IPTS Report issue 71

IPTS Report issue 71

"The need for a systemic approach to understanding the relationships between science, technology and innovation (STI) and socio-economic development: There is not a simple one-way relationship between the 'knowledge-production' and 'knowledge-absorption' aspects of an innovation system.

There is no simple one-way relationship between the 'knowledge-production' and 'knowledge-absorption' aspects of an innovation system, hence a systemic approach is needed to understanding the relationships between science, technology and innovation"

Santa Clara University - School of Engineering - Frugal Innovation Lab Blog

Santa Clara University - School of Engineering - Frugal Innovation Lab Blog

"Frugal innovation is a process of problem solving that focuses on ruggedization, simplification, sparing use of low-cost raw materials, an emphasis on earth-friendly practices and a philosophy that favors "doing more with less" in creating compassionate, user-centric design."

Seven Lessons from Crowd-Sourcing the World: How Grand Challenges and Prizes Have Helped Us Improve Development | LinkedIn

Seven Lessons from Crowd-Sourcing the World: How Grand Challenges and Prizes Have Helped Us Improve Development | LinkedIn

"5. Science and technology alone are not enough

What will make GCDs and prizes successful is not only the sourcing and acceleration of brilliant new science and technology innovations, but also an understanding of how to get them to scale. Scale and sustainability have to be envisioned from the beginning, in the selection process. This requires the innovator to clearly identify a customer or demand for the product. It means that we need to provide both financial and acceleration support to the innovators. It also means that we need to fund not only product innovations but also process innovations that enable adoption of the innovation. We have found that scale and sustainability have to be evaluated at all stages of the development of the innovation, even early on. There are multiple chasms that have to be crossed and challenges at different scales."

Les Éditions Diateino

Les Éditions Diateino

"Dans un pays où le soleil brille 12h par jour toute l’année, un artefact de ce type peut permettre par exemple à une couturière de travailler chez elle, ou d’éclairer une salle de classe. Avec un soleil au zénith, on obtient l’équivalent d’une ampoule de 60 Watts."

Pour une politique pragmatique au bas de la pyramide | Opinions

Pour une politique pragmatique au bas de la pyramide | Opinions

"À l’ordre du jour, l’« innovation inclusive », avec pour postulat que les fruits des innovations ne bénéficient pas automatiquement aux groupes à faible revenu — en Inde par exemple, alors que les centres urbains voient fleurir les plateformes technologiques (tech hubs), des centaines de millions de ruraux n’ont toujours pas accès à des dispositifs corrects de raccordement à l’électricité, l’eau et l’assainissement. "

L’innovation frugale : concevoir mieux avec moins | Courant Positif

L’innovation frugale : concevoir mieux avec moins | Courant Positif

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf"

L’innovation frugale (ou « Jugaad » en hindi) est la capacité ingénieuse à « faire plus avec moins ». C’est à dire à maximiser la valeur apportée aux consommateurs, actionnaires et à la société en général tout en minimisant l’utilisation de ressources rares (énergie, capital, temps). L’innovation frugale est pratiquée aujourd’hui par des milliers d’entrepreneurs dans les économies émergentes comme l’Inde, la Chine, l’Afrique, où le Brésil qui sont imprégnées de fortes contraintes et dans lesquelles des « innovateurs de base » conçoivent des solutions abordables et durables dans les secteurs essentiels comme la santé, l’énergie, l’éducation ou l’alimentation. - See more at: http://www.courantpositif.fr/linnovation-frugale-concevoir-mieux-avec-moins/#sthash.T4680u9P.dpuf

Tunisia: Aggreko helps secure summer power supplies

Tunisia: Aggreko helps secure summer power supplies
 

KHALDUN WAS NOWHERE NEAR THE SUPPLY SIDE - NYTimes.com

KHALDUN WAS NOWHERE NEAR THE SUPPLY SIDE - NYTimes.com

Amplifying variety: "At a later stage, says Ibn Khaldun, when these natural bonds dissolved into competition for favors and for invidious luxurious consumption, the ruler increased taxes to enlarge his police and army and his power to augment the wealth of those who might sustain his rule."

