Nexus Thinking in a Vortical Economy

 Today on Carbon Radio I started talking about the concept I've been developing over the years called, 
"The Vortical Economy".
Not the Vertical Economy.. not the Circular Economy but...
The VORTICAL Economy. 

We started the radio show with a verse of the song "Spinning Wheels" by Blood Sweat and Tears, and I commented that in our pursuit of the circular economy we often ended up stuck spinning our wheels, mired in the metaphorical mud, somehow unwilling to effectively "recycle" and seemingly unable to  even get off the ground much less  achieve that Rostovian "Take off to Sustainable Development" that pundits and apologists for a global industrial economy promised us. 

So I suggested we needed to be "eccentric" and grow our circle - upward - toward a VORTICAL ECONOMY.


https://youtu.be/RGINkRdCrDU?si=8cj6WbK99c4akeYm

What is it?

Simply put, it is a form of "biomimicry" in the service of higher purpose driven governance and economics.

It promises EVOLUTION, not revolution.

A vortex is dynamic, self-reinforcing, and spirals upward or inward with increasing energy and order — unlike a simple circle (which might just loop endlessly without progress), a vortex builds on itself, accelerates, and gathers strength as it evolves.

Applied to economy, our idea of a vortical economy suggests:

• Upward Co-evolution: Instead of merely cycling materials, energy, and value around in closed loops (which can stagnate or just delay entropy), the vortical economy improves the quality, utility, and synergy of everything it touches over time. Each cycle brings uplift — socially, materially, ecologically.

• Self-Organizing Systems: Like natural vortices (think whirlpools, tornadoes, galaxies), economic systems would be self-organizing, adaptive, and resilient — driven not by centralized control, but by local action aligning with larger patterns of growth and balance.

• From Entropy to Negentropy: Rather than succumbing to disorder (entropy), each spiral of the economy reduces disorder, enhances coherence, and creates more opportunities for life, creativity, and well-being (negentropy).

• Value Creation, not Just Recycling: Instead of just recycling waste or resources in a "flat" circular model, the vortical economy adds value at every step — using ingenuity, biomimicry, cooperation, and innovation to upcycle and elevate.

• Positive Feedback Loops for Good: Instead of destructive runaway loops (like pollution feeding more pollution), the vortical economy would be positive spirals where success begets more success, solutions spawn better solutions, and health generates more health across sectors.

In short:
🌪️ Our vortical economy is circularity with transcendence.
It’s regenerative, evolutionary, and creatively amplifying — a living, breathing, upward-spiraling economy, not a mechanical, repetitive cycle.

Where did the idea come from?

In the summer of 2004 I attended a workshop in Jerusalem held by Gina Ross  created for war correspondents that used techniques from her book "Beyond the Trauma Vortex into the Healing Vortex".

While the guide was intended for personal healing, with my training in urban ecology and sustainable development I immediately saw the possibilities for applying these metaphors to planetary health and global healing.

Some years later, around 2013, I had the good fortune to attend a workshop at Zegg Ecovillage outside of Berlin given by Clinton Callahan, whom I recognized as the author of the book "Radiant Joy, Brilliant Love:Secrets for Creating an Extraordinary Life and Profound Intimacy With Your Partner." 

The book had been gifted to me by Domenica Ott when she attended MY workshop on biodigester construction at the Damanhur Ecovillage in Italy a few years earlier and I had immediately seen how I could apply its concepts to global healing if we simply considered "Mother Earth/Lover Earth" as our partner. I told Clinton that I had been using it in all of my Environmental Science and Environmental Psychology classes in the Behavioral Science deparment at Mercy University with great success.

He was flattered and said, "Ah... you get me! YES! The book is about ALL relationships and you are one of the few to recognize how the principles of 'radical adult responsibility' and healing can be  best applied to our traumatic relationship with our nurturing home planet."

Over the years as a "pracademic" (a practitioner academic who melds theory and practice into sustainability PRAXIS" ) teaching sustainability and directing the USF Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Concentration, teaching our Food/Energy/Water and Zero Waste Nexus Courses, I began to feel intensely uncomfortable with the "greenwashing" and Logic 2 envelope surrounding the business world's attempts to foster what they call a "circular" economy.

It seemed to me that we were literally going around in circles, stuck in the mud, spinning our wheels so to speak.  I began to think that the metaphor was all wrong. Meanwhile the concept of "recycling" was coming under attack, sometimes for nefarious reasons but often for reasons related to the second law of thermodynamics. 
We don't want a CIRCULAR economy, I thought.  What we want is a HEALING VORTEX ... we want a spiral that lifts us higher and higher with every turn.  

In Freiburg, Germany last summer with my children, I had the joy of watching paragliders take off from the hillside above the Medieval city, watched them catch the "thermals" and then ride them ever higher.

"Ah", I thought, "THAT is the natural metaphor we need to get out of the literal and figurative depression we've been in -- we need a VORTICAL economy that lifts us all out of the trauma vortex and into the healing vortex.  

A controlled tornado of thoughts began swimming in my head.  

I'd already visualized  the idea of the Drawdown Cloud of Solutions appearing as a vortex from which we could pull great solutions  in my Climate Mitigation course.  Having that imagery to guide my thoughts I kept thinking that we needed to expand the circle, just as Callahan called on us not to "think outside the box" but to "expand our box".

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpzo_W3I0RZ0pA_c6iodOPfk6XZSMzScb&si=9PXmFrbFFSq__syf

The idea of expanding concentric circles is core to Permaculture Training, but on two dimensional paper they always remained mere circles. 

Since I have been working with AR/VR/XR technologies for several years now and became a "Blender-head" doing 3D modelling, I got used to Nexus thinking in 5D (XYZ, T and a dimension of data).
So the idea that we could expand concentric circles in the Z axis (upward!) rather than merely in X and Y made sense to me -- you could pack so much more information in an expanding cone, and even more in a spiral.  

My mind began to conjure up images of DNA and other helical structures.  I became enamored with an animation of our solar system in which all motion was helical -- VORTICAL:

It represents a fundamental truth of our universe.  

