New York University
Student Journal of Metapatterns
Volume 2, June, 2020
These papers were completed in partial fulfillment for professor Tyler Volk's NYU course, "Topics in Environmental Science: Patterns, Systems, and World Futures" (Spring, 2020 — course #ENVST-UA.250).
These creative, thoughtful papers were written in partial fulfillment of course work for “Topics in Environmental Science: Patterns, Systems, and World Futures” (Spring, 2020, ENVST-UA.250, New York University professor Tyler Volk). My book Metapatterns Across Space, Time, and Mind served as a main text, along with papers by Volk and Jeffrey Bloom, and other readings, including many that were student initiated (see the references in their papers). Numerous smaller projects moved everyone along as the metapatterns were learned, expanded, and applied. Then each student was challenged to develop their own ideas that apply metapatterns of their choice to a topic of their choice relevant to world futures. The aim was to bring metapatterns—as principles of form & function in nature, mind, and culture—to bear on questions and investigations about the future. As you see, the topics that emerged were wonderfully diverse. Class peer review provided input at various stages: oral presentation of the main idea, an introduction, and one or more rounds of draft papers. I also provided suggestions at all stages and made clear to everyone, “In the end, this is your paper, your concepts, your words and images.” Images you see here on the side bar were excerpted from the papers. I made headings in the table of contents afterwards, based on what I felt was some natural (and completely unplanned) clustering of topics and interests. But all papers use the metapatterns system to explore and advance our thinking. – Tyler Volk
| # | AUTHOR Click here to access the abstract and citation information |
TITLE Click here to download a PDF of the paper |
METAPATTERNS Focused Upon |
| Theory of Big-Picture Change |
| 01 | GEMMA PETRINI | 'Revolutions’ in Time and Mind | breaks, binaries, holarchies, spheres, tubes |
| 02 | NADINE STODOLKA | Utopian Metapatterns | breaks, borders, centers, binaries (and one proposed) |
| 03 | TOMAS BUTELMAN | So Close Yet So Far: Envisioned Horizons of Drastic Change | arrows, breaks, calendars, cycles |
| Present and Future Self |
| 04 | MEILIN TSAO | Beyond the Binary | binaries (and ways beyond) |
| 05 | BROGAN HANNON | Metapatterns of the Mind: Archetypal Thinking, the Self, and the Power of Values | centers, arrows |
| 06 | JED WARSHAW | The Fuzz: A Universal Temporal Metapattern Clonon | calendars, tubes, arrows, clonons (& one proposed) |
| Towards Sustainability |
| 07 | JADE BOURKE | Importance of Cycles for Life on Earth | cycles, binaries |
| 08 | MILES QUINN | The Cycle and Status Quo of Deforestation | layers, borders, binaries, cycles, centers |
| 09 | HANNAH DOLIN | Metapatterns in the Context of Resource Scarcity | binaries, arrows, tubes |
| 10 | DEVAN PRABHAKAR | Sustainable Infrastructure: A Path Towards a More Cohesive Future | binaries, borders, centers |
| Human Systems in Transition |
| 11 | TANNER DECANIO | Metapatterns of Human Systems: Global Futures and Societal Response | borders, centers, layers, binaries |
| 12 | LANGSTON GRAHAM | Immigration: The Creation of Dual Identities and Personal Timelines | borders, breaks |
| 13 | CHRISTINA DECONCINI | The Good & Bad of Inevitable Centers in Society | centers |
| 14 | ALEJANDRO SEGOVIA | Control Metapatterns: Pyramidal Mechanisms Controlling Us | hierarchies |
| A Personal Vision |
| 15 | ASHLEY CHU | The Use of Metapatterns: Borders, Layers and Breaks for Predicting World Futures | borders, layers, breaks |