Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
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johntmurphy.bsky.social
Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
@johntmurphy.bsky.social
170 followers 190 following 140 posts
PhD, MA Ed. Former researcher at Argonne National Lab, University of Chicago, and Northern Illinois University. Archaeology, Anthropology, and Computation. Finding complexity in the past to build a better future.
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johntmurphy.bsky.social
My 'one happy thing' post today: A puzzle that's been in my family since it was originally bought (for 87 cents), showing some real celebrities. Apropos of nothing.
A puzzle box depicting the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, with Earth, the Moon, and the Command Module and Lunar Excursion Module in the background. The puzzle is Milton Bradley, 500+ pieces. The box is worn because it is over 50 years old. A puzzle box depicting the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, with Earth, the Moon, and the Command Module and Lunar Excursion Module in the background. The puzzle is Milton Bradley, 500+ pieces. The box is worn because it is over 50 years old. Corner of a puzzle box commemorating the Apollo 11 mission, with the price tag of the puzzle when sold (around 1970); the price was 87 cents at Gold Circle department store.
October 31, 2025 at 8:38 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
Everything is hard right now, but I'm going to try to post at least one thing every day that makes me happy.

Today it's this picture I took early this morning of the leaves that fell overnight in the chilly October rain.
Fall leaves, wet, on a dark background.
October 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
I worked on a National Lab-run project on Puerto Rico's energy grid. I was one of the authors on Energy Justice; much of the project concerned renewable energy. The results were placed in a full website at pr100.gov .

That site is now gone. Maybe it's just because of the shutdown....
An image showing a browser URL bar for PR100.gov, and the response from the server, "Page not found".
October 17, 2025 at 7:47 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
This is exactly right. I have sketched out the barest possible outline/idea/Hail Mary for a way to build and integrate these kinds of teams:

perfectknowledgedb.com/project2029-...

It's threadbare as yet, and maybe silly. But I would love it if people excited about specific areas would dive in.
A screenshot of the linked web page for Project 2029 (Progressive Grassroots Version), with text: Project 2025 was built over decades; we don't have that much time. Project 2029 PGV is a Progressive vision for the future of our country, one that repairs the damage of the current administration and sets a course for a new American future. The goal of the project is to collaboratively generate a response to 'Project 2025'. Project 2025 took decades; we do not have that time. But we have the means to create a community to 'crowdsource' the document. Ideally this would form a fulcrum for a broader Progressive movement in response to the extreme components of Project 2025 that have been revealed by the administration's actions. We need a new vision; we need new leaders; and we need them on a short time scale. The project consists of: A work-in-progress main document: Project2029-PGV.pdf A github repository for collaboration on the text of the main document A Zotero collection of references cited in the text A Discord community server for discussions about the text and the project
August 2, 2025 at 2:06 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
Definitely agree. I believe I may have bet my entire professional career on this specific point. (It's still a work-in-progress!)

perfectknowledgedb.com/bio.html

I'm also looking at Dan McQuillan's 'decomputing' work- looks amazing:

www.danmcquillan.org/pages/about....
A collection of text from the website linked in the post: "My deep belief is that anthropology and archaeology, by giving us a wider view of what's possible, can help us make our world better, and that it can help us reach a diverse, equitable, inclusive, resilient, and just society. I believe that the path toward this is exciting and full of beauty and wonder; it is an exploration of the full scope of the human journey on earth. Despite being a 'computer guy' - or maybe because of it - I believe technology in general, and computation specifically, will play a role, but it is likely to be minimal; simplicity is a better guide. The real resources on which we need to draw are the lived experiences of individuals, the rich histories of all peoples and nations, and basic goodness and humanity of all of us who share the planet. I'm exploring this by reading, traveling, writing, and thinking. Having learned that archaeology has missed out on many of the past's lessons, there is an exciting research path ahead, and, along with it, a personal journey. I've decided to call what I do, "Radical Complexity." I hope more people will join me on the trip." Also a picture of myself with road-construction-barrel man from a Missouri rest area.
July 30, 2025 at 12:29 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
@kenjennings.bsky.social: re: "Candidates that don't suck," I hope you know about @katmabu.bsky.social.

www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...
A picture of the campaign merch T-shirt for Kat Abughazaleh, running for Congress in Illinois's ninth district, with the slogan, "What if we didn't suck?" A screenshot of the home page for Kat Abughazaleh's Illinois ninth district Congressional campaign, showing the phrase "It's time to do more" and with a picture of the candidate, a woman in her mid-late 20's who just might pull of something crazy and actually win.
July 17, 2025 at 10:18 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
Yep- there are lots of ways to be resilient that don't need wasteful tech! You might like:

bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...