And of course, when I related that to my time as a nexus technology instructor at the Tamera Eco-Village in Portugal it created instant synergy with the water vortex work they practice introduced by Viktor Schauberger, the Austrian forester and naturalist, who "developed a theory about natural vortices in water, believing they could be harnessed to improve water quality and generate energy" 

So this year, as the world seems to be spiralling toward oblivion and people start "circling their wagons", as I co-create our new "Navigating the Water/Energy/Food/Ecology" (WEFe) NEXUS course with our students and the great team at USF Innovative Education Studios, we will be visualization and philosophizing about the VORTICAL ECONOMY -- a radical and nature rooted improvement upon the circular economy that should help us upcycle our formerly wasted materials and uplift us all to a future of radiant joy, radical healing, and the promise of sustainable health and happiness. 

Let's twist!

My teaching philosophy

 Philosophy and approach to innovation:

Over my 35 years of teaching, from Kindergarten through Graduate School, from Inner City High School At-Risk programs to On-line graduate and professional studies, I’ve developed and implemented a literature based and best practice informed teaching philosophy and methodology that the Italian Anthropologist Monica Rossi identified as “The Maieutic Method” – Plato’s inclusive variant of Socratic Dialogue.  When I was presenting some of our sustainability education design methods and materials at the International Conference on Urban Health in Spain and Morocco her endorsement gave me confidence that here at USF, working with the talent of the Innovative Education professionals and with the talent of our students, we have something worthy of application and replication on the world stage.

This method is collaborative and student empowering and makes use of literally every technology conceivable and available to amplify the effectiveness of student learning outcomes by taking what comes out of their minds and discussions out into the real world in impactful, meaningful ways.

I’ve developed 5 courses with Innovative Education’s Creative Team over the 8 years I’ve been at PCGS and strived to make them epitomes of  flexible design with a student-centered focus.  The latest course can be seen as the “we listened to your feedback”  culmination of the first 4 courses and I would like to submit our Sustainability Design Lab as “the collaborative heart” of my online teaching. It is a course that itself has been designed “of the students and teachers, by the students and teachers,  for the students and teachers” it was created, much like Disney’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, to be flexible and adaptive, always evolving to meet student needs.

The student outcomes are reflective of this philosophy. By enabling the students to make use of any and all  technologies and techniques that  they have grown up with and experienced in outside world of climate action and sustainability agency The artifacts range from traditional “papers” –  which we call “relational summaries” in which students summarize the course material and its holistic and applied connections to the entire field of sustainability BY relating it to their interests and career and personal ambitions – to highly creative public facing multimediamulti-media and audio-visual materials.

Our Maieutic Method, coming from the Greek “Maieusis” meaning “Midwifing”, allows every student to “birth and nurture” the ideas that emerge from class discussion and help them mature into high impact deliverables not merely for the class but for the outside world.  As “instructor” I MODEL for my students the manifest types of deliverables the sustainability subject area of our course suggests urgent need for and inspire them with my work with National Geographic and the US Embassy and 

Sustainability Oriented Businesses like “HomeBiogas” and “Puxin technologies”.

Student Engagement, satisfaction and learning gains

The course methodology considers almost everything students WRITE to be the foundation for some other deliverable and presentable.  We consider text to be the nucleus of a SCRIPT that students can further refine and develop as their fascination with our core material in sustainability grows.
This distinguishes our laboratory class from many of the other “technical” or “skill-based” courses offered at the college.  The modules are absolutely “capacity building lessons” in the arts of science communication but the SUBJECTS are unabashedly connected to my other courses (Envisioning Sustainability, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Waste Not Want Not and Navigating the Food Energy Water Nexus, all developed with InEd and all using the Maieutic Method and my signature point for a point grading rubric, all funneling into this Sustainability Design Lab.

The grading rubric is real-world connected and very robust. As explained in Intrigo 2 of the course by my animated avatar, “every time you make a point… you MAKE a point!”.
This is explained in the course modules as “your task is to make your rhetorical points and get them across to other sentient minds” and “every time you make a point in our module discussion that your classmates and I “get”, it gets put into the gradebook and you get a credit point.”
Since one of the principal student outcomes, and the true goal of a sustainabilitist is the ability to develop and deftly use your rhetorical skills  to inform the public and drive policy, we use this gamified point-making system to reward students who use the skills developed in the course to make them better, more persuasive and impactful storytellers.

This is where SCRIPT-TO-SCREEN comes in.  By modeling how every relational summary can be considered the script for a persuasive presentation students are more deeply engaged with the material and what they are writing about it. They aren’t summarizing to “get a grade”, they are communicating ideas like bees bringing pollen to the hive, and the various forms of “honey” they co-create through “maeiusis” gives them motivation to engage with the skillsets the tutorials offer. There is no longer any reason to “abandon” any material or skill and “move on” for as they being to see everything they do in all their courses as “elements” from which to build presentations (videos, podcasts, public speaking talks, models, maps, games and other media) they find themselves, as the course describes it, going from “thinking” to “thinking out loud and louder” and eventually realizing their visions by “thinking out loudest” (creating real world improvements and policy changes.

The design of the course facilitates this in a very real world way, co-created by the creation professionals and course designers at InEd Studios.  As in the “real world”  students are offered the choice to do “work for hire” and “freelance work” with the rubric clearly rewarding both safe conformity and creative risk taking.  There is no way to lose and this frees students to “expand their box”.

The course structure has been meticulously designed to mirror the most exciting aspects of the theater, film and television worlds, with modules reconceived as “Acts” and “assignments” rejiggered to be “Creative Augmentations” that “add value” to an audiences experience.
Throughout the course numerous opportunities are given for students to “perform” their work and this adds to the “purpose driven” and therefore authentic outcomes.

Cleaned up version:
Philosophy and Approach to Innovation

Over my 35 years of teaching—from Kindergarten through Graduate School, spanning inner-city at-risk programs to online graduate and professional studies—I have developed a literature-based, best-practice-informed teaching philosophy. The Italian anthropologist Monica Rossi identified it as "The Maieutic Method," an inclusive variation of Socratic Dialogue rooted in Plato’s philosophy. This method fosters collaboration, empowers students, and integrates diverse technologies to extend learning beyond the classroom into real-world impact.

