RSA blogs - Latest Comments

Re: Three economic approaches to global ecological risk

ian greenwood — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:22:29 -0000

I am sorry it has taken so long to respond,

Yes, there is more to it than engineering - Getting perceptons away from "wasting" -away from too much money on excessive travel, sociallising, TV, other screen stuff, for example. Knowing the actual real value of what one buys? DIY of some of the work i describe?

reframing of what became uneconomical "economics" Occasional travel to see other real solutions and so one can interpret images shown..
the numbers are there for contact - and the appeal for our new bottom up STEERglobal - MakeIt DEmonstrator

Re: Shhh – don’t mention the nudges

Suzan Wright — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 07:22:11 -0000

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Re: Seven Serious Jokes about Climate Change

CB — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:22:01 -0000

Both Zosha123 and MeMeMine are fully-automated Climate Denier spambots operated by the same person.

They are not human.

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Re: Seven Serious Jokes about Climate Change

mememine — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 15:28:57 -0000

Real Climate Blame News

-After 34 years of climate action failure liberals still refuse to allow CO2 science to say; "proven".

-CO2 science wasn’t fraudulent science, it was; “flatulent” science.

-“Water levels rising” is just a libs childish euphemism for 'We're sinking!"

-Due to climate change’s polar ice expansion, Canada's Liberal leader; Justin Trudeau now says that a Carbon Tax will pay for more icebreakers.

-ISIS is offering to save the planet by reversing the effects of unstoppable warming with a nuclear winter.

-Science now says climate blame will only kill conservatives and their families. Peace, love…..

-Scientists now say that millions of wind turbines could send the planet out of orbit.

-How many climate blame scientists does it take to change a light bulb? None, but they do have full consensus that it "could" change.

-What's another word for "climate change denier"? Evolved.

-Why did the climate blame "believer" cross the road? Because everyone else was.

-We must please the angry weather gods by sacrificing our fires?

What do you call a Liberal Election Promise?;
To make the weather nicer but colder by taxing the air we breathe with bankster funded and corporate run carbon trading stock markets ruled by trust worthy liberal politicians.

Re: Mindfulness: What is most personal is most universal

Caroline — Sat, 09 May 2015 08:04:01 -0000

yup but anything that gets people on the track of "being" not just ignorantly acting, has got to be a good thing. let's face it, the MPS are not going to just go oh ok, lets all go buddhist! If only! Good luck guys!

Re: Ask better Questions: Algorithms for everyone!

namra anum — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 04:39:04 -0000

hey guyx i m new here nd i dont know how to ask questions in any website nd i want to ask one question that which algorithm is use for spaceship

Re: Why the self-employed need to wake up to the threat posed by Universal Credit

childminder — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 19:15:50 -0000

Being a self employed child minder 40 hour week, I am tied to what I can earn as I am limited to my child minder numbers set out by Ofsted. How can I potentially earn more when I am legally not allowed to increase the number of young children I care for. Also its difficult to go out and get new clients, as its very much tied to the area, the number of other providers and yearly intakes. I am very concerned as I am a single parent (through no fault of my own) trying to run a business pay a mortgage. If this affects my already stretched income then I could potentially lose my business, home and everything I have worked for 7 years building. Sad times.

Re: Why the self-employed need to wake up to the threat posed by Universal Credit

Blue Day — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 15:29:59 -0000

Hi, I am self employed and have been aware of the impending minimum income floor for 18 months or so now. My business is profitable and developed, but the very nature of being self employed with it's 3 good weeks of sales and one bad week of sales means the same day the minimum income floor is introduced, I will have to close my business, as I won't be able to keep a roof over my head in a bad week otherwise. I am disheartened to have to close my business after working so hard to knock it into efficiency. Tens of thousands will move onto the dole overnight when the minimum income floor starts, perhaps this is why the Tories have deferred it till after the election. At the moment you can claim housing benefit, council tax benefit and tax credits if self employed should you need it. If the welfare reform act 2012 was amended so that the self employed are once again eligible for housing benefit and council tax this would save our businesses. As a compromise tax credits for the self employed could be removed as a disincentive to people taking advantage of the safety net.

Re: Global Fellowship in Action: the RSA in Brussels!

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Re: The medical model of mental illness: we’re not convinced

jean6 — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 01:23:27 -0000

In United States, the American Medical Association along with psychiatrists have been in bed with the FDA (Food and Drug Assoc) reaping huge profits
by labelling any abnormal behavior as an "illness". Psychotropic drugs should be the last resort (if at all). They promote "learned helplessness" and can also be a quick way to discredit someone.