The world according to Itskov: Futurists convene at GF2045 (Part 1)

The world according to Itskov: Futurists convene at GF2045 (Part 1)

"

Towards that end, Vita-More is creating a transdisciplinary Human Enhancement Design (HED) educational program, that explores biotechnology and genomics, nanotechnology and nanomedicine, information technology and Artificial General Intelligence, robotics and smart prosthetics, neuroscience and cognitive sciences, consciousness studies and ethics, and other areas that pertain to issues of backing up the brain and whole body prosthetics. Moreover, as an ecological system comprising humans and the environment, HED explores ways to improve our relationship with the environment, extend lifespan, and map the future of human-computer interface devices.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-world-itskov-futurists-convene-gf2045.html#jCp

Towards that end, Vita-More is creating a transdisciplinary Human Enhancement Design (HED) educational program, that explores biotechnology and genomics, nanotechnology and nanomedicine, information technology and Artificial General Intelligence, robotics and smart prosthetics, neuroscience and cognitive sciences, consciousness studies and ethics, and other areas that pertain to issues of backing up the brain and whole body prosthetics. Moreover, as an ecological system comprising humans and the environment, HED explores ways to improve our relationship with the environment, extend lifespan, and map the future of human-computer interface devices.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-world-itskov-futurists-convene-gf2045.html#jCp

Towards that end, Vita-More is creating a transdisciplinary Human Enhancement Design (HED) educational program, that explores biotechnology and genomics, nanotechnology and nanomedicine, information technology and Artificial General Intelligence, robotics and smart prosthetics, neuroscience and cognitive sciences, consciousness studies and ethics, and other areas that pertain to issues of backing up the brain and whole body prosthetics. Moreover, as an ecological system comprising humans and the environment, HED explores ways to improve our relationship with the environment, extend lifespan, and map the future of human-computer interface devices.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-world-itskov-futurists-convene-gf2045.html#jCp

the cybernetic hypothesis: Home

the cybernetic hypothesis: Home

""There is a striking contrast between the conceptual refinement and dedication characterizing scientific and technical reasoning and the summary and imprecise style that characterizes political reasoning... One even asks oneself whether this is a kind of unsurpassable situation marking the definitive limits of rationality, or if one may hope that this impotence might be overcome someday and collective life be entirely rationalized."
- An encyclopedist cybernetician writing in the 1970s."

Cybernetic Analysis and Political Study - Springer

Cybernetic Analysis and Political Study - Springer

"Deutsch’s general statement about political processes found in Nerves of Government appeared to this author as a most unique and important theoretical initiative in political science. Deutsch’s work was an effort to respond to the increasingly complex style of modem life. He attempted to develop a new approach to politics that would combine traditional scholarship with the more modem findings of science. The product of his effort, Nerves of Government, was not a completed study. Instead it was an “interim report” that Deutsch hoped would eventually lead to a “theory of politics, both national and international.”"

Data Girl - Requisite Variety – Are you good enough for Serenity?

Data Girl - Requisite Variety – Are you good enough for Serenity?

"The idea behind Requisite Variety is that the person with the most flexibility wins, in essence the skills you need to solve a problem need to be greater than the elements of the problem itself. So, someone with a small, rigid set of skills can only solve very small problems.  I don’t think this is true of just people but teams, companies and space crews too."

Ha-Joon Chang - Rethinking the State - Series 2 - YouTube

Ha-Joon Chang - Rethinking the State - Series 2 - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

US embassy cables: Tunisia - a US foreign policy conundrum | World news | theguardian.com

