Conversations I'd like to have
I don't feel like I have a very good community to discuss the things that I think are really important or interesting, so figured I'd write down the conversations I wish I was having as a way to get it out there.
Systems Design
Everything we do impacts something else. We don't talk about this nearly enough. In ecosystems and human systems each change will affect something else down the line. But we don't consider this as we're creating software, apps, cities, towns, or policy. This is a huge piece of the conversation that's missing.
Collaborating with Nature
We are a part of nature. We are part of the system. And our natural system is truly magical. If you've ever grown a plant from seed, or watched a sunset, or watched a spider spin a web, how could you not feel this magic? How could you not want to be part of it? We don't carry this connection or this love into the work each of us does. And I don't understand that. How can we learn from, integrate with, and collaborate with the world around us?
Placemaking
Why is our world built around us the way it is? Why do we put our bodies inside multi-ton metal boxes that shoot across the ground or across the sky? Why do we have asphalt? Why do we use concrete? Why do we accept the places around us for what they are? I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make places more integrated. For people, and for nature. How can we create space for the things that, deep down, we all yearn for, even when we don't realize that we're yearning for it? The call of birds, the bubbling of water, the buzzing of bees, and the sound of a friend's voice. We can surround ourselves with something better. But we don't talk about this enough. We let places be built up around us. We let things happen. Why don't we question it and demand something better, not just for us as humans, but for the world around us. For the trillions of insects, and the millions of species we have on this planet.
Ethics and human decency
How we build things matters. When we are building in an inherently racist system, everyone suffers. When we build for outputs and not outcomes (meaning, when we build toward revenue rather than something that makes the world a better place), we create something harmful. We haven't made ethics, racism, or bias part of the mainstream conversation. It should come up every time we talk about what we're building and how we're building it. It should be a part of all our conversations, not just one we have when pushed.
Plants and ecosystems
That's pretty much it. Plants and ecosystems are fucking cool.