.

As Marshall writes:
“They have a common basis in the need to avoid anxiety and defend ourselves. From a psychoanalytic perspective, denial and anxiety are closely linked. Things that cannot be assimilated are repressed.”

He builds on Stanley Cohen’s insights about societal agreements:
“Without being told what to think about (or what not to think about), and without being punished for ‘knowing’ the wrong things, societies arrive at unwritten agreements about what can be publicly remembered and acknowledged.”

In this way, controversial or uncomfortable subjects—such as climate change or systemic injustice—become marginalized not through censorship but through collective avoidance, creating a societal paradigm that prioritizes comfort over confrontation and stability over truth, while simultaneously entrenching blind spots that make transformative change more difficult.

Paradigm Shifts: Lessons from the Civil War Era

Heather Cox Richardson provides a contrasting perspective by examining moments when societal paradigms are deliberately reshaped. Writing about the Civil War era, Richardson highlights the transformation driven by the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln. While the Confederacy sought to entrench hierarchical systems, the Republicans pursued a vision that prioritized the "common man" over established elites.

She explains:
“When the leaders of the Confederacy seceded to start their own nation based in their own hierarchical society, the Republicans in charge of the United States government were free to put their theory into practice. For a nominal fee, they sold farmers land that the government in the past would have sold to speculators; created state colleges, railroads, national money, and income taxes; and promoted immigration.”

These policies, which today might be categorized as social reforms, marked a profound shift in how the United States government engaged with its citizens. Richardson’s account reminds us that societal paradigms are not immutable. With vision and determination, they can be reconstructed to reflect new priorities—even amid deep political division. The Civil War era demonstrates how crises can catalyze the emergence of new frameworks that challenge entrenched hierarchies and expand opportunities.

The Fascist Impulse: Paradigms Rooted in Action

Robert Paxton, in The Anatomy of Fascism, explores another dynamic: the visceral urge that underpins fascist movements. Unlike paradigms that evolve slowly or are reshaped through deliberate action, fascism thrives on immediacy—an impulsive drive to protect and regenerate the nation against perceived threats.

As Paxton explains:
“Fascisms seek out in each national culture those themes that are best capable of mobilizing a mass movement of regeneration, unification, and purity, directed against liberal individualism and constitutionalism and against Leftist class struggle.”

This suggests that fascist paradigms are less about ideology and more about harnessing collective anxieties to spur action. They channel fear and uncertainty into a unifying narrative, often at the expense of individual freedoms and democratic norms.

Tying It Together: The Power and Fragility of Paradigms

Marshall, Richardson, and Paxton each highlight different aspects of how societal paradigms form, endure, or collapse. Marshall shows how denial and repression maintain stability at the cost of progress. Richardson demonstrates how visionary leadership can reshape paradigms to promote equity and opportunity. Paxton warns of the dangers when paradigms become dominated by reactionary impulses rather than thoughtful reform.

These perspectives challenge us to reflect on our own societal frameworks. What ideas are we repressing out of collective anxiety? What opportunities for transformation are we overlooking? And how can we guard against the rise of destructive impulses that exploit our fears?

Understanding how paradigms function is not just an academic exercise—it’s a call to action. By recognizing the invisible rules that shape our collective psyche, we gain the power to question them, reshape them, and, when necessary, break free from them.

Quotes

"they have a common basis in the need to avoid anxiety and defend ourselves. From a psychoanalytic perspective, denial and anxiety are closely linked. Things that cannot be assimilated are repressed. As Stanley Cohen wrote about human rights abuses, “Without being told what to think about (or what not to think about), and without being punished for ‘knowing’ the wrong things, societies arrive at unwritten agreements about what can be publically remembered and acknowledged.”

–George Marshall, Don't Even Think About It

"When the leaders of the Confederacy seceded to start their own nation based in their own hierarchical society, the Republicans in charge of the United States government were free to put their theory into practice. For a nominal fee, they sold farmers land that the government in the past would have sold to speculators; created state colleges, railroads, national money, and income taxes; and promoted immigration."
–heathercoxrichardson.substack.com, December 29, 2023

"Fascisms seek out in each national culture those themes that are best capable of mobilizing a mass movement of regeneration, unification, and purity, directed against liberal individualism and constitutionalism and against Leftist class struggle."
–Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism

Good Morning, December 11

Where I am right now, it’s raining. Despite the weather, I still plan to head out for my run.

Today, I want to share two quotes that resonated with me from my Readwise feed. They touch on themes of kindness and complexity, offering thought-provoking insights into how we interact with ourselves, others, and the world around us.

1. On Kindness (Pema Chödrön, Start Where You Are)

The first quote is by Pema Chödrön and speaks to the power of kindness, particularly the importance of being kind to ourselves. It highlights how our self-treatment radiates outward, influencing our relationships with others. This idea is simple yet profound:

"By being kind to ourselves, we become kind to others. By being kind to others – if it’s done properly, with proper understanding – we benefit as well. So the first point is that we are completely interrelated. What you do to others, you do to yourself. What you do to yourself, you do to others."

This interconnectedness is a reminder that the way we treat ourselves sets the tone for how we engage with the world.

2. On Complexity and Catastrophic Shifts (Per Bak, How Nature Works)

The second quote comes from Per Bak's exploration of complexity in How Nature Works. It delves into the behavior of complex systems and the sudden, dramatic changes—what we often call catastrophes—that can occur within them.

Bak explains that much of the world operates as interconnected systems where small, incremental pressures can lead to stability over time. However, those same pressures, when combined or slightly altered, can suddenly push a system into a completely different state. This is what he describes as a "catastrophic shift."

Here’s the quote:

"If this picture is correct for the real world, then we must accept instability and catastrophes as inevitable in biology, history, and economics. Because the outcome is contingent upon specific minor events in the past, we must also abandon any idea of detailed long-term determinism or predictability. In economics, the best we can do, from a selfish point of view, is to shift disasters to our neighbors."

While the term “catastrophe” often implies disaster, in systems science, it simply refers to rapid, large-scale transformations. These shifts, sometimes called tipping points, can be either beneficial or detrimental. Positive transformations are often celebrated, while negative ones are viewed as crises.

This quote serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of complex systems and the importance of resilience and adaptability in navigating them.