January

[MP] What is your view about the myth of eternal growth?

[ChatGPT] As a machine learning model, I don't have personal views or opinions. However, I can provide you with information about the concept of eternal growth.

The idea of eternal economic growth is based on the belief that economic growth is necessary for the well-being of society and that it can continue indefinitely. However, this concept is based on the assumption that there are unlimited resources available for consumption and that the negative environmental and social impacts of growth can be managed or ignored.

However, as the global population and consumption continue to rise, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Earth's natural resources are finite, and that the negative impacts of growth, such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity, are reaching critical levels.

Many experts argue that the idea of eternal growth is not sustainable, and that the world needs to shift towards a more sustainable, equitable, and regenerative economic system that prioritizes well-being over growth. This system could be called a "post-growth" or "degrowth" economy.

It is important to note that the idea of degrowth economy is still debated and it is not a widely accepted concept. Some experts argue that it may not be practical or even possible to achieve, while others argue that it is necessary for the survival of the human race and the planet.

[MP] What would a future "post-growth" world look like?

[ChatGPT] A post-growth or degrowth economy is an economic system that prioritizes well-being and sustainability over economic growth. In a post-growth world, the focus would shift from increasing production and consumption to meeting the basic needs of all people, preserving natural resources, and reducing environmental and social impacts.

Some of the key features of a post-growth world would include:

• A shift towards a more equitable and localized economy, where decision-making is decentralized and community-based.
• An emphasis on meeting basic needs, such as food, housing, healthcare, and education, rather than maximizing GDP.
• A reduction in the scale and pace of production and consumption, to minimize the depletion of natural resources and reduce the ecological footprint.
• A focus on regenerative and sustainable practices in agriculture, energy production, transportation, and other sectors.
• A decrease in the use of fossil fuels and an increase in the use of renewable energy sources.
• A reduction in the use of cars and an increase in the use of public transportation, cycling, and walking.
• A decrease in the use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture and an increase in the use of organic farming methods.

It is important to note that the concept of a post-growth economy is still debated, and there are varying interpretations of what such a system would look like in practice. Some experts argue that it may not be possible to achieve and others argue that it is necessary for the survival of the human race and the planet.

[MP] Are there any experts on post-growth that I can contact to know more about this idea?

[ChatGPT] There are several experts in the field of post-growth and degrowth that you can contact to learn more about this idea. Here are a few notable names:

• Kate Raworth, economist and author of "Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist."
• Jason Hickel, anthropologist and author of "The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and Its Solutions."
• Tim Jackson, economist and director of the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of Surrey, and author of "Prosperity Without Growth."
• Peter Victor, economist and author of "Managing Without Growth: Slower by Design, Not Disaster."
• Giorgos Kallis, ecologist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of "The Degrowth Alternative: for Environmental Sustainability and Social Equity."

You can also find more experts in the field by searching for degrowth or post-growth in academic databases or by visiting the websites of institutions that specialize in environmental and economic sustainability such as The New Economics Foundation, The Post Growth Institute and The Degrowth Network.

It's important to note that while the idea of degrowth economy is still debated, and it's not a widely accepted concept yet. Some experts argue that it may not be practical or even possible to achieve, while others argue that it is necessary for the survival of the human race and the planet.

Photo by Monica Pinheiro free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

Paper selling (still) growing in digital era

«Ainda é possível vender mais papel na era do digital»: «Não deixa de ser curioso que uma empresa que vende papel esteja a crescer em paralelo com o avanço da digitalização. Ou seja, a Portucel está a vender mais folhas de papel mesmo com a desmaterialização de ficheiros e documentos. “No ano passado até na Europa conseguimos crescer”, nota Diogo da Silveira, “mas é óbvio para nós a grande importância que tem (e vai continuar a ter) o mercado asiático, com especial destaque para a China”» in http://expresso.sapo.pt/economia/2015-07-19-Portucel-quer-quinta-fabrica-em-Portugal

paper in knowledge work

In between coding and analysing data collected from different workers, in different settings, I'm reading «The myth of the paperless office», by Sellen & Harper (2003, paperback, following «How much information?» 2000 & 2003). Their first words relate to the information artefacts sorrounding them, being paper the one that populates the most their visible environment:

"As we write this book, we have paper all around us. On the desks are stacks of articles, rough notes, outlines, and printed e-mail message. On the wall are calendars, Post-it notes, and photographs. On the shelves are journals, books, and magazines. The filling cabinets and the wastebasket are also full of paper. Among all this sit our computers, on which the composition takes place."