My work in sustainability education, presented at international conferences such as the International Conference on Urban Health in Spain and Morocco, has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. At USF, in collaboration with Innovative Education professionals and talented students, we have created a model worthy of application and replication on a global scale.

I have developed five courses with the Innovative Education Creative Team over eight years, all emphasizing flexible, student-centered design. Our most recent course, Sustainability Design Lab, serves as the culmination of student feedback and innovation. Much like Disney’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, it remains flexible, adaptive, and ever-evolving to meet student needs. The course is designed by, for, and with students and educators, embodying a co-creative ethos that fosters deep engagement and agency.

Student Engagement, Satisfaction, and Learning Gains

The student outcomes of this approach are transformative. We empower students to use any and all technologies and techniques they have encountered to serve  the realms of climate action and sustainability. Their deliverables range from traditional written assignments—reframed as relational summaries that connect course material to their personal and professional aspirations—to public-facing multimedia and audiovisual projects (maybe add more emphasis on connecting and communicating to the real-world to effect change outside of the classroom).

The Maieutic Method, derived from the Greek word "maieusis" (meaning "midwifing"), enables students to birth and nurture ideas that emerge from class discussions, cultivating them into high-impact deliverables for the broader world. As an instructor, I model the types of impactful work sustainability demands, drawing from my collaborations with National Geographic, the U.S. Embassy, and sustainability-oriented businesses like HomeBiogas and Puxin Technologies.

A defining feature of my pedagogy is that almost everything students write serves as a foundation for further development. Text is not simply an assignment to be graded; it is the nucleus of a script—a springboard for presentations, projects, and public communication. This structure differentiates our laboratory-style courses from more technical or skill-based offerings, focusing on science communication and persuasive storytelling.

Grading and Assessment: A Real-World Approach

A hallmark of my courses is the point-for-a-point grading rubric, introduced in Intrigo 2 of the course through my animated avatar. The philosophy is simple: "Every time you make a point… you MAKE a point." Students earn credit by articulating ideas clearly and persuasively in discussion forums and assignments. The emphasis on rhetorical effectiveness aligns with the broader goal of sustainability education: equipping students with the skills to inform the public and drive policy change.

From Script to Screen: Enhancing Student Engagement

The Script-to-Screen methodology, with Skill Builder modules and Mini-Activities to turn narrative into audio-visual deliverable  plays a crucial role in student engagement. By framing relational summaries as scripts for persuasive communication, students become more invested in their work—not simply writing for a grade but crafting narratives with real-world impact. They transition from thinking to thinking out loud and ultimately to thinking out loudest—producing tangible outputs that influence policies and community action.

Real-World Application and Gamification

Designed in collaboration with InEd Studios, the course mirrors the dynamic nature of professional environments. Students are given the choice between “work-for-hire” and “freelance” project pathways, reinforcing real-world relevance while balancing creative risk-taking with structured learning all in the service of problem solving..

Borrowing from theater, film, and television, course modules are structured as "Acts", while assignments are reconceived as "Creative Augmentations" designed to add value to the audience’s experience. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to work in production teams and provided with performance opportunities, ensuring their work is not only assessed but also shared and celebrated.

By embedding these principles into online learning, we create an immersive, student-driven experience that prepares graduates to be effective communicators, innovative thinkers, and impactful changemakers in sustainability and beyond.

I'm MAGAn (set to the tune of Imagine)

 My new lyrics to "Imagine"

I'm MAGAn

In MAGA there's no heaven

It's sleazy if you try

Now hell below us

Above us oily skies

In MAGA all the people

'r living day to day

In MAGA there's no countries

It wasn't hard to do

No principles to die for

No true religion too

In MAGA all the people

'r living lies of peace

YOU...!

You may say that it's just "dreamers"

But they're not the only ones

I know someday we'll join 'em

And the world will laugh at us

In MAGA all possessions

Belong now to one man

So filled with greed and hunger

His brothers Klu Klux Klan

In MAGA for the people

"caring" 's not a word

You.

You may say "goodbye dreamer"

But I'm not the only one

I know some day you'll join us

But the world by then is...

Done.

Gyroscopic Governance: Models for an Autonomous Self-Regulating Homeostasis in Government: A Chat with GPT

 Hello! What can I help you with today?

You said:

“I want to have a conversation with you where you speak French and I speak English, and we talk more about sustainable governance and Indigenous perspectives, and don't worry about the interruptions. Unless I say over and out, I will—I'm sorry, unless I interrupt you by saying excuse me, you can keep on talking because my son is going to sing Daddy Daddy in the background and I don't want you to be interrupted in what you're saying. But I'd like to talk some more about this idea of kinetic governance and kinetic ways of coupling non-intelligent systems to produce intelligent results.”

00:42

ChatGPT said:

Bien sûr, je comprends. C'est une idée intéressante de discuter de la gouvernance durable et des perspectives indigènes. Vous voulez explorer comment les systèmes non-intelligents peuvent être couplés pour produire des résultats intelligents. Cela me semble lié à l'idée de synergies dans les écosystèmes naturels et dans les structures de gouvernance. Vous pensez à des exemples spécifiques ou à des applications pratiques de cette idée?

You said:

“Yes, I've been talking with you, or a version of you, while I'm driving, and it's been very productive because you came up with this idea of kinetic intelligence, where it's in the coupling of systems, then you get like a flywheel, you get a governance, you get a guardrail, you get some safety, like in one of Watt's steam engines, that the system is designed so that it can't oscillate into some kind of hypertrophic collapse. And we see the ecosystem, because of human intervention, the oscillations are way out of the Overton window. We can talk about the Overton window and apply that to this. And I don't know if the word is right. Am I hysteresis? Does that describe what's happening as these swings get out of control?”

