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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)

@johntmurphy.bsky.social

160 followers 190 following 120 posts

PhD, MA Ed. Former researcher at Argonne National Lab, University of Chicago, and Northern Illinois University. Archaeology, Anthropology, and Computation. Finding complexity in the past to build a better future.

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jun 13

For the BlueSky world: My (free) book is at: bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...

A photo of part of the cover of the bestest book ever about using urban forms from ancient and prehistoric cities to inform our possible responses to challenges of today and tomorrow. The title of the book is "If the Past Teaches, What Does the Future Learn?" which I, John Murphy, would like to take credit for, but was in fact written by my co-author, Carole Crumley. The subtitle is "Ancient Urban Regions and the Durable Future". The book, which has lots of other authors and contributors, is the result of NSF funding and a production of IHOPE, an organization of researchers focusing on the 'Integrated History (and Future) of People on Earth'. The cover photo is a set of ruins: the remains of stone walls and dirt floors in multiple levels with arid mountains in the distance under a cerulean sky. Because archaeology is cool.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · 16d

Worth reading; discusses challenges that need to be addressed (e.g. Americans pay more but are sicker, and "... a lot of medical research is junk that can't be reproduced...").

Key quote: "The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical... It’s that his theory is naïve about power..."

Opinion | ‘The Power of Science to Solve Problems Is Almost Limitless’

www.nytimes.com

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · 22d

Yep- 100% agree. I will also miss Midwestern fare like corn on the cob and casseroles, but there's plenty to make up for it.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 19

Make sure to visit the Carolina Rediviva exhibition. Among many other treasures, it has drawings from the design phase (the yellow tubes are sadly absent) and an associated exhibit on floor tiling patterns, for all floor-tile-pattern fans.🙂

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 14

I don't know how hard it hit except to say my mom got the album & really liked it. It might still be in the basement.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 12

I like cucumbers, so it sounds delicious!

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 12

Their loss! What is it?

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 6

(And you're still an archaeologist/archeologist! It's a set of habits and skills, and those will always remain, even if they're a few strata below the current floor surface.)

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 6

Ha! I think I remember noticing that at my university all the web-presence regarding the anthropology department (course listings, professor specialties, major specializations, etc.) uses "archaeology," but all the signage in the department (office door signs printed by the U) uses "archeology."

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 6

In addition to helping with some school assignments and being a genuine source of fun reading, the main impact it had on me was making it very confusing for me to try to spell 'encyclopedia' the way my teachers in school wanted me to.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 6

I was very depressed to learn a few years ago that my parents got rid of the Encyclopaedia Britannica set that they bought when I was a kid. It was 40 volumes and roughly 900 pounds, and included all the British-approved knowledge in the world as of 1973.

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 2

This is exactly right. I have sketched out the barest possible outline/idea/Hail Mary for a way to build and integrate these kinds of teams:

perfectknowledgedb.com/project2029-...

It's threadbare as yet, and maybe silly. But I would love it if people excited about specific areas would dive in.

A screenshot of the linked web page for Project 2029
(Progressive Grassroots Version), with text:

Project 2025 was built over decades; we don't have that much time.

Project 2029 PGV is a Progressive vision for the future of our country, one that repairs the damage of the current administration and sets a course for a new American future.

The goal of the project is to collaboratively generate a response to 'Project 2025'. Project 2025 took decades; we do not have that time. But we have the means to create a community to 'crowdsource' the document. Ideally this would form a fulcrum for a broader Progressive movement in response to the extreme components of Project 2025 that have been revealed by the administration's actions. We need a new vision; we need new leaders; and we need them on a short time scale.

The project consists of:

A work-in-progress main document: Project2029-PGV.pdf
A github repository for collaboration on the text of the main document
A Zotero collection of references cited in the text
A Discord community server for discussions about the text and the project

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 30

Definitely agree. I believe I may have bet my entire professional career on this specific point. (It's still a work-in-progress!)

perfectknowledgedb.com/bio.html

I'm also looking at Dan McQuillan's 'decomputing' work- looks amazing:

www.danmcquillan.org/pages/about....

A collection of text from the website linked in the post: "My deep belief is that anthropology and archaeology, by giving us a wider view of what's possible, can help us make our world better, and that it can help us reach a diverse, equitable, inclusive, resilient, and just society. I believe that the path toward this is exciting and full of beauty and wonder; it is an exploration of the full scope of the human journey on earth.

Despite being a 'computer guy' - or maybe because of it - I believe technology in general, and computation specifically, will play a role, but it is likely to be minimal; simplicity is a better guide. The real resources on which we need to draw are the lived experiences of individuals, the rich histories of all peoples and nations, and basic goodness and humanity of all of us who share the planet.

