BlockScience
@blockscience.bsky.social
A systems engineering firm that operationalizes emerging technologies for high reliability organizations.
Pinned
BlockScience® is a systems engineering firm that operationalizes emerging technologies for high-reliability organizations. We cut through hype with rigorous R&D, delivering fit-for-purpose solutions that keep people, processes and tools working together. #BSCI
Policies tell you what should happen. Protocols constrain what can happen. We wrote a book chapter on engineering institutions through Lyapunov stability—operationalizable guarantees, not just good intentions.
zenodo.org/records/1512...
zenodo.org/records/1512...
Protocols and Institutions
This paper is a pre-print of a book chapter that explores the relationship between protocols and institutions through the lens of control systems engineering. Cross-referencing concepts from Instituti...
zenodo.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Policies tell you what should happen. Protocols constrain what can happen. We wrote a book chapter on engineering institutions through Lyapunov stability—operationalizable guarantees, not just good intentions.
zenodo.org/records/1512...
zenodo.org/records/1512...
Modeling cybernetic systems requires state spaces beyond vector fields. This paper formalizes block diagrams using category theory to represent Generalized Dynamical Systems.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Block Diagrams for Categorical Cybernetics
Block Diagrams play a central role in the design and analysis of complex engineered systems, in large part due to their capacity to represent causal flow of mat
papers.ssrn.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Modeling cybernetic systems requires state spaces beyond vector fields. This paper formalizes block diagrams using category theory to represent Generalized Dynamical Systems.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Algorithms aren't neutral truth-tellers—they're perspectives shaped by design choices, just like cameras. What is the apparatus leaving out? Whose choices shaped it?
blog.block.science/an-algorithm...
blog.block.science/an-algorithm...
January 20, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Algorithms aren't neutral truth-tellers—they're perspectives shaped by design choices, just like cameras. What is the apparatus leaving out? Whose choices shaped it?
blog.block.science/an-algorithm...
blog.block.science/an-algorithm...
Proud to support @numfocus.bsky.social and its work strengthening the open-source scientific computing ecosystem.
These tools power real-world systems, from fraud detection to cloud services. Institutional stewardship helps keep this infrastructure reliable & accessible.
bit.ly/4pC7KXQ
These tools power real-world systems, from fraud detection to cloud services. Institutional stewardship helps keep this infrastructure reliable & accessible.
bit.ly/4pC7KXQ
January 16, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Proud to support @numfocus.bsky.social and its work strengthening the open-source scientific computing ecosystem.
These tools power real-world systems, from fraud detection to cloud services. Institutional stewardship helps keep this infrastructure reliable & accessible.
bit.ly/4pC7KXQ
These tools power real-world systems, from fraud detection to cloud services. Institutional stewardship helps keep this infrastructure reliable & accessible.
bit.ly/4pC7KXQ
Revisiting The Santa Protocol 🧑🎄 after the holidays changes how it reads.
Santa is not the claim. He is the worked example.
Once you recognize the institutional architecture, you start seeing it everywhere.
Low-stakes entry. Serious implications.
📃 bit.ly/49iBsw9
Santa is not the claim. He is the worked example.
Once you recognize the institutional architecture, you start seeing it everywhere.
Low-stakes entry. Serious implications.
📃 bit.ly/49iBsw9
January 14, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Revisiting The Santa Protocol 🧑🎄 after the holidays changes how it reads.
Santa is not the claim. He is the worked example.
Once you recognize the institutional architecture, you start seeing it everywhere.
Low-stakes entry. Serious implications.
📃 bit.ly/49iBsw9
Santa is not the claim. He is the worked example.
Once you recognize the institutional architecture, you start seeing it everywhere.
Low-stakes entry. Serious implications.
📃 bit.ly/49iBsw9
Reposted by BlockScience
A huge thank-you to @blockscience.bsky.social for their support of NumFOCUS and PyData.Their commitment to rigorous research and community-driven innovation strengthens every part of the ecosystem. Join in their support of open source scientific computing: Donate to NumFOCUS at hubs.la/Q03VFBdL0
November 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
A huge thank-you to @blockscience.bsky.social for their support of NumFOCUS and PyData.Their commitment to rigorous research and community-driven innovation strengthens every part of the ecosystem. Join in their support of open source scientific computing: Donate to NumFOCUS at hubs.la/Q03VFBdL0
Flashy tools like LLMs grab attention, but the real foundation is Knowledge Organization Infrastructure (KOI).