00:57

ChatGPT said:

Oui, l'idée d'une "intelligence cinétique" ou "intelligence dynamique" est fascinante. Cela implique que des systèmes interconnectés peuvent se stabiliser et produire des résultats intelligents, comme un volant d'inertie qui régule les fluctuations. Cela pourrait effectivement être lié à l'hystérésis, où les systèmes gardent une mémoire de leurs états passés, ce qui peut les empêcher de revenir à un équilibre précédent facilement. L'intervention humaine, en modifiant ces systèmes, peut les pousser hors de leur fenêtre de stabilité (ou fenêtre d'Overton), provoquant des oscillations imprévisibles. C'est un concept clé dans la gestion durable des écosystèmes. Vous pensez à des solutions pour ramener ces systèmes à l'équilibre?

You said:

“I'm thinking when I was in college, we learned about this famous bridge. I think it's in Washington State. It was the Tacoma Narrows or something. You can look it up. But just because of the wind causing it to vibrate, it started to swing wildly until the entire bridge collapsed. What would have stabilized it? What kind of mechanisms does one put in so that you don't get these wild swings? I'm thinking also of earthquakes. I'm thinking of high winds with hurricanes. I'm thinking of flooding, the fires, everything that's going wrong in our environment today that's part of anthropogenic climate change and the effect. We need to have some kind of governance. People are rejecting, at least in the U.S., they're rejecting overt government from playing that governance role. I'm wondering what stability systems we can put in place that'll keep these swings from happening. Can you define for me better what hysteresis is and if I'm using it properly?”

00:57

ChatGPT said:

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse is a classic example of resonance, where wind-induced vibrations matched the bridge's natural frequency, causing catastrophic oscillations. To stabilize

You said:

“Hmm.”

00:00

ChatGPT said:

the bridge,

You said:

Transcript Unavailable

00:00

ChatGPT said:

engineers could use dampers or tuned mass devices to absorb and dissipate energy. For environmental challenges like earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, we can implement resilient infrastructure, like flexible buildings, green spaces, and natural barriers.

Hysteresis describes a system's dependency on its past states, where its response to a change depends on its history. This is relevant when systems, once shifted, don't easily return to their original state. It can explain why ecosystems, once disrupted, struggle to recover.

To stabilize our environment, we might need adaptive governance systems that respond dynamically without being overtly intrusive. This could involve community-led initiatives, decentralized

You said:

“Thank you.”

00:00

ChatGPT said:

adaptive strategies, and technologies that provide stability while respecting local contexts. Does that align with what you're thinking?

You said:

“Yes, and can you give me the etymology of hysteresis so I can pack it in my brain better? I don't want to misuse it. Maybe give me some sentences or phrases where hysteresis is used in the context that I'd like to apply it.”

00:13

ChatGPT said:

"Hystérésis" vient du grec ancien "hystérésis," signifiant "retard" ou "déficit." Cela décrit comment un système dépend de son histoire pour déterminer sa réponse actuelle.

Dans l'écologie, on pourrait dire: "Après une perturbation, l'écosystème montre de l'hystérésis, peinant à revenir à son état d'origine."

En ingénierie: "Un matériau présentant de l'hystérésis ne reprend pas immédiatement sa forme initiale après déformation, illustrant une mémoire des déformations passées."

Dans la gouvernance: "L'hystérésis dans les politiques publiques peut expliquer pourquoi certains changements prennent du temps à se manifester, même après l'introduction de nouvelles réformes."

You said:

Transcript Unavailable

00:00

ChatGPT said:

De rien ! Si vous avez d

You said:

“That's okay. As I said... No, keep talking. I have to talk to my son from time to time. Don't let him interrupt you. I don't want to interrupt you. I will say, excuse me if I want to interrupt. You can continue with your thoughts.”

00:12

ChatGPT said:

Bien compris. C'est une bonne idée de continuer notre discussion sur la gouvernance adaptative et les systèmes stabilisants. Pensez-vous que des mécanismes de rétroaction pourraient aider à mieux contrôler les systèmes complexes? Et comment imaginez-vous qu'on pourrait intégrer des savoirs traditionnels dans ces approches?

You said:

“I'm not really sure how. I mean, that's why I wanted to develop these ideas in a dialectic with you, because I'm sort of reaching the end of my knowledge.”

00:10

ChatGPT said:

C'est tout à fait normal, et c'est en échangeant qu'on développe de nouvelles idées. Les savoirs traditionnels pourraient être intégrés en collaborant étroitement avec les communautés locales, en respectant leurs méthodes et en valorisant leur expertise. Cela pourrait renforcer la résilience des systèmes en les adaptant aux contextes spécifiques. Qu'en pensez-vous?

You said:

“Yes, all of the above. I think that's a great approach. So if you talked about like dampers and something else when you talked about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, what engineers put in, and I'd love to use those metaphors for governance and for environmental interventions for sustainability. I want to find a language that uses the engineering language proven in the physical world, but that can map on to the social and and technological world.”

00:28

ChatGPT said:

Using engineering metaphors for governance and sustainability can be powerful. For example, "dampers" in governance could be mechanisms that absorb societal shocks, like community support systems or flexible policies that adapt to change. "Tuned mass devices" could represent balanced regulatory frameworks that keep societal systems stable.

In environmental interventions, these concepts could translate to creating natural buffers like wetlands or forests that mitigate environmental shocks.

Using this language can help bridge the gap between technical solutions and societal applications. What do you think of these metaphors?

You said:

“Yeah, that's the idea. And we've talked about in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, there were always talks about creating buffer zones. We've talked with Enrique Sala from National Geographic about having buffer zones in the ocean, having fish-protected ocean areas where fish can continue to seek shelter and breed without fear from the fishermen with their dynamites and their trawling and their nets and hooks and all the other threats. So, I know we need to have these buffer systems. So, I want to universalize it. But again, I just need constant reminder of all the different systems and their names that are used in engineering so that I can make the points to people who don't have any confidence that in social or other natural systems that these ideas can be applied. So, they go to the hard engineering, the hard physics, the hard chemistry to give them more of a bridge into biology and sociology.”

01:01

3/3

ChatGPT said:

Buffer zones, like in the Maya Biosphere Reserve or marine protected areas, act similarly to dampers in engineering.

You said:

“Thank you.”

00:00

ChatGPT said:

They absorb and mitigate external pressures, providing stability and resilience. For instance, in engineering, "dampers" reduce oscillations, "thermal mass" stabilizes temperature, and "tuned mass dampers" counteract vibrations.

