13 Nov 2025
57m

Why "Solutions" Fail | Dave Snowden

Podcast cover

Planet: Critical

This podcast explores complexity science and its applications to solving global crises, particularly climate change. Dave Snowden, a complexity scientist, contrasts complexity with systems thinking, emphasizing the entanglements and unintended consequences inherent in complex systems. He critiques the North Atlantic approach to climate action, which assumes global change can be dictated from a central point. Snowden advocates for focusing on micro-level changes and interactions within communities, citing indigenous communities' pragmatic approaches as examples. He also touches on the role of technology, the importance of local knowledge, and the need to reframe problems to resonate with people's daily lives, suggesting that lasting change emerges from altering interactions rather than dictating beliefs.

Outlines

Part 1: Complexity, Theory, and Fallacies

Part 2: Social Dynamics and Local Interactions

Part 3: Dispositional Change and Community Models

Part 4: Technology Repurposing and Pragmatic Cooperation

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