CULTURE AS AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Our first cultural event, last Wednesday, nov 16th 2011.

As Andre was pointing it out, our firend Luc Baranger, seemed he was here as well, asking himself if his last book would be in the new library, translated and in multiple copies.

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BIG EVENT AND JAMAICA JUICE FOR CULTURE
Inauguration of a cultural center in Aticama, neighbor pueblo to San Blas’s, is not taken lightly. Library, computer center (3 computers) and intergenerational place at the same time, brought together officials from neighboring towns, farmers, academics, a few gringos from the area, donors, and entire families. School children were authorized a leave to attend and assess the importance of access to culture was occurring here. Modest means, but the colorful festivities honor a most respected fiesta. Drums and horns, flag, national anthem, red ribbon, local singer, poet, no one, nothing was forgotten

A native peasant with his cowboy hat, silvered tooth and eloquent words, gave a living, moving and proud speech. He compared the cultura he had witnessed form the wisdom of his 70 years, a culture marked with pesticidos to this culture type that, through the center, his grandchildren would have access to. I wiped away a tear. Our brand new amigos, Anne and Gilles, who had invited us, were responsible for the visual appearance of various elements of the place. ____________________________________________________



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ABCD
Illustrated a la mano, by Gilles. Anne was in charge of the visual identity. (missing picture.)
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Single shelf for filosofia and psicologia.
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A full shelf for literature and rhetoric. The covers seem to plunge us into the past, but are actually quite recent and very pretty. The paper almost felt 100% recycled and the feel recalled Quebec’s Pascal publishing house, 1945. I thought of my friend Patrice and his biliothéca which, to himself, would have filled that modest but inspiring place.

Our wealthy system felt as though even culturally, we had everything to be over satiated . Some people here where trying to make a reinforcing loop towards more equity, but
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SYSTEMS THINKING
Chosen in regards and respect with my actual course and interests, Charles Darwin becomes Carlos Darwin. Is it to say origins are not immutable. I would think that Fritjof Capra must have read that book himself.
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CARAMBA
The classifying system may seem archaic, but reminded me my youthful joy finding the coveted book in these magic of these little boxes. The entire library could fit in 6 small drawers, but some scanning would not be long before it happened was I told. And here I am, lucky enough to study at a distance without many worries except scorpions, moskitos, mange...
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LEAVING THE -CULTURAL- INAUGURATION
Rather modest little house but satellite dish imposes itslef. As elsewhere, TV is watched in the Aticama's homes. Will the Center manage to attract young people within its walls?
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SOCIAL OR MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

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LIVING OUTSIDE
Hydro or Internet, can seem like same complicated task in San Blas. We can wonder what would happen if we turned off the switch. Probably not much ...less.
As Kauffman (1) puts it, «mechanical systems (car, furnace, or this here ) can be switched completely off for a while and then turned back on again. The same is true of some very simple living things. Plant seeds that can wait for decades for the right conditions to start growing and some microscopic animals can be frozen solid and then be brought back to life.» Certain frogs, per example, put themselves on -low heart beat- for as much as 7 years in the ice before coming back to life. Life is such an amazing system.

(1) Draper L. Kauffman, Jr.
Systems One: An Introduction to Systems Thinking (1980)
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BOUNDED REALITY
Bounded reality is one of Meadow's concepts explained in —Thinking in Systems. A primer.— It has to do with being informed and therefore, being able to take informed decisions as well. She has a great story in that sense of an Amsterdam neighborhood of similar housing and families. «Some houses were built with the electric meter down in the basement. In other homes, the electric meter was installed in the front hall. It was discovered that some of the houses in this subdivision used one-third less electricity.» Being able to witness or be aware of their energy use brought front hall families to change their behavior.

I suspect not many really spend much lighting energy here anyhow. Lights are warm and out all day and night. Awareness finds all sorts of different ways. But bounded realities or being informed, doesn't necessarily lead to decisions that will benefit -the whole- as Meadow's shares, and as we will see later. I will talk about other environmental issues later...

Meadows gets into a lot of financial details to explain Systems in the early chapters. In is not my favorite part, although I'm doing my best to understand it all, I feel I don't always get it, too many stocks and flow charts for someone who usually likes diagrams they give me the turnover... I felt much more at ease reading Capra. I also really appreciated Kauffman simplicity in vulgarizing basically the same ideas in a much friendlier way, to me that was. Still, I am really enjoying this class.