The Food Chain

Life, self organization and feedback

I am currently exploring the field of feedback. What it is and how it is done in a good way. Along the way I have met with a large number of definitions and method discussions.

First I was a bit bored with all the technical descriptions of feedback such as this one:



In writing it would be expressed like this:

Feedback is a process whereby some proportion of the output signal of a system is passed (fed back) to the input. This is often used to control the dynamic behavior of the system. Examples of feedback can be found in most complex systems, such as engineering, architecture, economics, thermodynamics, and biology.

A really interesting discovery is that feedback in engineering (such as a video feedback loop)renders fractal patterns very similar to fractal patterns in biology.

Feedback is at the core of all dynamic systems, that is systems that can deal with both change and growth. I have been very inspired by the work of Margaret Wheatley and her study of life and living systems as an ideal for how people can organize.

I have not been able to express the link between life and feedback but when I saw the fractal patterns on the videos that were generated through feedback loops, and recognized them from the fractals in nature (and Meg Wheatleys books)I felt I was on to something. Eventually, after reading a bunch of wikipedia entries I found a cybernetic definition of life focusing on feedback.

A definition of life (a living individual) in cybernetic terms is proposed. In this formulation, life (a living individual) is defined as a network of inferior negative feedbacks (regulatory mechanisms) subordinated to (being at service of) a superior positive feedback (potential of expansion).

and eventually I was spot on...

Leary argues that feedback (i.e., self-reference) in cybernetic organization leads to "fractal forms." What is a fractal form? The term "fractal" (coined by chaos mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot) is used to describe "a shape whose details resemble the whole thing.

This link between Life, living systems, self organization and feedback is a great discovery for me which I intend to explore further.

A tube of Bergman

Ingmar Bergman died yesterday and journalists have been hunting down everyone who has ever worked with or fucked him. His relation to women is famous/notorious. It is amazing to hear all the women he worked with explaining what he did for them... - I am so grateful to have known him.... - He saw me and made me see myself... One actress confessed to greedy thoughts. - All the things I never asked him... etc. etc.

The Swiss-born psychiatrist Helen Kübler-Ross has designed a model to explain the human reaction to death in five stages...

1. Denial : The initial stage: "It can't be happening."
2. Anger : "Why ME? It's not fair?!" (either referring to God, oneself, or anybody perceived, rightly or wrongly, as "responsible")
3. Bargaining : "Just let me live to see my son graduate."
4. Depression : "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"
5. Acceptance : "It's going to be OK."

(from wikipedia)

I don't know if the Kübler-Ross model can explain anything about how a human collective reacts to death but I have feeling that the Swedish reaction to Bergmans death primarily is a greedy one... sort of similar to the human reaction to the death of a tube of toothpaste. - Oh no you don't! There is still some useful stuff in there...

Graduation: Check! --> Norway here I come!

After handing in a not-quite-finnished written presentation after the deadline I was far from sure that I would actually pass.... Sure there were good things about the report... like the cool frontpage logo that Abbas made and some chapters were cool, but I had a strong feeling that it didn't really make sense to some one who knew nothing about the project.

I was tired as shit when I returned to Aarhus and I had to search deep inside to find the last bit of energy that could push me over the finishing line - presenting the project to a three-person panel consisting of Paul Natorp (The teacher who has followed my project and head of studies at the KaosPilots), Nanna (Knows the KaosPilot stuff) and Karen Thomsen (Executive producer at Nordisk Film the biggest production company in Scandinavia)

(Thank you/jo for the picture..)

I found the energy, and I made a great presentation. The prototype of the strategy tool I had developed turned out really nice (the colorful stuff on the right) and I had models and stuff covering the whole wall behind me which worked really well. I presented freely without any written stuff in my hands. And listened carefully to the questions before answering.

Half way through the Q&A-session I started to feel I had done well. The questions showed that they had understood everything and that they were convinced about the quality of my work. So, I started relaxing. Relaxing from a month of really hard preassure. I had worked all the way through the night before the presentation and I suppose my eyes were in need of some lubrication... So when i got a question about what I was proud of... well, I started crying. Sobbing I managed to say: - That I didn't give up. I started laughing at my own crying and my three censors offered me water which I accepted.

After my presentation and the questions I sat down out on the terrace with some of my team mates. Paul, Nanna and Karen seemed to have a lot to discuss because it took them an hour and a half to write the feed-back and decide on a grade. I got a 10 on the wierd Danish 13-scale (where 13 represents "reinventing the field", 12 does not exist and there are five levels of failing). So, ten is good, and considering that I thought I'd flunk only a few weeks earlier it is really great.

After giving me the grade I got a question that really surprised me: - What happened to Chelsea? I told them that she is coming to Stockholm in August. Before leaving Karen Thomsen gave me her card and said: - Have a great summer holiday and call me when you are back at work.

Wednesday I am doing a workshop about Interactivity and Public Journalism at NRK in Oslo.

From Bore to Spore

Ok, right now I am busy like hell working my ass off. But read my lips: as soon as I get the time I will start creating my own civilization in Spore. If you have not seen this before... check it out.