The Cascade Institute has launched a new website, Polycrisis.org, to serve as a hub for a more inclusive polycrisis community to converge around a rough consensus on priorities for research and action.
A Hub for the Growing Polycrisis Community Read More »
A trigger event can’t start a crisis by itself; some underlying stress or stresses must also be operating. Our leaders should pay far more attention to these stresses, because they’re ultimately far more important.
Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation’ Read More »
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.
Plenty of Reason for Hope, if We Work Together for Change Read More »
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.
Earth’s Polycrisis is No Mere Illusion Read More »
The Conversation article by Michael Lawrence — The debate around polycrisis is largely a question of whether we really understand the mess we’re in.
Polycrisis: Why We Must Turn this Meme into a Big Idea Read More »
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.
How Do We Turn a Cascade of Crises into a Cascade of Successes? Read More »
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.
What Happens When a Cascade of Crises Collide? Read More »
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.
Every Politically Feasible Pathway to Net-Zero Requires a Technological Breakthrough Read More »
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.
Complexity Curricula Video 11: Risk and Uncertainty Read More »
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.
Complexity Curricula Video 10: Wicked Problems and System Pathologies Read More »