Considering that the study was conducted until 2001, one could be surprised to find the same results 8 years later (see above illustration with some data that I've been collecting), unless you read the complete study and understand the role of paper in supporting knowledge work.

One of the main differences between the observations made, concern the place of observing. While in the book their main concern was observations in work settings, they nevertheless acknowledge that the role of the paper in the future would be reinforced in supporting knowledge work. One of such increases would be due to growing mobility of workers and working also at home, which is visible in the exploratory data collection above:

"Paper now populates not only the workplace but also the home office and the mobile worker's briefcase."(p. 208)

We can still sense the myth of the paperless office associated with progress. In December 2008, in an event promoted by the National Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society (APDSI), they where refering to it as a natural move forward. In the white paper report, in the introduction section (p.7), one can read:

"Os novos trabalhadores do conhecimento deixarão cada vez mais de usar canetas e papel, passando a autenticar trabalhos e decisões através de assinaturas electrónicas e a trabalhar lado a lado com processos decisórios automatizados por regras e algoritmos computacionais. (...) todos reconhecerão as tarefas substantivas e mais ou menos críticas que lhes são cada vez mais solicitadas neste novo ambiente (electrónico) de trabalho." (p.7)

[my rought translation: "The new knowledge workers will increasingly stop using pen and paper, and start authenticating work and decisions through electronic signatures and working side by side with automated decision making processes by rules and automated computer algorithms. (...) all will recognize the substantive and more or less critical tasks that are increasingly required of them in this new (electronic) environment of work. "]

The thing is that knowledge work is not only autenticating. Something needs to exist for authentication ocurrences. We seem to be still farway (althought spam messages say otherwise) from automation in creating new information that helps build knowledge. Someone has to craft it[1]. Could this automation corresponde to a vision of managers, the ones that live life for a lot of decision making? What we still see is that paper continues to have a roll in supporting knowledge work even among technological environments. Maybe it also captures the so much entangled notion of paper not allowing technological progress, the symbolic problem refered in detail by Sellen & Harper (2003).

One might think that better skills in digital literacy would foster less paper use. But not when it comes to knowledge work, at least. At some points, paper artefacts are crucial for finding meaning, making sense, brainstorming and even getting things done. It's been wonderful to observe what Lilia as accomplished. You can see, according to her own criteria[2], what role did paper play on her way to a finished PhD:

PS [June 26, 2009] According to a new page created, there will be an update to «How much information» 2000 and 2003:

"To answer these questions and others, an updated and expanded How Much Information? (HMI) research program is underway. The initial report will be the first in a three-year research program, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and seven companies, AT&T, Cisco, IBM, Intel, LSI, Oracle, and Seagate."

Also they have already reserved a space for «The History of Information» and they will be populating the timeline with a series of historical references.

__________________________

[1] Can you imagine how glad pleanty of people would be, if they could automate the writing of their dissertations? Of course that would reduce the dissertation value (if any) in the process of learning. Not to talk about books like «How to write a lot: a pratical guide to productive academic writing», by Paul J. Silvia (2008), wouldn't be needed.

[2] One can choose to observe with a set of lenses or (try to) observe with the lenses of the observed. That's the differences of etic (observer lenses) and emic (from the perspective of the observed). In my study, I've choose an emic approach but since I can not put aside my own beliefs and world view, I'm also collecting data about my own behaviour and others in order to explicit it and be more aware of my own bias.

[WC 755]

The myth of the paperless office

From a study of 2003, updating the 2000 study and comparing the evolution of estimated information production (paper, film, magnetic, optic)- How much Information?:

"Contrary to notions of paperless offices floated in the late 80s and early 90s, the consumption of office paper has gone up substantially in the recent years, especially following the move to laser/inkjet printers from dot matrix printers. Paper use in offices has further risen with the increasing speed of laser printing coupled with its decreasing cost. Each year, almost 500 billion copies are produced on copiers in the United States; nearly 15 trillion copies are produced on copiers, printers, and multi-function machines. (Source: XeroxParc)."