We don't go into decolonizing urban resilience explicitly, but we look at past resilience w/ alternative power structures using different architecture & different urban forms.
June 24, 2025 at 12:59 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
For the BlueSky world: My (free) book is at: bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...
A photo of part of the cover of the bestest book ever about using urban forms from ancient and prehistoric cities to inform our possible responses to challenges of today and tomorrow. The title of the book is "If the Past Teaches, What Does the Future Learn?" which I, John Murphy, would like to take credit for, but was in fact written by my co-author, Carole Crumley. The subtitle is "Ancient Urban Regions and the Durable Future". The book, which has lots of other authors and contributors, is the result of NSF funding and a production of IHOPE, an organization of researchers focusing on the 'Integrated History (and Future) of People on Earth'. The cover photo is a set of ruins: the remains of stone walls and dirt floors in multiple levels with arid mountains in the distance under a cerulean sky. Because archaeology is cool.
June 13, 2025 at 12:09 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
"... protected by congressional dysfunction..."
Image from the ProPublica article, with an image of distorted classified ads for tech jobs above text reading: The video caused a flurry of outrage, yet the system has survived to this day, largely unchanged, protected by congressional dysfunction and the interests that are served by the status quo, the tech industry and the immigration law bar. Advocacy groups representing American tech workers have attacked the system repeatedly, challenging the notion that H-1Bs are bringing in the world’s “best and brightest” by pointing out that the program makes no attempt to identify exceptional talent beyond requiring a bachelor’s degree, relying instead on a lottery to award the visas. The real appeal of H-1Bs for employers, worker advocates say, is that they can pay their holders an average of 10% to 20% less, as several studies have found to be the case, which has helped suppress tech wages more broadly.
June 3, 2025 at 11:28 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
Always read the footnotes.

www.nber.org/system/files...

I do love fish tacos....
The title page of an economic paper entitled 'Supply Constraints do not explain house price and quantity growth across US cities', by Loui, Mongdragon, and Wieland, March 2025. Text from a paper on housing demand, including the statement that coastal California has 'execellent Mexican food.', with footnote #11. Footnote 11 says, "The fish tacos in San Diego are particularly tasty."
May 27, 2025 at 8:34 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
That meal sounds like the Parrillada Mixta (photo below), served at La Parrilla Suiza. There was one on Speedway and another on the west side of town- apparently still in operation! But I'm thinking of a place we walked to on lunch break. It may be where the visitors center is now- not sure.
An image from a restaurant website showing a grilled bell pepper stuffed with melted queso surrounded by two quesadillas, chorizo, grilled beef strips, and grilled onions, with the restaurant name, "La Parilla Suiza", indicating that it is authentic Mexico City Food. Cheese is available for additional cost. Calorie count is, mercifully, not shown.
May 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
rules.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
May 1, 2025 at 1:36 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
There is no path to a better world that does not begin with the commitment to respect the dignity of every single person on the earth.
A picture of a zen garden on a sunny, summer morning, shot from a cool, shaded a meditation structure, with the caption "A better world is possible."
April 18, 2025 at 11:23 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
@maddow.msnbc.com Newark, Ohio. Hands Off.
April 6, 2025 at 12:11 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
From my walk yesterday.
An Easter-themed inflatable pink and yellow Tyrannosaurus rex with white and green bunny ears on a suburban lawn preparing to rampage through the neighborhood and wielding a pair of decorated eggs like grenades.
March 28, 2025 at 11:20 AM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
It took a long time to get to me because it had to be forwarded via my old employer, but I'm proud to have worked on this team and I hope the work we did has a positive impact. I'm also glad I worked on a project with a specific goal of helping undeserved populations deal with a changing climate.
An award issued by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to John Murphy for work supprting modernizing the electric power grid in Puerto Rico.
February 14, 2025 at 10:43 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
Doing some more driving around Ohio. Here is an Adena mound in the town of Enon, pictured on a chilly but calm and quiet January morning.
A picture of a conical mound of earth covered in snow, surrounded by a wood fence, with several leafless trees on top and a background of clouds illuminated from below by the breaking dawn.
January 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
johntmurphy.bsky.social
An exciting New Year's Day in Newark, Ohio: The Octagon earthworks are now open to the public. A great way to start a new year! (Not shown: The very large crowd of people- so many that they had to use overflow parking. Interest is high- awesome!)
View of a portion of the earthworks in Newark, Ohio, on January 1st 2025. A low linear mound extends and intersects with a large circular portion. A view of a portion of the Newark Earthworks. An apparent causeway bounded by two low linear mounds reaches the edge of the octagonal portion, with another low linear mound inside the octagon facing the causeway.
January 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM