Human Systems and Behavior

The Plateau and the Pressure: When Success Becomes Systemic Failure

15 January 2023·206 words·1 min

Human Systems and Behavior Institutions Empires Systems Thinking Adaptive Failure Historical Case Studies Systems Thinking Innovation History Policy and Critique

A historical and systems analysis of how institutional success can harden into a source of adaptive failure.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 5: The Ethos of Optionality

24 January 2022·456 words·3 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Antifragility Optionality Barbell Strategy Skin in the Game Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

Embracing antifragility through optionality and the barbell strategy for survival in uncertainty.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 4: Mindful Organizing Against Normalization

23 January 2022·342 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Mindful Organizing High Reliability Organizations Preoccupation With Failure Sensitivity to Operations Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How high-reliability organizations maintain vigilance against hidden threats.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 3: Rites of Terror as Social Superglue

22 January 2022·340 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Rituals Costly Signals Collective Effervescence Identity Fusion Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How extreme rituals create unbreakable social bonds through shared suffering.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 2: The Genius of the "Dumb" Collective

21 January 2022·391 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Collective Brain Cumulative Culture Causal Opacity Overimitation Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How collective intelligence through cultural evolution surpasses individual genius.

Unseen Architecture of Survival: Hidden Forces Determining Human Survival

20 January 2022·256 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

Exploring the hidden forces that determine human survival - from collective intelligence and ritual bonding to antifragile systems and mindful organizing.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 1: Why Predictable Systems Collapse

20 January 2022·367 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Fragility Black Swans Turkey Problem Nonlinearity Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

The hidden fragility of modern systems that appear stable but collapse under unexpected shocks.

The Cost of Convenience: Invisible Externalities Everywhere

1 May 2021·334 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Convenience Systems Thinking Innovation Sustainability Design Environment Politics Systems Thinking Design and Innovation Trade and Supply Chains Sustainability Political Economy

An exploration of the hidden costs and externalities of convenience in modern systems, from design philosophy to political economy.

The War of Words - Part 3: The STEPPS of Automated Influence

3 February 2021·682 words·4 mins

Human Systems and Behavior STEPPS Automated Influence Surveillance Capitalism Behavioral Control Consumer Psychology Decision-Making and Bias Social Dynamics

How the STEPPS algorithm enables systematic weaponization of social influence and automated behavioral control.

The War of Words - Part 2: The Tyranny of the Narrating Self

2 February 2021·773 words·4 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Narrating Self Emotional Persuasion Political Narratives Cognitive-Bias Consumer Psychology Decision-Making and Bias Social Dynamics

How the brain's narrating self prioritizes emotional stories over rational facts in political decision-making.