Ian Glendinning

Ian Glendinning First joined 2021 Title Member Affiliation Private Individual Notable works "Psybernetics" Interest in SIGs Better Human Decision-making Beyond Science Degree(s) B.Sc(Eng)Aero, MBA. Field(s) of study Engineering, Quality, Management, Ontologies, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Critical Systems Thinking University(ies) Imperial College, London Specialization(s) Neuroscientific- and Neuropsychological-based Process-relational and Information-computational Metaphysics, Counterfactuals as Creative Constraints, Strong Emergence, Evolved Autonomy, Affective Perception & Ergodicity. ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6058-784X Notable Awards or Achievements Fiatech "STAR" Award (2011) Links https://www.psybertron.org

Ian Glendinning joined ISSS in 2021. He's an individual researcher in the original 1946 spirit of Cybernetics - managing humanity out of a world in crisis - since 2001 when he first started blogging as Psybertron. Seeing that same driver in 1960's counterculture and 2020's metacrisis. Now retired and full-time devoted to Systems Thinking research and writing, Ian had a 50+ years career in applied real-world systems engineering. Starting originally in Aerospace, ian's experience was mainly in the Energy and Process Plants capital facilities and software "solutions" consulting industries. Systems scopes cover both Physical Systems (of fluids, pressure, energy, structures, process & control) and Human Systems (of people, behaviour, organisation, management, processes, methods & procedures.) The majority, the last 30 years, of that 50 year career was focussed on Information Modelling the content and processes of such systems and hence their Architecture rather than the technology, seen primarily as the evolving toolset.

Personal Life

Born in 1956 to Map Surveyor & Draftsman father from Edinburgh and Primary Teacher mother from South Bank, Middlesbrough. Born in Barrow, Lancashire, raised in Guisborough, North Yorkshire.

Grammar School educated, specialising in Maths & Sciences at A level, going on to Aeronautical Engineering and continuing the techy "STEM" trajectory into aircraft design and manufacture and then into much broader engineering contracting in energy & process capital facilities industries.

I always identified as "Humanist" but it was a mid career masters degree course in 1988/91 focussing on the human "culture" aspects of managing organisational change that initiated the switch in focus from STEM technicalities to the psychology of the human predicament in the cosmos. It wasn't until 9/11 gave "the west" a kick-in-the-pants that I was moved to make this a serious research topic thereafter to this day.

Married to Sylvia since 1981, father of two (boys) grandfather of one (boy), I/we have been fortunate to live and work around the world, something I recognise as a massive contribution to my understanding of human culture and the planet we inhabit. My worldview remains humanist, massively evolved and reinforced by my experience and research.

Beyond the subjects of my work and research, my main interests and activities aimed at embodied engagement with humanity and our ecosystem are live music and hiking in the wild country of coast and moorland, the latter afforded by our having moved before retirement to a village very close to where I was raised, on the North Yorks coast with the moors national park behind us.