The thesis is simple – cars are the enemy of strong cities. Despite a tremendous amount of writing on this topic, people’s opinions on the matter have rarely changed – they either agree with this idea or they don’t. There isn’t a lot of middle ground. But as we come to understand networks more intuitively, the principle that the conveyance isn’t the key but how its used will be much more obvious. The intuitive understanding can come from how networks, generally, work to make life more fun and more efficient.
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Yearly Archives: 2009
Young at Heart
An economy that is struggling needs an injection of cash to get it going again, at least according to basic Keynesian economic theory. That’s more or less what our government is doing right now, and we’re running up massive debts in order to do it. The biggest concern is how this debt will cripple the next generation when they have to pay it down. Surprisingly, however, this may be a lot easier than we think because the USofA is, by one important measure, a younger nation than it has been in a long time and worth a significant investment. The issue is, as always, what we get for our money.
ForEx is Foretold
A year ago, the realities of the economy were just beginning to sink in. The situation that we know now as a Recession, Depression, bailout, or whatever you want to think about didn’t happen overnight, but realization of it came to most people very quickly, like a nightmare that hit just as the clock was chiming 3AM. We’ve been awake for a whole year yet, but the clock is only chiming four times and dawn is still hours away. Since we’re awake, why not spend the time thinking it through?
A Pattern Language
On a cold, rainy day there’s nothing like a stolen moment waiting for a prospective client and a thick book to fill it. What makes it even more profound is when I have a small fixation rattling around in my head and the book is the tome that ties together all the little pieces of thought I’ve been trying to crystallize. The fixation is human networks of connections that define who we are and where we’re going socially, politically, and technologically. The book is “A Pattern Language” by the Center for Environmental Structure – Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, and a few more.
Social Networks
Everything we do is influenced by social networks. That’s what Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler argue in their book, “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives“. While it might seem obvious that if people you meet on a daily basis are upbeat and happy you’re more likely to be happy, it turns out that friends who live far away can influence a lot of behaviors such as smoking, political views, and a host of other things. In fact, their friends, by influencing them, might have an influence on you that you’re not even aware of.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 