In Why Is There Data? David Sisson & Ilan Ben-Meir explore how raw facts become valuable knowledge only through processing, context & governance.
📃Paper on SSRN dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
In Why Is There Data? David Sisson & Ilan Ben-Meir explore how raw facts become valuable knowledge only through processing, context & governance.
📃Paper on SSRN dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
December 4, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Flashy tools like LLMs grab attention, but the real foundation is Knowledge Organization Infrastructure (KOI).
In Why Is There Data? David Sisson & Ilan Ben-Meir explore how raw facts become valuable knowledge only through processing, context & governance.
📃Paper on SSRN dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
In Why Is There Data? David Sisson & Ilan Ben-Meir explore how raw facts become valuable knowledge only through processing, context & governance.
📃Paper on SSRN dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
In this article, Zargham explores Architecting Knowledge Organization Infrastructure (KOI) from a systems engineering perspective, moving across layers of abstraction and showing how communities can design, implement and govern their knowledge systems.
Read: bit.ly/4nQEYlV
Read: bit.ly/4nQEYlV
November 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
In this article, Zargham explores Architecting Knowledge Organization Infrastructure (KOI) from a systems engineering perspective, moving across layers of abstraction and showing how communities can design, implement and govern their knowledge systems.
Read: bit.ly/4nQEYlV
Read: bit.ly/4nQEYlV
Memes that make us lol → but also surface deeper truths.
In governance, resilience depends on acting before crises peak. Climate, housing & health all show the cost of delay. The hard choice is early action, but it’s the only path to durable systems.
Shared by Zargham 🌱
In governance, resilience depends on acting before crises peak. Climate, housing & health all show the cost of delay. The hard choice is early action, but it’s the only path to durable systems.
Shared by Zargham 🌱
November 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Memes that make us lol → but also surface deeper truths.
In governance, resilience depends on acting before crises peak. Climate, housing & health all show the cost of delay. The hard choice is early action, but it’s the only path to durable systems.
Shared by Zargham 🌱
In governance, resilience depends on acting before crises peak. Climate, housing & health all show the cost of delay. The hard choice is early action, but it’s the only path to durable systems.
Shared by Zargham 🌱
📃New publication from BSci collaborators:
“Attention in Governance” — with Kelsie Nabben, Nathan Schneider, Ronen Tamari & Michael Zargham.
We explore attention as a scarce resource in digital governance and propose heuristics to analyze how it shapes participation.
Read 👉 osf.io/preprints/me...
“Attention in Governance” — with Kelsie Nabben, Nathan Schneider, Ronen Tamari & Michael Zargham.
We explore attention as a scarce resource in digital governance and propose heuristics to analyze how it shapes participation.
Read 👉 osf.io/preprints/me...
OSF
osf.io
November 13, 2025 at 5:52 PM
📃New publication from BSci collaborators:
“Attention in Governance” — with Kelsie Nabben, Nathan Schneider, Ronen Tamari & Michael Zargham.
We explore attention as a scarce resource in digital governance and propose heuristics to analyze how it shapes participation.
Read 👉 osf.io/preprints/me...
“Attention in Governance” — with Kelsie Nabben, Nathan Schneider, Ronen Tamari & Michael Zargham.
We explore attention as a scarce resource in digital governance and propose heuristics to analyze how it shapes participation.
Read 👉 osf.io/preprints/me...
What our team reads off the clock → survival games with LLM agents. Thanks Octopus 🐙 for surfacing.
Scarcity makes agents selfish & unsafe. Add a simple guilt/satisfaction signal & cooperation jumps 10× while harmful actions drop by half. That’s a governance lesson too.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2509.12190
Scarcity makes agents selfish & unsafe. Add a simple guilt/satisfaction signal & cooperation jumps 10× while harmful actions drop by half. That’s a governance lesson too.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2509.12190
November 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
What our team reads off the clock → survival games with LLM agents. Thanks Octopus 🐙 for surfacing.