I'm exploring this by reading, traveling, writing, and thinking. Having learned that archaeology has missed out on many of the past's lessons, there is an exciting research path ahead, and, along with it, a personal journey. I've decided to call what I do, "Radical Complexity." I hope more people will join me on the trip." Also a picture of myself with road-construction-barrel man from a Missouri rest area.

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 24

I haven't listened to this yet, but I definitely will because I think this message will be very much in line with my own thinking, which comes from years as a social scientist studying complexity while living rather uncomfortably in a computational career.

Tech Won’t Save Us @techwontsave.us · Jul 24

Is it possible to imagine a better future where we use less computation? The effects of AI hype almost demand it.

This week @danmcquillan.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to lay out the concept of decomputing as a different way of assessing technology.

Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/286_...

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Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · Jul 22

Or the underlying point is just the opposite.

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Jul 22

The news that CBS had canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” prompted plenty of speculation about the network’s motivations. But “the underlying point is clear”: late-night TV has lost its value, David Sims argues: https://theatln.tc/IOcxZNKr

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 20

I watched it and agree that it's a worthy watch- definitely recommend.

I've had life phases with high & low interest in 'joining.' It's interesting to bridge the societal/macro with the personal/introspection- but it's not always easy.

Would love to discuss. Start a book/movie discussion club?

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 17

I'll give it a look this weekend.

Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · Jul 17

New example of "a paradise built in hell" just dropped.

Always remember, when we humans are side by side, not above or below, we are good. Love is the default under all that fear, greed and stratification.

Joseph Howley @illdottore.bsky.social · Jul 17

Rümeysa Öztürk describes the library in the prison where she was held for 45 days for co-authoring an op-ed

After many requests, I finally accessed what turned out to be the saddest and smallest library I have ever seen. I was surprised to find that the books were not categorized by author or Dewey number but size. I tried to find a book before my allotted time ended and picked a cooking book; the second time I got a novel. I began flipping through the pages in search of solace, as books have always been my safe haven. To my surprise, I discovered handwritten notes scattered throughout the book, dated and written by various detainees over time. These messages were filled with reminders of hope, strength, and the assurance that this, too, shall pass. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read their heartfelt expressions. It’s incredible how human beings can find ways to uplift each other, transcending time, space, and borders if they want to and if they choose to. I continued to turn the pages, holding on to the hope of finding brighter moments in this terrifying situation—all thanks to the kindness of people I had never met.

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 17

@kenjennings.bsky.social: re: "Candidates that don't suck," I hope you know about @katmabu.bsky.social.

www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...

A picture of the campaign merch T-shirt for Kat Abughazaleh, running for Congress in Illinois's ninth district, with the slogan, "What if we didn't suck?"

A screenshot of the home page for Kat Abughazaleh's Illinois ninth district Congressional campaign, showing the phrase "It's time to do more" and with a picture of the candidate, a woman in her mid-late 20's who just might pull of something crazy and actually win.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

Possibly. I viewed it as needing to study all of the components- the domain being visualized, the viz. technique and technology, and the people using the visualization (does viz. actually aid understanding and problem solving, e.g.). But the 'people' side was the hardest to pitch to my colleagues.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

One day in IL my house got 2.5 inches of rain in 90 minutes. Some places got more than 9" total. A couple days later I suggested to the guy improving my downspouts that his business could tell clients that intense rainfall would be more common. He said he didn't want to get 'political'.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Jul 16

Exclusive: Trump officials have indefinitely suspended work on a crucial tool to predict extreme rainfall frequency, a move that experts said will make the country more vulnerable to storms supercharged by climate change.

NOAA was developing a way to predict extreme rainfall — until Trump officials stopped it

The tool would have projected how climate change could affect rainfall frequency and intensity in communities across the nation.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

This wasn't lack of a steady pen hand; it was the gap between something concrete on paper and the way they 'saw' the thing in their head, which really wasn't visual at all.

(Not sure if this adds anything re: dreams, but if yours don't win in cinematography, I bet they do very well in screenplay!)

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

When you handed them a pen and said "Draw what you see," they couldn't. Once I asked a guy to draw what he wanted and he put one dot on the whiteboard and then stopped and stared, puzzled. When I asked what the dot represented, he couldn't answer.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

What they were describing was actually either qualitatively what they wanted the visualization to accomplish ("You'll be able to link X to Y and see how Z works...") or was several different kinds of things (bar graphs, maps, networks) operating at the same time that they believed could work.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

But then I'd work with them to try to put it into practice. At that point their description of what they could 'see' revealed that they couldn't possibly really be seeing it: It simply didn't work.

Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy) @johntmurphy.bsky.social · Jul 16

I used to work with data visualization, and sometimes I would work with someone who wanted their data vizzed. They had the absolute conviction that they could 'see' how a data visualization (network diagram, graph, augmented reality, whatever) would be done.