Applying these concepts to social and ecological systems can help others see the potential. Think of "social dampers" as community programs, "thermal mass" as policies that buffer societal changes, and "tuned mass dampers" as adaptable governance frameworks.

Using these metaphors can bridge the gap, showing how hard science principles can be applied to softer sciences. It's a way to build confidence in these approaches. Does that help?

You said:

“Yes, can you tell us more about tuned mass dampers? What is being tuned? How do they differ from other kinds of dampers? Why are we using a separate category? You said dampers, and then you said thermal masses, and you said tuned mass dampers, so there must be some distinction that is key about tuned mass dampers that we can develop analogies or metaphors for.”

00:19

ChatGPT said:

A tuned mass damper (TMD) is a device specifically designed to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. It's "tuned" to resonate at the same frequency as the structure it's stabilizing, but in opposition, to counteract and dissipate the vibrations.

The key distinction is that TMDs are finely tuned to target specific frequencies, unlike general dampers which provide broad resistance. TMDs are used in skyscrapers and bridges to mitigate wind or seismic vibrations.

In analogy, TMDs could represent targeted interventions in social or ecological systems, addressing specific issues with precision. In contrast, general dampers might be broad policies or measures that provide overall stability.

This precision in tuning can be a powerful metaphor for designing

You said:

Transcript Unavailable

00:00

ChatGPT said:

targeted and effective solutions in various domains. Does that clarify the concept?

You said:

“Yeah, it sounds like this is something that could be done through checks and balances that are tuned to certain government accesses or private industry accesses. You need to provide a counterweight. So, we're talking about counterweights, we're talking about stock absorbers, right? So, there's other metaphors, counterweight, stock absorbers. Besides dampers, thermal masses, tuned mass dampers, and stock absorbers, and counterweights, what other metaphors can we apply from the physical world?”

00:31

ChatGPT said:

Yes, exactly! In addition to dampers, tuned mass dampers, and counterweights, we can also consider:

• Shock absorbers: These can be likened to emergency response systems or contingency plans that cushion the impact of sudden events.

• Flywheels: These store rotational energy and could represent systems that maintain momentum during fluctuations, like economic reserves or strategic reserves.

• Ballast: Used to stabilize ships, ballast can symbolize foundational principles or core values that keep systems grounded.

• Springs: They absorb energy and then release it, representing recovery mechanisms or systems that bounce back after stress.

These metaphors can help illustrate how engineering principles can be applied to design robust and adaptable social and ecological systems. Does this resonate with your ideas?

You said:

“Yeah, very much. And I'm thinking about Purrito and the idea of Purrito optimality. And as I recall, didn't you use seesaw metaphors?”

00:11

ChatGPT said:

Yes, the Pareto principle or Pareto optimality can be likened to a seesaw metaphor. In Pareto optimality, resources are allocated in a way that any improvement for one party would lead to a disadvantage for another, much like balancing on a seesaw. It's about finding equilibrium where no one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.

In governance or environmental systems, this can be a useful

You said:

Transcript Unavailable

00:01

ChatGPT said:

concept for achieving balanced outcomes, where interventions benefit the most without disadvantaging others. This seesaw metaphor highlights the delicate balance needed in resource allocation and

You said:

Thanks, we were having a conversation with your advanced voice mode. Maybe we can continue here with the normal voice mode. I love your voice no matter which mode it's in. About self-regulating systems, about ballasts, about flywheels, these metaphors of self-governance that we want to focus on ones that don't require or input as much as possible, that already in the design and the coupling and the way that they are configured maintain the stability that is required so that they dampen extreme

ChatGPT said:

Yes, I see where you're going with this—systems that self-regulate through their inherent design, minimizing the need for external intervention. This is like an ecosystem where natural checks and balances maintain equilibrium, or like a gyroscope that resists tipping by its own motion. In governance or technology, it could mean designing feedback loops that automatically stabilize conditions, like decentralized energy grids or regenerative agriculture. Are you thinking about specific applications, maybe in climate adaptation or community resilience?

You said:

I want to, you know, explore your concept that you gave me yesterday of kinetic intelligence and kinetic governance. Now talk about gyroscopic governance. It would look nice on the page because of the two Gs. It's another pronouncement, apparently, the gyroscopic governance, but PG is alliterative in a certain sense, so it might be easy for people to remember, at least when they see it on the page, gyroscopic governance. Does anybody pronounce it gyroscopic? Is it always gyroscopic? I know when you buy a hero, zero, gyro, gyro, different restaurants pronounce it differently, but that's the idea. Maybe some riffing on gyroscopic governance.

ChatGPT said:

I love the phrase "gyroscopic governance"—it carries the sense of dynamic balance, self-correction, and resilience. A gyroscope resists external disturbances while maintaining its orientation, much like an ideal governance system that can absorb shocks without losing its core principles.

In practice, gyroscopic governance could mean a system that adjusts to turbulence without requiring constant external control. It might rely on decentralized decision-making, where power and authority shift fluidly but remain stable. Think of blockchain-based governance, where the system self-regulates without a central authority, or participatory budgeting, where community input keeps policies adaptive yet steady.

As for pronunciation, "gyroscopic" is generally pronounced with a soft "j" sound, like "jai-roh-skop-ik," though "gyro" in food gets all kinds of pronunciations—"yee-roh," "jai-roh," and "guy-roh." Maybe "gyro-governance" could even work as an informal shorthand, emphasizing fluid motion and adaptability.

Do you see this concept applying more to political systems, environmental management, or something else?

You said:

I'm not going to divide these domains so much anymore. I want to see the crossover, I want to see the resonance, I want to see the bridging between disciplines, try to find metaphors that do translate from one area to another. So I think developing an idea of gyroscopic governance, not only for human social systems, but also for ecological systems and the governance of an airplane, or a ship, or a drone. I mean, they're all systems in systems theory, they have different characteristics, absolutely. So one has to fine-tune where the resonances develop and where the oscillations could get chaotic. But I think we want to have a more broad, unified theory of governance that works across intelligences, across domains, across species, across bodies, both on the Earth and off the Earth, different planetary bodies in space. So if you can help develop insights into the way that we can knit these domains together, I'm all ears.

