I have no standing like Ken to advice whether Stigmergy is worth
doing Phd or not but this has clarified something that i have seen
with children.

This we noticed when an American educationist was working with me at
the Sadhana school initiative. While writing report she mentioned she
could not find who was the leader in a particular group and this made
us revisit many of the videos we had.

We found certain kind of co ordination happening among them but no one
was the leader. What we termed that behaviour was 'co ordinated  co
operation'  as opposed to 'subordinated co operation'.

I also have videos of non literate people working together with this
kind of 'being ness'.

Looks like our rationality and logical minds neither can experience
this nor has the subtly or sensitivity or beingness to see this.

As i am on a re imagination journey i would certainly learn from
insects how to live with out destroying their own house.

The paradox of our situation is that all our 'success' seems to take
us nearer to the destruction.

Jinan

On 15/03/2017, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> Since writing my earlier post on stigmergy, I have received several off-list
> notes on issues I did not discuss. While I answered everyone, two comment
> caught my attention.
>
> The first pointed out that the concept of stigmergy is used in computing,
> artificial intelligence, and complexity, suggesting that it is an
> established term in those fields. While I know the term is used, it is not
> yet well enough established to warrant an entry in Merriam-Webster’s, the
> standard desk dictionary used by most most journal editors or scientific
> publishers. The *only* entry in the Oxford English Dictionary limits the
> term stigmergy to entomology. This is world's standard comprehensive
> dictionary for the English language. The limits on usage are very much to
> the point. Because the basic issues seem evident to me, I did not address
> the higher order issues.
>
> The most significant high order issue is that it is inappropriate to
> usefully apply a construct developed for an insect population to a human
> population. It is not yet clear whether this construct is useful in AI or
> complexity theory. I know that some people use it, but the fact that the
> term has not yet entered a standard dictionary after seven decades shows
> that questions still abound. The fact that the term is not yet widely enough
> used in AI or complexity theory for the OED to give citations shows that it
> is still questionable in those fields.
>
> The other interesting note questioned the use of quantitative research
> methods in any area of design. My argument was slightly different. I believe
> that there is use for the natural sciences and the quantitative social
> sciences for some kinds of design research. For these to be useful, people
> must know what they are doing. They require a solid methodological
> foundation. Nevertheless, not everyone needs these methods. Based on the
> query to the list, it was my sense that this kind of research is not
> appropriate. The way the question was framed suggested a gap with respect to
> the background that leads to appropriate research questions.
>
> While I may be wrong, I can’t see the purpose of applying hypothetical
> constructs for modeling insect behavior to educating human beings. Insects
> do not possess the kinds of consciousness that human beings possess. Insects
> are a large group of invertebrates. They don’t posses the conscious thinking
> capacity or demonstrate the social behaviors of any vertebrates, certainly
> not such intelligent social vertebrates such as horses or dogs. They are
> even farther removed from the sophisticated thinking ability or social
> capacity of close human relatives such as chimpanzees, baboons, or
> gorillas.
>
> While insects are biological creatures, they do not seem to act based on
> such higher order principles as ethics or stated values. As far as we know,
> insects do not “plan,” and they do not act or refrain from action based on
> principles.
>
> The concept of stigmergy has been used in such fields as artificial
> intelligence or complexity theory. While this usage remains somewhat
> metaphorical, it may be appropriate for systems that do not “think” as human
> beings think.
>
> Education involves thinking, learning, and reflection.
>
> Education involves ethics, values, and purpose.
>
> Educational research involves human beings, whatever the field — this
> includes design education.
>
> Stigmergy is an inappropriate construct for educational research that
> involves human beings.
>
> The basic reasons for suggesting that this topic is not helpful for a PhD
> thesis on education appear in my earlier. If anyone is curious about my
> deeper reasons, I state them here. Human beings are not insects. Stigmergic
> processes do not apply to human beings.
>
> Human history is a long story of stupidity in which one group of humans or
> another rush purposefully toward some unfortunate goal. The sad truth of the
> matter is that they do this through conscious planning and thinking, not
> through stigmergy. Then again, everything good that we have achieved also
> arises from thinking and planning, learning and reflection, ethics and
> values. If the point of a doctoral research project is to develop effective
> methods of education, there are better places to begin than with insects.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Ken
>
> Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal
> of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Tongji University in
> Cooperation with Elsevier | URL:
> http://www.journals.elsevier.com/she-ji-the-journal-of-design-economics-and-innovation/
>
> Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and
> Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| University
> Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation | Swinburne
> University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia
>
> Email [log in to unmask] | Academia
> http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman | D&I http://tjdi.tongji.edu.cn
>
>
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-- 
Jinan,
TEXT DISTORTS, DIGITAL DESTROYS, WORLD AWAKENS
http://existentialknowledgefoundation.weebly.com/
http://rethinkingfoundation.weebly.com/
reimaginingschools.wordpress.com
http://sadhanavillageschool.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sadhanavillagepune
https://www.youtube.com/user/jinansvideos
www.re-cognition.org
http://designeducationasia.blogspot.com/
http://awakeningaestheticawareness.wordpress.com/
https://independent.academia.edu/JinanKodapully
09447121544
0487 2386723


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