systems in action
An employer had a Hall of Wisdom: a corridor of offices for retired engineers, a formal honor. When design cycles got thorny, we didn’t file tickets or schedule consults. We walked to visit our elders. Time and again.
SIA
When vendors capture demand but externalize failure, asymmetric incentives quietly produce fragility.
SIA
When traceability breaks, containment fails. This Systems-in-Action maps how well-intended safety controls quietly produce shadow supply chains and brittle failure paths—making systems harder to see, not safer to run.
SIA
Tennessee’s new LED speed-limit signs were meant to modernize safety. Instead, they break long-established cue structures and misalign with human perception, creating new hazards. A look at how dynamic interfaces fail when behavior and context remain static.
SIA
A straight, unflinching look at bullshit jobs: why some roles drain you, why the system needs the theater, and how to spot the risks before your skills hollow out. A human-scaled guide to value, dignity, and the first step toward real work.
SIA
Gen Z grew up fluent in emotional labor; they know what it costs to perform enthusiasm on command, and if their wage doesn’t merit it, false cheer feels like a bridge too far.
SIA
A real-world example of frame inversion. Cynthia recognized a dominance tactic, matched the pattern, and restored equilibrium in the room. A Systems-in-Action breakdown of how pattern recognition and structural fluency override intimidation.
SIA
Reconciliation often fails at the first move. Shame makes emotional outreach intolerable. This guide shows how small, functional steps reopen the path back. Systems-in-Action.
SIA
A growing library of real-world scenarios examined through a systems lens. Each Systems-in-Action entry surfaces the pattern beneath the moment and the structural forces shaping outcomes.