Grappling with Chaos
Life is chaotic post-Hurricane Helene.
Power has been restored to our home in Asheville, but we may not have running water for several weeks. It isn’t clear right now what living arrangement will make the most sense for me. But I’m lucky to have good options.
I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for a well-thought-out update this week, but still wanted to share a bit about what I’ve been up to.
I’ve been supporting my friends who organized the Asheville Community Relief project. While they’ve been coordinating with suppliers, truck drivers, and those who are in need of goods, I’ve been helping out with bookkeeping/accounting.
So far we’ve successfully distributed several thousand dollars’ worth of goods.
I’ve also been working to reorient myself towards school work. It feels like I was just settling into a comfortable routine for thriving in my two math classes when the hurricane swept away all of the rigid structures I had set up to guarantee success.
While I have some catching up to do, I’m really starting to appreciate how developing my understanding of set theory will improve my systems research and help prepare me for future explorations in category theory. I’m also enjoying getting a refresher in probability and statistics.
I spent some time working on my deep systems analysis of Bitcoin and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I’m excited to share more details about this applied systems science work in the coming weeks and months.
Finally, I haven’t let the chaos keep me from my reading. This is what I’ve been enjoying for the past couple weeks.
Robert Rosen and Relational System Theory: An Overview — James Lennox
Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness - Lynn Rasmussen
Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert
It takes two to think — Itai Yanai & Martin J. Lercher (PDF download below)
Just purchased Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness - Lynn Rasmussen based on your recommendation. Can't wait to dive in.