recycling
Turn them into cycles
A side that goes unrecognized
The mirror-image economy
When we enter the world of refuse and waste, we cross over into a mirror-image economy. In the "normal" world, we pay to acquire things; on the other side of the looking glass, we pay to get rid of them. Junk isn't merely worthless; it has negative value.
A chemical engineer once told me about a recent improvement in a manufacturing process; by fine-tuning a chemical synthesis he had increased the yield of a certain commodity from 98 percent to 99 percent. I congratulated him, but I couldn't help remarking that this seemed like a rather paltry improvement. "Ah, you miss the important point," he said. "The amount of waste goes from 2 percent down to 1 percent. It's cut in half. We save tremendously on disposal costs."
Hints towards a non-extractive economy
An Article by Matt WebbThere’s a movement called the circular economy which is about designing services that don’t include throwing things away. There is no “away.”
A non-extractive economy is going to look very different to today’s economy. These points feel opposed somehow but they are part of the same movement:
- With CupClub, it’s all about infrastructure.
- With the battery-free Game Boy, it’s untethered from infrastructure: once manufactured, no nationwide electricity grid is required to play.
We’ll need better tools to track and measure. There will be new patterns for new types of services. New technologies to build new products. New language. So it’s fascinating seeing the pieces gradually come together.
Manifesto for Agile Software Development
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
Deliver early and continuously
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
Self-organizing teams
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
Technical excellence and good design
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Agility and sustainability
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
The amount of work not done
Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
The primary measure of progress
Working software is the primary measure of progress.
Build projects around motivated individuals
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
Deliver working software frequently
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
Face-to-face conversations
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
Reflect, tune, adjust
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.