Convivial Systems Theory
The Demon Denominator
False efficiency begins when systems measure the wrong unit. The Demon Denominator explains how cost savings, make-work, and design failures hide inside bad denominators.
systems thinking
essays
Automation Isn’t Coming. It already happened, and we hid the evidence
Automation isn’t a future wave. It mechanized production, then quietly automated information work. When we say automation is “coming,” what we often mean is that the last pockets of human work, the edge cases, are shrinking. The core was mechanized long ago.
essays
KPI Kingdoms and How They Fall
From social platforms to public companies to universities, KPIs shape what leaders choose to build. Portable KPIs travel through institutions like a mental map. Over time, the map becomes policy, and the institution begins to confuse the dashboard for reality. That is legibility capture.
Systems and Soul
Flow Diagrams
Compressed system maps showing how incentives, signals, and structures move through human systems. Grounded in Convivial Systems Theory. Curated as they emerged.
Systems and Soul
When Incentives Break the System
A child’s drawing revealed something most systems obscure. Misaligned incentives quietly reshape work, culture, and infrastructure until drift becomes make-work and make-work becomes instability, not from malice, but from obedience to the wrong signals.
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · The Control Illusion: How Export Controls Create Shadow Chains and Destroy Containment
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
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · Breaking the Frame
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
SYSTEMS IN ACTION ·
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.
Systems and Soul
UBI Dressed Like Work
What if universal basic income isn’t a future policy—but a system already in motion? This essay examines how subsidies, compliance roles, and make-work quietly distribute income under the guise of employment—and what that hidden architecture reveals about modern work.