Re: Seriously, why do we drink alcohol?

Jason @ CompulsiveCreative.com — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 13:54:19 -0000

Really interesting article. I am not a big drinker, but I have thought about giving it up altogether. However, if alcohol works in the way this article states I would be more prone to drink. I suffer from anxiety which I would think drinking would help (for a short amount of time) with limiting neuron function.
My question is related to this quote:
"Ethanol, the psychoactive ingredient of alcohol, impairs communication between neurons by weakening the molecules in the walls that separate them, such that electrical signals are not sent as normal and associations between ideas do not emerge as readily."
Does impair mean long term effect or short-term or a mix of both?

Re: Political gridlock may be coming – and it may be no bad thing

Nic Vine — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 05:08:02 -0000

A wonderful example of positive thinking ... I like it ... I am heartened by it.

The challenge is how we get the media to report a breakthrough for democracy rather than a breakdown of government.

My suggestion is to throw it at all the walls so that some of it may stick. Send a concise version, containing a call to action, with a link to this blog, to all political parties, to all media channels, and use public online channels such as 38degrees as well as the usual suspects to reach the people.

The step before that could be to get endorsement from known, trusted, influential and politically neutral (or at least not toxic) people - professional people, not celebrities.

Re: A Solution to the Home Care Crisis?

Johnlfc64 — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:39:38 -0000

Truly great business leaders

Everywhere we look, great business leaders are touted as the answer to raising organisational performance. It’s an attractive idea, though one still rooted in the idea that it’s a handful of strong, powerful, inspirational people who make organisations successful. Maybe.

What if we change the basic premise, suggest that these super characters do not exist, at least very rarely? Executive pay might suffer a little when we realise pay multiples exceeding x20 are nonsensical. We might even have to consider the normal order of pyramid organisational structures in businesses are a little bit flawed? We may even consider whether the real catalyst for organisational performance is the very opposite from what is assumed in the traditional model and it is the removal of such leadership assumptions that will lead to success.

Fanciful? Take a look at GE Aviation for one example. Rare? Take a look at GitHub in San Francisco. Too “software and California”? Take a look at Atlassian in Sydney, Semco in São Paolo, WL Gore in Ohio and Scotland and Mondragon in the Basque region of Spain. From software to textiles, chemicals to manufacturing, e-recruitment to business services, new models are appearing that challenge the very basis of traditional organisational structures, leadership traditions and the source of real competitive advantage - the passion, skills, knowledge and desire to do great work of the majority of people in our businesses.

It’s not financial rewards that drive success in such organisations; it’s the competitive advantage gained from tapping into the basic human desire to do great work, be respected and thrive in an environment based on trust.

Really simple ideas, yet incredibly challenging to build in businesses founded and driven on the basis of traditional leadership and pyramid frameworks. First step, consider the possibility that traditional organisational models are broken and horribly outdated and see where that takes us next. Now, that’s the sort of leadership that might just catch on….

Re: A Solution to the Home Care Crisis?

Johnlfc64 — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:31:47 -0000

Hi Oli, Brendan,
I'll also send you a connection to a piece I wrote recently, drawn from the SMT approach from across the world, most prevalent in software development

Re: A Solution to the Home Care Crisis?

Oli Reichardt — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 10:18:01 -0000

That's great news, would be great to meet up, I'll set something up.

Re: A Solution to the Home Care Crisis?

Brendan Martin — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 08:12:01 -0000

Great piece, Oliver -- thank you. And the good news is that it IS happening in Britain -- led by a team including two RSA Fellows, Tamsin Fulton and myself. We had a very good reception just last week at NHS England to our LIFT project -- influenced in part by Buurtzorg -- and we are in discussions with two local authorities and a GP federation about prototyping. We are also working with the Local Government Information Unit on the IT-related aspects (developing an app to enable self-managed teams to share information in real time among themselves and with the informal carers of their clients). Of course, we would love to discuss how to involve RSA too -- indeed, at a much earlier stage of the project last year I came in and did just that with Matthew! Let's meet!

Re: Bob’s Big Idea: why are we living longer?

iRNVA — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 07:06:55 -0000

consciousness is for criminal like people to see life
nicer improving think present forward not past oriented.

Re: Bob’s Big Idea: why are we living longer?