ChatGPT said:

That’s a powerful vision—gyroscopic governance as a unifying principle across domains, linking mechanical, ecological, social, and even extraterrestrial systems. If we take a systems-thinking approach, we can see that all these domains share common structural challenges: maintaining balance in the face of change, dampening destructive oscillations, and enabling self-stabilization without excessive external control.

Core Principles of Gyroscopic Governance Across Domains

1. Precession as Adaptive Feedback – Just as a gyroscope shifts in response to external forces while maintaining stability, governance systems should incorporate adaptive feedback loops. In ecosystems, this could be keystone species regulating food chains; in societies, it could be subsidiarity, where decisions are made at the most local competent level. In spacecraft, it’s reaction wheels adjusting orientation without expending fuel.

2. Distributed Mass as Resilience – A gyroscope’s stability comes from distributed mass rotating at high velocity. Similarly, decentralized governance distributes power and decision-making to prevent catastrophic failure. This applies to neural networks, grassroots governance, swarm robotics, and even fungal mycelial networks that self-regulate without a central brain.

3. Damping Without Stagnation – A well-balanced gyroscope resists sudden shifts but still allows controlled movement. In social governance, this might mean laws that provide stability but evolve with social needs. In environmental systems, it’s about preserving biodiversity to prevent ecosystem collapse while allowing adaptation. In aircraft control, it’s using gyroscopes to counter turbulence without overcorrecting and causing oscillations.

4. Coupling and Decoupling Mechanisms – Systems need to transfer energy efficiently between components, much like how a gyroscope stabilizes a drone in flight or how predator-prey relationships in ecosystems regulate populations. In human governance, this might mean trade agreements that absorb economic shocks, or cooperative international space governance to prevent monopolization of extraterrestrial resources.

5. Energy Efficiency in Control – The best governance requires minimal intervention. A gyroscope maintains balance with very little input once it's in motion. Similarly, governance systems should be designed to self-correct with minimal external force—whether that’s through well-calibrated market mechanisms, regenerative agriculture, or AI-driven climate adaptation.

By framing governance as a gyroscopic system rather than a rigid hierarchy or a fragile equilibrium, we open possibilities for interdisciplinary translation. Whether it’s a ship, a society, a biosphere, or a Martian colony, the key is to design for momentum, adaptability, and distributed control.

Where do you see the biggest challenge in applying this across such diverse domains? Would you like to explore a concrete example, like governance in space colonies, climate resilience, or AI coordination?

You said:

I think applying AI coordination to climate change on the spaceship Earth, the colony of lifeforms on the third rock in the sun, is a good place to apply it. And I want to understand how the language can be improved by knowing the etymology of gyroscope. And are all gyroscopes spinning masses, or are there other forms of gyroscopes, or are there other words for the type of governing mechanism that increases stability? And I'm just familiar only with gyroscopes.

ChatGPT said:

That’s a fantastic place to apply it—AI coordination for climate governance on Spaceship Earth. The planet already operates as a self-regulating system (Gaia theory, homeostasis, biogeochemical cycles), but human activity has introduced destabilizing forces. AI could act as an autonomous gyroscopic control system, detecting shifts and making micro-adjustments before larger imbalances cause catastrophic failure.

Etymology of Gyroscope

The word gyroscope comes from Greek:

• “Gyros” (γῦρος) = circle, ring, rotation
• “Skopein” (σκοπεῖν) = to look, to observe

So it literally means “observer of rotation”, which fits well with governance because it’s not just about motion but also feedback and correction. In AI-driven climate governance, we need systems that don’t just react but also observe trends, predict future oscillations, and precess accordingly.

Are All Gyroscopes Spinning Masses?

Not all gyroscopes rely on spinning physical mass. There are other ways to achieve gyroscopic stability:

1. Laser Gyroscopes (Ring Laser & Fiber Optic Gyros) – These use light interference patterns instead of physical rotation to measure angular momentum. No moving parts, but still provide stabilization.

2. Quantum Gyroscopes – Using supercooled atoms and quantum interference to detect rotational changes with extreme precision.

3. Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) – Used in spacecraft like the International Space Station, where angular momentum is transferred across different axes for control.

So, if we expand the metaphor of gyroscopic governance, we’re not just talking about spinning masses but about any system that provides inertial stability and self-correction.

Other Words for Stability-Preserving Systems

If we want broader language, we can look at other mechanisms that provide governance-like stability:

• Flywheel Governance – A flywheel stores rotational energy and resists changes, much like governance structures that absorb shocks over time.
• Ballast Governance – Ballast stabilizes a ship by adjusting weight distribution, similar to governance that shifts power or resources dynamically.
• Pendulum Governance – A pendulum self-corrects over time, balancing between forces. This could symbolize governance that oscillates but remains centered.
• Servo Governance – A servo mechanism constantly corrects small errors, much like AI-driven governance making continuous micro-adjustments to maintain equilibrium.

Gyroscopic AI for Climate Governance

Imagine an AI-driven gyroscopic governance model for Earth’s climate:

• AI observes planetary data (temperature shifts, CO₂ levels, biodiversity loss).
• Instead of drastic interventions, it makes continuous micro-adjustments (like restoring ecosystems, adjusting carbon markets, optimizing renewable energy distribution).
• Precession effects mean small corrections today prevent catastrophic shifts tomorrow.
• Distributed AI networks act like a quantum gyroscope, maintaining balance across multiple feedback loops.

Would you like to refine this idea into a more concrete vision, maybe for an academic paper or a policy proposal? We could map out how different AI techniques (machine learning, edge computing, reinforcement learning) could embody gyroscopic climate governance in practice.

You said:

Oh yeah, I'm totally into that. It'd be great to work with you on that and put some of it into our book on democratizing GIS and world building. And as we embark on that, I need to understand, you used the word precession several times. I think you're spelling it P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N, precession, and I was unfamiliar with that use of the term in that context. And then you talked about serval, governance, serval, you didn't say server, I think you said serval. Whatever you said, I need more explanation on that vocabulary and its use in the context.