US embassy cables: Tunisia - a US foreign policy conundrum | World news | theguardian.com:
Since independence, Tunisia deserves credit for its economic and social progress. Without the natural resources of its neighbors, Tunisia focused on people and diversified its economy. In a success all too rare, the GOT is effective in delivering services (education, health care, infrastructure and security) to its people. The GOT has sought to build a &knowledge economy8 to attract FDI that will create high value-added jobs. As a result, the country has enjoyed five percent real GDP growth for the past decade. On women's rights, Tunisia is a model. And, Tunisia has a long history of religious tolerance, as demonstrated by its treatment of its Jewish community. While significant challenges remain (above all the country's 14 percent unemployment rate) on balance Tunisia has done better than most in the region.
'via Blog this'

Les Etats Unis brouillent les cartes de Rached Ghannouchi — Actualités Tunisie Focus

Les Etats Unis brouillent les cartes de Rached Ghannouchi — Actualités Tunisie Focus

"Alors que le gourou tunisien Rached Ghannouchi,Pour maintenir ses criminels au pouvoir , continue à chanter « que la chute de leur frère Mohamed Morsi en Egypte est un coup d’Etat perpétré par l’armée » ,le secrétaire d’Etat américain, John Kerry, a jugé jeudi 1er août que l’armée égyptienne avait déposé le président Mohamed Morsi début juillet dans le but de rétablir la démocratie."

conservatism and bureaucracy

conservatism and bureaucracy

" ... it seems clear that, apart from lack of funding, it is conservatism and bureaucracy — not religious belief in itself — that is holding back the development of science in many Islamic countries."

Cannabis Not the Only Drug Linked to Schizophrenia | Psych Central News

Cannabis Not the Only Drug Linked to Schizophrenia | Psych Central News

"“If nonprescribed drugs, or substances, are taken for nontherapeutic reasons by people who are otherwise healthy, these substances can cause some form of destabilization of the healthy dynamics and alter healthy function in susceptible people — and can increase risk of their developing serious mental illness.”"

China's Space Program Tries to Catch Up | Stratfor

China's Space Program Tries to Catch Up | Stratfor

"China's strategic focus on space is less about national pride than about the importance of space for both the military and economic progress of the country. The Chinese space program has developed rapidly over the past decade, illustrating the importance of the program to Beijing."

Tunisia continues the revolution - in aerospace

Tunisia continues the revolution - in aerospace

What are Complex Adaptive Systems?

What are Complex Adaptive Systems?

" Requisite Variety: The greater the variety within the system the stronger it is. In fact ambiguity and paradox abound in complex adaptive systems which use contradictions to create new possibilities to co-evolve with their environment. Democracy is a good example in that its strength is derived from its tolerance and even insistence in a variety of political perspectives."

How Valeriy Lobanovskyi's appliance of science won hearts and trophies | Jonathan Wilson | Football | guardian.co.uk

How Valeriy Lobanovskyi's appliance of science won hearts and trophies | Jonathan Wilson | Football | guardian.co.uk

"Valeriy Lobanovskyi said football was less about individuals than about coalitions and the connections between them."

"The goal was rapid, simple, devastatingly co-ordinated – everything Lobanovskyi insisted football should be."

"Eventually, after a chance meeting with the statistician Anatoliy Zelentsov at a party, it was the latter that won out. Football became for him a system of 22 elements – two sub-systems of 11 elements – moving within a defined area (the pitch) and subject to a series of restrictions (the laws of the game). If the two sub-systems were equal, the outcome would be a draw. If one were stronger, they would win. The aspect that Lobanovskyi found most fascinating was that the sub-systems were subject to a peculiarity: the efficiency of the sub-system was greater than the sum of the efficiencies of the elements that comprise it. That, as Lobanovskyi saw it, meant football was ripe for the application of the cybernetic techniques being taught at the Polytechnic Institute. Football, he concluded, was less about individuals than about coalitions and the connections between them."

"the first thing we have in mind is to strive for new courses of action that will not allow the opponent to adapt to our style of play. If an opponent has adjusted himself to our style of play and found a counterplay, then we need to find new a new strategy. That is the dialectic of the game. You have to go forward in such a way and with such a range of attacking options that it will force the opponent to make a mistake. In other words, it's necessary to force the opponent into the condition you want them to be in. One of the most important means of doing that is to vary the size of the playing area."

