Nora Bateson - Ep #34
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We've wanted to interview Nora Bateson for ages because she lives a fascinating life, does great work and is an absolute expert in the field of Complexity and Systems Thinking.
The wait was worth it because at the end of our chat James (who has a doctorate from Harvard) said it was THE FIRST TIME he truly understood the subject.
Take a moment to really think about that: James has sat through total brainiacs talking about Systems Theory for hours but it was THIS PODCAST that helped him grok it.
Why You Have To Listen.
1) You need to understand complexity to understand the world: We're living in a world which is not just complicated but complex. This means our normal ways of planning and acting don't really work because we can't understand all the different interactions and relationships.
2) Complexity is a way of being: Nora shows how taking this idea on isn't just adding an extra mental model, or hot new tool, it is a way of being. When she talks complexity becomes something more akin to spirituality than dusty theory.
3) This is all brought to life through stories: The reason she's able to communicate it so well is because of her unique background as academic royalty (if such a thing existed). Her ancestors and relations lived these ideas, which means that she is talking through people and their lives, not just through abstract concepts.
Give it a go. There's loads of juiciness inside.
Here's more bumpf on her:
Nora Bateson is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute, based in Sweden. Her work asks the question “How we can improve our perception of the complexity we live within, so we may improve our interaction with the world?”.
An international lecturer, researcher and writer, Nora wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father, Gregory Bateson. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems.
Find her at:
The Bateson Institute: https://batesoninstitute.org/
The Warm Data Lab: https://warmdatalab.net/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norabateson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoraBateson
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Thanks for listening!