James Carlson

I am a transdisciplinary iconoclast. This means that I am interested in:

1. Determining the simplest expression of the fundamental principles of a domain, discipline, or body of knowledge.
2. Comparing across disciplines for consistencies and inconsistencies between fundamental principles.
3. Helping high-value practitioners within disciplines collaborate across disciplines by translating languages and syntactic domains accessibly.
4. Encouraging high-value practitioner-collaborator networks to simplify and integrate the fundamental principles of their disciplines.
5. Expressing and inventing technologies and techniques that demonstrate the results of transdisciplinary integrations.

I am:

• Executive Director of Bucketworks
• Founder of the School Factory
• Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Milwaukee Spotlight Student Film Festival
  
• Co-Founder and CEO of Emergency Digital
• Co-Founder of the Young Women's Institute for Global Studies
• Co-Founder and Consultant of Working Innovations
• Sales Associate for Silicon Pastures
• Advisory Board Member of the Cardinal Stritch University Leadership Center
• Community Development Manager for Donate A Card
• Pre-Sales Consultant for PSS Systems, Inc.
• Advisory Board Member of Quasi Theatre
• Advisory Board Member of Primary Colours Student Theatre

I am currently exploring a transdisciplinary integration between:

• Information systems design
  
• Evolutionary psychology
• Educational psychology
• Group dynamics
• Community development
• Entrepreneurship
• Creative expression
• Artistic practice
• Environmental design
• Usability
• Industrial design
  
• Human computer interface (HCI)
  
• Ecological sustainability
• Economics and value-theory
• Opt-in Collaboration
• Social equity
• Cultural flexibility

My long term vision is:

Humanity a collaborator in evolving life on Earth sustainably until solar energy is exhausted.

My life is the expression of an integration between a multiplicity of organizations and networks that I support towards a set of fundamental values and principles of my own. I have developed these principles by iteratively applying the above five steps to my own high-value practice and learning, in concert with other collaborators.

1. Start up open: I begin transdisciplinary explorations with an open mind to changing what I believe, including any of my principles.
2. Ask permission later: I tend to act without consideration for anything other than these principles, and assume that my actions will be legal, ethical, and fair. 
3. Make suggestions happen: Rather than telling people what to do, I do it.
   
4. Aim for reuse: I try to make things that others will be able to use forever without consuming additional resources.
5. Explore existing examples: I look for things that have already been done before trying to make something new.
6. Improvise: I let myself.
7. Separate change from what stays the same: I consider everything in terms of permanence and transience.
8. Find or make over buy: I find the experiences of discovery and creation preferable to the experience of purchasing something discovered and created elsewhere, but I still need to buy things I can't find or make.
9. Keep it simple: I like to leave things as simple as they already are.
10. Make it simpler: I like to make things even simpler than they are. I believe that this makes everything more accessible to anyone.
11. Keep it safe: I like to leave things as safe as they already are, and for me, safety is inclusive of all kinds of different dangers that can affect me and other people: emotional, physical, and environmental.
12. Make it safer: I like to make things even safer than they are.
13. Discover potential changes: I am always looking for something to change.
14. Preserve original things: I am always learning to respect what is already there.
15. Share, give, and receive fairly: I am always assessing the total value of anything I share with anyone, anything I give to anyone, and anything I consider to be completely received from anyone.
    
16. End Up Done: I let myself complete things.