Worth the time - physicsworld.com

Worth the time - physicsworld.com

"The subject of Dan Falk's In Search of Time is actually one step beyond these deeply perplexing mathematical questions. While we might think we understand time, unlike the "solidity" (and, dare I say it, the timelessness) of the above mathematical problems, there is absolutely nobody on Earth who knows what time is. Or, for that matter, if it even exists. Falk is frank about this right from the start, beginning with St Augustine's famous lament in his Confessions: "What, then, is time? If no-one asks of me, I know. But if I wish to explain to him who asks, I know not.""

Everett@50 - Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: 50 years on

Everett@50 - Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: 50 years on

"

Some remarkable implications of probabilities without time - Andreas Albrecht

I consider the ambiguity in quantum gravity that arises from the choice of clock. As I emphasize in earlier work (gr-qc/9408023) this ambiguity leads to an absolute lack of predictability for the laws of physics, or more specifically a complete absence of physical laws. I review the clock ambiguity and then consider possible ways forward given this seemingly critical failure. Remarkably, there is an approach that could lead to a certain amount of predictability in physics. I describe this approach and assess its prospects. I also draw attention to possible flaws in the original assumptions on which the clock ambiguity is based, with special emphasis on the definition of probabilities in the absence of time."

Complacency in a Leaderless World by Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project Syndicate

Complacency in a Leaderless World by Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project Syndicate

"A high point of the meeting was the speech by Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, who stressed the marked change in her institution, at least at the top: deep concern about women’s rights; renewed emphasis on the link between inequality and instability; and recognition that collective bargaining and minimum wages could play an important role in reducing inequality. If only the IMF programs in Greece and elsewhere fully reflected these sentiments!"

Tweeting Tyrants Out of Tunisia: Global Internet at Its Best | Threat Level | Wired.com

Tweeting Tyrants Out of Tunisia: Global Internet at Its Best | Threat Level | Wired.com

People risked their lives in the street, with some getting a bullet for their troubles, but the internet played a significant role in organizing these protests and in disseminating news and pictures of them to the world.

Complex Games Lead To Irrational Decision Making In Games And Markets - Science News - redOrbit

Complex Games Lead To Irrational Decision Making In Games And Markets - Science News - redOrbit
They went on to note that their findings could apply not only to enjoyable pastimes like games, but to financial trading on stock markets as well.

imagined networks: cybernetics and politics

imagined networks: cybernetics and politics

"I’ve read a little about the Cybersyn project implemented during Allende’s socialist government in Chile from 1971-1973. It attempted to control the Chilean economy from a central electronic top-down command center that could respond instantaneously to the various workings of Chilean industrial production—using Telex machines, it wanted to keep track of individual machine failings, worker productivity, etc, and to use these things to statistically forecast and model the Chilean economy. This top-down modeling happened, crucially, from a national command center—literally a room—where the information was directed, compiled, and acted upon by analysts working for the Chilean government. Real-time response gave these data points flow."

Coase: Are Economists Becoming Irrelevant?

Coase: Are Economists Becoming Irrelevant?

"Coase is a guiding force behind the New Institutional Economics.  NIE is an interdisciplinary enterprise combining economics, law, organization theory, political science, sociology and anthropology to understand the institutions of social, political and commercial life. It borrows from various social-science disciplines, but its primary language is economics. NIE’s goal is to explain what institutions are, how they arise, what purposes they serve, how they change and how – if at all – they should be reformed. In addition to Coase, Oliver E. Williamson, Elinor Ostrom and Douglass North are founding members."

P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » A key feature of peer production: How a Stigmergy of Actions Replaces Representation of Persons

P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » A key feature of peer production: How a Stigmergy of Actions Replaces Representation of Persons

"“Stigmergy is a mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a next action, by the same or a different agent. In that way, subsequent actions tend to reinforce and build on each other, leading to the spontaneous emergence of coherent, apparently systematic activity. Stigmergy is a form of self-organization. It produces complex, seemingly intelligent structures, without need for any planning, control, or even direct communication between the agents. – Wikipedia"