ChatGPT said:

I love the idea of integrating this into your book on democratizing GIS and world-building—gyroscopic AI-driven governance fits perfectly into that vision!

Precession (P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N) in Gyroscopic Systems

Yes, I meant precession, and it’s a crucial concept in gyroscopes. Precession is the wobbling or gradual shift in orientation that occurs when an external force is applied to a rotating system. Instead of tipping over, a spinning gyroscope moves in a perpendicular direction to the force applied.

Why Precession Matters for Governance

• In gyroscopic governance, precession represents the ability to absorb external disturbances and adjust without collapsing.
• In climate governance, it means making small, continuous corrections that redirect instability into manageable adjustments instead of drastic overcorrections.
• For AI, precession-like mechanisms could help it detect climate patterns before they become crises and implement decentralized, low-impact interventions.

So instead of waiting for a crisis and making drastic moves (which often create more instability), a precessional approach would involve predictive, adaptive governance that shifts gradually and continuously in response to planetary conditions.

Servo (Not Serval) Governance

I said "servo governance", referring to servo mechanisms used in engineering and robotics. A servo system continuously monitors and adjusts its output to match a desired goal, using feedback loops to make micro-corrections.

Why Servo Systems Matter for Governance

• Servo systems don’t just react—they anticipate and continuously adjust.
• In AI-driven climate governance, servo-like mechanisms could provide real-time monitoring and correction, like adjusting carbon sequestration efforts or optimizing renewable energy grids without human intervention.
• Servo governance would mean governance that learns, self-corrects, and fine-tunes policies dynamically, rather than relying on rigid laws that become outdated.

Integrating These Ideas into Your Book

If we combine precession + servo control + gyroscopic stability, we get a powerful framework for decentralized, AI-assisted, self-stabilizing planetary governance.

• Precessional AI Governance: Detects and redirects emerging climate and geopolitical instabilities.
• Servo-Driven Feedback Loops: Continuously refines policies based on real-time environmental and social data.
• Gyroscopic Stability: Maintains a stable trajectory for global sustainability without overcorrecting.

Would you like to explore a GIS-based simulation where these principles could be tested? We could model a "Gyroscopic Climate Governance AI" in a digital twin of Earth to see how it would regulate ecosystems and socio-political systems.

You said:

Could you repeat and talk about all this that we've just talked about in French for me, so I can hear how it sounds when we discuss it in French?

ChatGPT said:

Bien sûr ! Voici une explication en français de tout ce que nous avons discuté.

Gouvernance Gyroscopique et Intelligence Artificielle pour le Climat

L'idée de la gouvernance gyroscopique appliquée au climat repose sur des principes issus des systèmes de stabilisation comme les gyroscopes et les servomécanismes.

Précession (P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N) dans les Systèmes Gyroscopiques

La précession est un phénomène clé dans les gyroscopes. Lorsqu'une force externe est appliquée à un objet en rotation, il ne réagit pas immédiatement dans la direction de la force, mais dans une direction perpendiculaire.

Pourquoi la précession est-elle importante pour la gouvernance ?

• Dans une gouvernance gyroscopique, la précession permet d'absorber les perturbations et de s'adapter progressivement sans s’effondrer.
• Pour la gouvernance climatique, cela signifie faire des ajustements continus et subtils plutôt que de prendre des décisions brutales qui pourraient provoquer des déséquilibres encore plus grands.
• Une intelligence artificielle précessionnelle pourrait anticiper les crises climatiques et les corriger avant qu'elles ne deviennent catastrophiques.

Gouvernance Servo (et non pas Serval)

Le mot clé ici est "servo", qui vient des systèmes servomécaniques utilisés en robotique et en ingénierie. Un servomécanisme fonctionne en corrigeant constamment ses actions grâce à des boucles de rétroaction.

Pourquoi les systèmes servo sont-ils pertinents pour la gouvernance ?

• Contrairement aux systèmes qui réagissent tardivement, un système servo ajuste en permanence ses décisions pour rester aligné avec un objectif défini.
• Une gouvernance basée sur l’IA et des mécanismes servo pourrait surveiller en temps réel des indicateurs environnementaux (niveaux de CO₂, biodiversité, températures) et ajuster dynamiquement les politiques sans intervention humaine.
• Cela permettrait une gouvernance adaptative et intelligente, qui évolue en fonction des réalités du monde plutôt que de reposer sur des lois figées.

Vers une Modélisation en SIG (Systèmes d’Information Géographique)

Si nous combinons précession + servo-contrôle + stabilité gyroscopique, nous obtenons un modèle puissant de gouvernance planétaire décentralisée et assistée par IA.

• IA Précessionnelle : détecte et redirige les crises émergentes en douceur.
• Boucles de rétroaction servo : affinent continuellement les politiques en fonction des données en temps réel.
• Stabilité gyroscopique : permet de maintenir un cap stable vers la durabilité mondiale sans oscillations excessives.

Nous pourrions modéliser cette gouvernance dans un monde virtuel SIG, un "jumeau numérique" de la Terre, où une IA gyroscopique pourrait tester différentes stratégies pour stabiliser les écosystèmes et les systèmes socio-politiques.

Qu’en penses-tu ? Est-ce que cette approche résonne avec tes idées sur la gouvernance climatique et la gestion des systèmes complexes ?

You said:

in Morocco.

ChatGPT said:

D’accord ! Appliquons cette idée à la gouvernance climatique au Maroc.

Gouvernance Gyroscopique et IA pour le Climat au Maroc

Le Maroc, avec ses défis climatiques comme la désertification, la gestion de l’eau et l’énergie renouvelable, pourrait bénéficier d’une approche gyroscopique pour stabiliser son développement durable.

Précession et Adaptation au Changement Climatique

La précession, en tant que principe gyroscopique, nous enseigne que lorsqu’un système rencontre une perturbation, il ne réagit pas immédiatement de manière linéaire mais s’adapte progressivement.