Jonathanrowson — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 16:13:37 -0000

Thanks for the comment.
Yes, I realise the connection to wicked problems is key, but if you start trying to explain what that means it's not easy to stop. It is very clear to me though that wicked problems cannot be solved through self-authorship; which is why Bob's big idea is timely.
I like Torbert's suggestion about friendship, though again the premise is unclear.
I'm not sure there is any necessary link between the limitations of self-authorship and RSA's idea of creativity in action? The deeper question is what stage 5 creativity looks like and how we might bring it about.
In terms of age associations, I just don't know, but there is a huge difference between lines, states, streams and stages, as you know. I suspect people in their 20s and 30s do have glimpses(states) of these higher levels in certain domains(lines) but I am much less sure they are consolidated as stages.
J

Re: Why the self-employed need to wake up to the threat posed by Universal Credit

minion — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 15:23:55 -0000

i myself have bean in the boat of being self employed and on benifits at the same time. i since 2008 had infact bean a self employed Entertainer working local pubs in my area this fetchd me a survivable income but it was not a big mony buisnes i was sole trader with no reasonable way to expand as the govemrent demand. what they here when you say your self employed is you own a buisnes or run a store and work full time hours on your trade. what also comes into being self employed and leagly haveing to decler your self employed is doing any work yourself this could be mowing a lawn for mony, or like myself being a entertainer i workd fri sat sun for £100 a night on a good week however as with this busines it was not EVERY week and on the school holadays thier was 0 work at all but over crimbo work would quadruple to the state i had to turn down bookings due to high demand for the time of year. however when you tell UC your self employed they automaticly asume you work 35 hours a week and bring in the NMW each week even if you dont. they also dont acount for RUNING COSTS and they take thier number from what you got paid not from what you acterly made. which is wrong as tax is only payable on PROFIT. i may be wrong but this curently results in getting less mony avradge each week then i would if i declerd the self employment as a flop and just went on full UC for unemployed. hese wuy now i no longer work self employed which i enojyed and loved but infact jump from temp job to temp job and switch from claming to not claiming as neaded. end of the day thier is not alot of work in my area that matches my skills and although i am working on betering my self via qualifications to land better paid perm work you need the cash to do this. my busines would have survived if the DWP had only helpd at the time 3 of my reguler venues closed down leaving me with 0 proffit income the 2 bookings a month i was doing coverd runing costs only. but that was still counted as income for uc purposes even though for tax it was clasd as expenses to run the buinses. and thiefore was exempt. basicly this made it imposable to run being left with 0 mony for rent food etc i again recently cmalimd uc after my last tmemp job ended and am curelty waiting on a start date from another job however i am reluctent to acteruly take this job as it is freelance and thierfore classd as self employed not gaurteed set hours every week. even though i will be working for a company its a 0 hour role but does have a 10 month contact. so again on the weeks i dont acteruly get much work im left with minimul options for suport otehr then finding another job that will then reduce my avalabilty for this job. note this was a job i was acteruly job sekers directed to apply for as it matchd my skills and if i did not apply would infact be sanctiond for failure to apply for sutable work. the same will be for takeing this job if i choose against it ive turnd down a job. even though finacialy its not good.

Re: Bob’s Big Idea: why are we living longer?

MatthewMezey — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 09:33:10 -0000

Hi Jonathan,

I think Prof Kegan's point that - usually older - people (like RSA Fellows?) with unconventional 'Self-transforming'* minds are the only people able to effectively deal with the 'wicked' issues the world faces is crucial.

(*NB The RSA has recently been stressing the importance to creativity of the prior stage of adult growth, the Self-authoring mind (which tends to be rather independent and cognitively focused - not able to really listen to diverse stakeholders, or integrate them). This Self-authoring mind is itself a powerful achievement (of a minority of people) - and makes 'active citizenship' likely, as we wrote about in 'Beyond the Big Society'. But it's not adequate for the challenge of 'wicked' issues, even if it probably thinks it is. We could really do with a national representative survey to gauge the proportions and spread of traditional/self-authoring/self-transforming minds, instead of just relying on Kegan's guesses. He thinks there might be 4-5 million people with Self-transforming minds in the UK).

When your Social Brain team asked around some years back for feedback about what should go into a report you were preparing about old people, this exact point about the capability of older minds was the key point I suggested.

What I said in my feedback was that we could perhaps create an 'Elders' Wisdom Council': "to hear from those maverick, generative wrinklies, who are still growing and learning. I'd want it to be deliberately post-partisan and not focused on advocating for OAPs, though it could advocate for future generations generally."