Scarcity makes agents selfish & unsafe. Add a simple guilt/satisfaction signal & cooperation jumps 10× while harmful actions drop by half. That’s a governance lesson too.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2509.12190
Scarcity makes agents selfish & unsafe. Add a simple guilt/satisfaction signal & cooperation jumps 10× while harmful actions drop by half. That’s a governance lesson too.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2509.12190
BlockScience Fellow @jeffemmett.bsky.social was featured on the @entangledfutures.bsky.social podcast to discuss how fungal networks can inspire the redesign of governance & economic systems, including:
🌱 Fractal resilience
🌱 Conviction voting
🌱 Mutual credit
🔉 entangledfutures.fm/episodes/fun...
🌱 Fractal resilience
🌱 Conviction voting
🌱 Mutual credit
🔉 entangledfutures.fm/episodes/fun...
October 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM
BlockScience Fellow @jeffemmett.bsky.social was featured on the @entangledfutures.bsky.social podcast to discuss how fungal networks can inspire the redesign of governance & economic systems, including:
🌱 Fractal resilience
🌱 Conviction voting
🌱 Mutual credit
🔉 entangledfutures.fm/episodes/fun...
🌱 Fractal resilience
🌱 Conviction voting
🌱 Mutual credit
🔉 entangledfutures.fm/episodes/fun...
We often use institutional analysis to understand the “functional architecture” of client projects.
In this piece, BSci Fellow Jeff Emmett turns the lens inward, applying organizational cybernetics, systems thinking heuristics, and viable systems models to BlockScience itself.
📖 bit.ly/4nQEYlV
In this piece, BSci Fellow Jeff Emmett turns the lens inward, applying organizational cybernetics, systems thinking heuristics, and viable systems models to BlockScience itself.
📖 bit.ly/4nQEYlV
October 23, 2025 at 3:41 PM
We often use institutional analysis to understand the “functional architecture” of client projects.
In this piece, BSci Fellow Jeff Emmett turns the lens inward, applying organizational cybernetics, systems thinking heuristics, and viable systems models to BlockScience itself.
📖 bit.ly/4nQEYlV
In this piece, BSci Fellow Jeff Emmett turns the lens inward, applying organizational cybernetics, systems thinking heuristics, and viable systems models to BlockScience itself.
📖 bit.ly/4nQEYlV
🎂It’s our birthday!
BSci was founded on a simple principle: the world’s toughest challenges deserve thoughtful, interdisciplinary design.
We’re celebrating the researchers, engineers & communities who make that possible & inspire us every day.
Here’s to another year of curiosity & collaboration.💡
BSci was founded on a simple principle: the world’s toughest challenges deserve thoughtful, interdisciplinary design.
We’re celebrating the researchers, engineers & communities who make that possible & inspire us every day.
Here’s to another year of curiosity & collaboration.💡
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
🎂It’s our birthday!
BSci was founded on a simple principle: the world’s toughest challenges deserve thoughtful, interdisciplinary design.
We’re celebrating the researchers, engineers & communities who make that possible & inspire us every day.
Here’s to another year of curiosity & collaboration.💡
BSci was founded on a simple principle: the world’s toughest challenges deserve thoughtful, interdisciplinary design.
We’re celebrating the researchers, engineers & communities who make that possible & inspire us every day.
Here’s to another year of curiosity & collaboration.💡
🍂 Our Q3 Newsletter is out!
From Zurich, Paris, Berlin, Albany, and São Paulo, this edition reflects on feedback loops across people, tools, and institutions. Exploring AI Theory of the Firm, governance surfaces, adaptive infrastructures through Telescope + KOI & more.
📰 bit.ly/4qhgSTs
From Zurich, Paris, Berlin, Albany, and São Paulo, this edition reflects on feedback loops across people, tools, and institutions. Exploring AI Theory of the Firm, governance surfaces, adaptive infrastructures through Telescope + KOI & more.
📰 bit.ly/4qhgSTs
October 15, 2025 at 4:29 PM
🍂 Our Q3 Newsletter is out!
From Zurich, Paris, Berlin, Albany, and São Paulo, this edition reflects on feedback loops across people, tools, and institutions. Exploring AI Theory of the Firm, governance surfaces, adaptive infrastructures through Telescope + KOI & more.
📰 bit.ly/4qhgSTs
From Zurich, Paris, Berlin, Albany, and São Paulo, this edition reflects on feedback loops across people, tools, and institutions. Exploring AI Theory of the Firm, governance surfaces, adaptive infrastructures through Telescope + KOI & more.