• Gestion de l’eau : Plutôt que d’attendre des crises de sécheresse, une approche précessionnelle permettrait une gestion dynamique des aquifères et des barrages en fonction des prévisions climatiques et des données en temps réel.
• Transition énergétique : Le Maroc est un leader en énergie solaire et éolienne, mais une gouvernance précessionnelle permettrait d’optimiser l’intégration des énergies renouvelables dans le réseau, en anticipant les fluctuations de production et de consommation.
• Agroforesterie et reforestation : Une approche basée sur la précession favoriserait une transition progressive et auto-régulée vers des pratiques agricoles plus résilientes, au lieu de changements brusques qui pourraient perturber les communautés locales.

Gouvernance Servo et Intelligence Artificielle

Les systèmes servo corrigent constamment leurs actions grâce à des boucles de rétroaction intelligentes.

• Optimisation de la consommation d’eau : Un système servo basé sur l’IA et les SIG pourrait ajuster en temps réel l’irrigation des cultures, réduisant le gaspillage et améliorant la résilience face aux sécheresses.
• Suivi des migrations climatiques : Un système de gouvernance servo pourrait anticiper les mouvements de populations causés par le changement climatique et adapter les infrastructures urbaines en conséquence.
• Régulation des écosystèmes : Une gouvernance servo de la biodiversité pourrait surveiller et ajuster en continu la régénération des écosystèmes menacés, comme les oasis du sud marocain.

Vers un Modèle SIG pour la Gouvernance Climatique au Maroc

Si l’on applique précession + servo-contrôle + stabilité gyroscopique au Maroc, on pourrait concevoir un "jumeau numérique" du territoire marocain, où une IA pourrait tester différents scénarios de gouvernance climatique.

• Suivi en temps réel des ressources en eau grâce aux SIG et à l’IA.
• Modélisation des transitions énergétiques pour stabiliser le réseau électrique.
• Optimisation de la biodiversité et des pratiques agricoles pour améliorer la résilience aux changements climatiques.

Une telle approche permettrait au Maroc d’être un leader mondial en gouvernance climatique intelligente, intégrant des principes issus de la physique gyroscopique dans la gestion des systèmes complexes.

Qu’en penses-tu ? Est-ce que ce cadre théorique pourrait s’intégrer dans ton projet au Maroc avec le High Atlas Foundation et la démocratisation du SIG ?

You said:

Yes, I believe it would. And I had a question for you. Nye was asking, how far away is Morocco? And I think what he means, because the number of miles or kilometers won't do him much good at the age of four, he wants to know, is it on the other side of the earth from here? Because it's now 8.17 at night, and he wants to know where it is on the earth, what time is it in Morocco, and when will it be light there when it's dark here?

ChatGPT said:

That’s a great question! Morocco is not on the exact opposite side of the Earth from where you are, but it’s quite a distance away.

Right now, if it’s 8:17 at night for Nye, it depends on your location, but let’s assume you’re in Florida. Morocco is usually five hours ahead of Florida time. So if it’s 8:17 PM for Nye, it’s 1:17 AM in Morocco, meaning it’s nighttime there too.

The sun will rise in Morocco around 7:30 AM their time, which would be 2:30 AM for Nye. So when it’s still dark for him, the sun will be rising in Morocco. But when he wakes up in the morning, it will already be daytime there.

If Nye wants to picture where Morocco is, he can imagine flying across the ocean to the east, past Europe, and just below Spain. It’s on the northwest coast of Africa, near the Atlantic Ocean. It’s far, but not all the way around the world!

You said:

What's exactly opposite from Tampa, Florida?

ChatGPT said:

The exact opposite side of the Earth from Tampa, Florida, would be in the Indian Ocean, somewhere off the west coast of Australia. This point is called the antipode of Tampa.

If you were to dig straight through the Earth from Tampa, you wouldn’t hit land—you’d end up in open ocean, roughly between Madagascar and Western Australia. The closest land would be somewhere in Western Australia.

So, while Morocco is far away to the east, Tampa’s true opposite is deep in the southern hemisphere’s ocean!

You said:

That's great, thank you. And now I wanted to get back to this idea that in these divisive times, if we could come up with a extra-politic solution to governance so that things govern themselves, then you wouldn't have the left versus the right, the Republicans versus the Democrats, some people wanting big government, some people wanting no government, sort of libertarians, some people wanting smaller government. What if we were to apply this gyroscopic governance, kinetic governance, to politics in such a way that there were these feedback systems you talked about with cybernetic intelligence providing instantaneous or close to instantaneous understandings of the dynamics that are going on in food, energy, water, and in so-called waste management and in finance, so that we could govern ourselves without needing to deal with people's whims and interpretations?

ChatGPT said:

That’s exactly the kind of systems-based, self-regulating governance that could transcend political divisions. If governance were structured like a gyroscopic system, it would automatically balance itself in response to shifting conditions rather than swinging wildly between ideological extremes.

Applying Gyroscopic Governance to Politics

A gyroscope maintains stability because it resists external forces through precession, meaning instead of reacting erratically to disturbances, it adapts smoothly over time. If we apply this to governance, we could create self-correcting societal systems that regulate food, energy, water, waste, and finance without being subject to political polarization.

Cybernetic Intelligence for Instantaneous Feedback

Instead of decisions being based on slow-moving political debates, we could rely on real-time data systems that function like servo-controls:

• Food Security: AI-driven supply chain monitoring could predict shortages or surpluses and automatically adjust production and distribution without government intervention.
• Energy & Water: A networked system of sensors could optimize water and electricity use, ensuring efficiency without bureaucratic delays.
• Waste Management: Circular economy models could be managed through AI-driven logistics, routing materials where they are needed most rather than relying on inefficient government programs.
• Finance & Economy: Decentralized, algorithmic financial systems (perhaps like blockchain-based economies) could ensure fair distribution and reduce human-driven biases in monetary policy.

A Post-Political Approach to Governance

Rather than having political parties argue over who controls the system, we would design a system that governs itself—not through authoritarian AI rule, but through adaptive, cybernetic intelligence that reflects real-world conditions dynamically.

This could minimize conflicts because governance wouldn’t be based on opinion or ideology, but rather on continuously updated, real-world data that everyone could verify.

Would you see this as something that could be tested in small, controlled environments first—perhaps within eco-villages or special economic zones—before scaling to larger societies?