This was my reasoning:
"I think we should really value those oldies who grow into wise and dialectical post-formal thinkers - even if most never do, and plenty of us plateau long, long before that. (A few people's 'time horizons' are still growing - out to 40, 50... 100+ years - when they die. Such people are uncommon - but it would be great to corral a few of them, somehow).

"That way of thinking is the only thinking that can deal with 'wicked' issues. They've got it, we need it.

"Maybe there could be a 'Crone of the Year' prize - for a wise Elder?"

"Interestingly (to me!), Prof Bill Torbert's model of the stages of psychological/leadership maturation struggled to find an adequate label for the rare later stages that are inhabited by very few. 'Crone' was one of the names he had considered, presumably as those complex thinkers are often old. (Even though there's a kind of simplicity on the other side of complexity too!). Other labels considered were Shaman, Jester, Clown, Witch, Sage, Ironist and Magician! He seems to have mostly gone with Alchemist."

I don't think the eventual report included my suggestions around the role of post-conventional thinking or a Crone of the Year prize or Elders' Wisdom Council - though it's good to see some of this line of thinking cropping up again in your blog post.

As well as inviting Kegan to the RSA to give that great lecture you embedded the video of I also tried to get Prof Bill Torbert along - to speak on the potential power of networks of older people. The initial title idea was 'Third Age, Final Act: Becoming Inter-Independent and Exercising Collaborative, Mutually-Transforming Power'. It didn't work out, at the RSA end (though Torbert is over in the UK in March, if you want to try to ask him again. Torbert argues that the widespread growth in the number of (Kegan 5) Self-transforming/inter-independent minds gives the first extensive opportunity globally for a new type of friendship network, more akin to Aristotle's friendships of virtue.

Interestingly Laloux argues in his wonderful and inspiring book 'Reinventing Society' that rather than people in their 40s, 50s opening up to such late stage thinking, it's now appearing in 20-somethings and 30-somethings. I suspected he had no 'hard' evidence for this and it was just his hunch - which turned out to be exactly the case (I checked)… ;-)

I hope it does turn out to be true though…!

Matthew Mezey
@MatthewMezey

Re: The need for new ideas- even if they seem crazy at first

David Dunn — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:42:05 -0000

I have been supporting a Citizen's Wage as part of a much broader change in society that we need both to enhance societal cohesiveness , but also as an essential part of living within the planets means, and having a more friendly footprint on the environment and the planet's ecosystems as a whole.

It will need to be only a part of a much broader change to the taxation, based on protection of the environment.

A complete reform of the tax system away from the existing type to a tax on all natural resources based on the actual and potential damage their use causes. This collected as near to source as possible and collected at a rate depending on the damage each resources use can and does cause and collected at a rate to fulfill all the governments needs.

All the citizens wage and tax reform needs to be linked to a reform of the benefit and welfare systems , so as to encourage self and society responsibility and pursue a preventative mentality to all aspects of life .

Doing one thing without the others will cause unrest as it fails to simplify the problems and only increases costs and mistrust in a final out come which has not been laid out.

Re: The need for new ideas- even if they seem crazy at first

Tim Blackwell — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:58:22 -0000

I absolutely agree with your last sentence and will be fascinated to see what you come up with.

Tim

Re: The need for new ideas- even if they seem crazy at first

anthonypainter — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:38:50 -0000

Thanks Tim. It's not a question of waving it away. It's a matter of treating as a separate challenge (though related). The other points you raise are part of our research.

You could equally throw labour market regulation in the pot but one step at a time. The important thing is basing a system on some clear principles then building it technically.

Re: The need for new ideas- even if they seem crazy at first

Tim Blackwell — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:17:01 -0000

It's the CTI CBI + HB/CTS together that make the distortion - and all their costings depend upon it. One possible residual benefit from the CTI scheme is the removal of conditionality. This could easily be acheived in our current benefits system or under a modified universal credit. The CTI scheme simply transfers money from those who need it a lot to those who need it less, mitigated somewhat by increases in taxation.

If the CTI had a magic money pot from which they could pay everybody's rent, council tax and mortgage interest then, yes, their scheme would meet the claims they make for it. But you absolutely cannot waft away housing costs in any practical scheme - people have an exasperating propensity to want somewhere to live.

If I get the time I'll generate some example cases to illustrate how this works.

Tim.

Re: The need for new ideas- even if they seem crazy at first

anthonypainter — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 06:46:39 -0000

But it's HB/CTS that's creating any distortion not BI. So your criticism is of HB/CTB not basic income- fine but that's a different (and important) parallel discussion. There is, however, an issue with particular groups such as the one I've listed. We are looking into that.