Today (3/15/08) Judy and Carl had an animated conversation that at it's peaks focussed on the ease by which corporations slip into injustice (e.g. multi-nationals working in developing countries without the checks provided by regulations and by an educated public that exist in highly developed countries) and on the capacity of 13 year old children to cope constructively with very difficult circumstances (and maybe how they often can't manage the challenges of the latter teen years). We're able to point at things that don't work, but as we contemplate "fixing them" it is seeming like these are very complicated subjects. On March 29, if we want to do more than feel good for a day, we might recognize that Weaving a Culture of Peace may also be a very complicated subject. So, it is occuring to us that we might look at the tools that have been developed for managing complex systems and tasks. So, here are suggestions that some of us might like to explore.

Live Plasma is web-based computer software that allows one to have fun exploring one's taste in movies and music. This is useful to show how much fun the portrayal of complex information can be. (Read the text about Elvis Presley in the box and go to the Live Plasma website and start following your interests.)

Concept Maps (Cmap) helped NASA get us to Mars. This is web-based software developed by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) at the University of West Florida but other Florida universities including FAU are partners in this developmental research. Some might view this as less spectacular than Live Plasma but it might better lend itself to our desire to model our information and assumptions as we view them.

Jay Forrester's work may have a lot to offer (and we might discover where it has gone since I discovered it in the 1960's). My recollection is that he created an approach to learning called "Urban Dynamics" wherein he expressed lots and lots of knowledge (and assumptions) in simple mathematical terms (equations) and then devised a complex model to process these hundreds of stated relationships to create an interactive model. I don't expect we'll create a model that gives us answers, but we have a good chance of creating a model that will provoke interest, questions, and postulation.

Anyone who would like to work on this is welcome to contact Judy or Carl (click "E-Mail" at the bottom of this webpage).