📰 bit.ly/4qhgSTs
Reposted by BlockScience
“The cell wall marked the start of life. Bonding curves could mark the start of economic life forms.”
@jeffemmett.bsky.social — Exploring MyCofi | Commons Stack | @blockscience.bsky.social
Watch the short clip + full episode: entangledfutures.fm
@jeffemmett.bsky.social — Exploring MyCofi | Commons Stack | @blockscience.bsky.social
Watch the short clip + full episode: entangledfutures.fm
September 23, 2025 at 9:48 PM
“The cell wall marked the start of life. Bonding curves could mark the start of economic life forms.”
@jeffemmett.bsky.social — Exploring MyCofi | Commons Stack | @blockscience.bsky.social
Watch the short clip + full episode: entangledfutures.fm
@jeffemmett.bsky.social — Exploring MyCofi | Commons Stack | @blockscience.bsky.social
Watch the short clip + full episode: entangledfutures.fm
Engineering large-scale infrastructure for social & economic systems isn’t about achieving perfection; it’s about creating systems that can adapt.
In this video series, Zargham explores how feedback, coordination & governance intertwine in complex adaptive systems.
🎥 Watch here: bit.ly/4mVclmL
In this video series, Zargham explores how feedback, coordination & governance intertwine in complex adaptive systems.
🎥 Watch here: bit.ly/4mVclmL
October 6, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Engineering large-scale infrastructure for social & economic systems isn’t about achieving perfection; it’s about creating systems that can adapt.
In this video series, Zargham explores how feedback, coordination & governance intertwine in complex adaptive systems.
🎥 Watch here: bit.ly/4mVclmL
In this video series, Zargham explores how feedback, coordination & governance intertwine in complex adaptive systems.
🎥 Watch here: bit.ly/4mVclmL
Understanding Large Language Models: a plain-language map of LLM basics and where they fit in real systems
- Tokens
- Vontext windows
- Rmbeddings + vector stores
- RAG
- Reasoning methods.
For builders and leaders alike.
Read: bit.ly/3RGFHbi
#LLMs #SystemsEngineering #RAG
- Tokens
- Vontext windows
- Rmbeddings + vector stores
- RAG
- Reasoning methods.
For builders and leaders alike.
Read: bit.ly/3RGFHbi
#LLMs #SystemsEngineering #RAG
Understanding Large-Language Models | LLM System Foundations
Explores the foundations of LLM systems, fundamental building blocks, integration of RAG models & the place of LLMs in the future technological landscape.
bit.ly
September 16, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Understanding Large Language Models: a plain-language map of LLM basics and where they fit in real systems
- Tokens
- Vontext windows
- Rmbeddings + vector stores
- RAG
- Reasoning methods.
For builders and leaders alike.
Read: bit.ly/3RGFHbi
#LLMs #SystemsEngineering #RAG
- Tokens
- Vontext windows
- Rmbeddings + vector stores
- RAG
- Reasoning methods.
For builders and leaders alike.
Read: bit.ly/3RGFHbi
#LLMs #SystemsEngineering #RAG
Systems engineering isn’t just tools; it’s how people, processes, & tech work together reliably. Here’s how we frame AI agents as accountable, engineered systems acting on behalf of principals (not free agents).
A Systems Engineering Perspective on AI Agents: bit.ly/4m3VQEq
#SystemsEngineering
A Systems Engineering Perspective on AI Agents: bit.ly/4m3VQEq
#SystemsEngineering
September 9, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Systems engineering isn’t just tools; it’s how people, processes, & tech work together reliably. Here’s how we frame AI agents as accountable, engineered systems acting on behalf of principals (not free agents).
A Systems Engineering Perspective on AI Agents: bit.ly/4m3VQEq
#SystemsEngineering
A Systems Engineering Perspective on AI Agents: bit.ly/4m3VQEq
#SystemsEngineering
BlockScience® is a systems engineering firm that operationalizes emerging technologies for high-reliability organizations. We cut through hype with rigorous R&D, delivering fit-for-purpose solutions that keep people, processes and tools working together. #BSCI
September 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
BlockScience® is a systems engineering firm that operationalizes emerging technologies for high-reliability organizations. We cut through hype with rigorous R&D, delivering fit-for-purpose solutions that keep people, processes and tools working together. #BSCI