Times Colonist article by Thomas Homer-Dixon — We need to ensure that our hope is “honest” — that it’s grounded, not in avoidance and denial, but in the best scientific understanding of the polycrisis.
VIDEO by Thomas Homer-Dixon — A discussion about the public policy implications of the polycrisis at the Canada School of Public Service’s Deputy Minister’s breakfast.
Globe and Mail article by Thomas Homer-Dixon, Michael Lawrence, and Scott Janzwood — The backlash against the “polycrisis” neologism is well under way. But the polycrisis idea can motivate urgent scientific investigation into the architecture of global crisis interaction.
The Conversation article by Michael Lawrence — The debate around polycrisis is largely a question of whether we really understand the mess we’re in.
VIDEO — President of Royal Roads University Dr. Philip Steenkamp speaks with Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon about the global polycrisis and what we can do to turn a cascade of crises into a “virtuous cascade” of success.
New York Times article by Thomas Homer-Dixon and Johan Rockström — Today’s mess is best understood as a global polycrisis—a term which implies that humanity is dealing with a complex knot of seemingly distinct but actually deeply entangled crises.
National Observer article by Scott Janzwood — Distrust of new technology runs deep in the climate movement. But we don’t have the critical green technologies we need to get us to net-zero by 2050 — and assuming we do is wishful thinking.
This video explains the critical distinction between risk and uncertainty. Decision-makers often navigate their options by assessing risk—by plotting the probabilities, costs, and benefits of different outcomes and deciding accordingly. But the world is increasingly characterized by situations in which the range of possible outcomes and their probabilities are virtually impossible to estimate. This video discusses the situations in which traditional risk management approaches will and will not work.
This video explains why contemporary systemic conditions generate such “wicked” problems and explores the ways in which organizations can operate either effectively or poorly in such circumstances. Several recurring patterns of feedback within and between organizations often undermine their endeavours, and require much more systemic approaches to management.
This video provides a clear introduction to the concepts of adaptation and resilience in the context of organizations. It focuses specifically on panarchy theory and the adaptive cycle, which help explain the ways in which organizations develop, gain and lose resilience, and undergo bouts of creative destruction. The video concludes by exploring strategies by which managers can foster resilience in their organizations and activities.
