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| What Is Going On November News Wrapping Up A Busy Season! As we come to the end of a busy autumn, we are pleased to share an update on our amazing fall programs. First up, our annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and the accompanying Symposium on Discourse, Dialogue, and Democracy held on October 3rd to 5th was a great success! The Korzybski Lecture delivered by computer scientist and ethicist Tristan Harris on «The Narrow Path to a Humane AI Future» was outstanding, receiving a standing ovation from the largest in-person attendance in recent memory. Graziana Presicce‘s piano performance prior to the dinner was uplifting, and the high volume of submissions for the symposium required us to begin our Friday program with a preliminary program session, with approximately 50 participants over the course of the weekend. For more information on the event, click here. To see the full schedule, click here. Unfortunately, we experienced technical difficulties at the start of the weekend that disrupted our livestream, and resulted in the Korzybski Lecture not being recorded. Most of the presentations were captured however, and the videos will be made available at a later time. In the meantime, please enjoy the AKML and Symposium slideshow video on the IGS YouTube channel, produced by IGS intern Grace Foley, which can be viewed on our recent news post. Our 2025 Online Reading Group A Great Success! IGS Vice-President Corey Anton led a four week Zoom-based reading group dedicated to the Fourth Edition of Alfred Korzybski‘s General Semantics Seminar Olivet College Lectures 1937. Held from October 14th to November 4th, over 50 people took part in the lively online discussions. For more information on the event, click here. IGS members in good standing can access video recordings of the sessions by logging in on our website and going to the Reading Groups page under the Resources menu, or by clicking here. Recordings from our 2024 reading group devoted to the Sixth Edition of Korzybski’s Science and Sanity can also be found on that page. Our In-Person Screening of Digital Tsunami Well Attended and Well Received  Approximately 80 individuals registered for the screening of the timely documentary, Digital Tsunami, organized by the IGS on October 29th. Director Fred Peabody and Producer Peter Raymont were present for a lively question and answer session following the screening, joined by two of the interviewees featured in the film, Fordham Law School Professor Zephyr Teachout and IGS President Lance Strate. For more information about the event, click here. Congratulations to the Recipients of Our 2025 Prizes and Awards Gabriel Kennedy (aka Prop Anon) received the Samuel I. Hayakawa Book Prize for Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson Grace Foley received the Christine L. Nystrom Prize for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship for «A New Ireland: Nationalism and Digital Identity in the 21st Century» Steve Stockdale received the Sanford Berman Award in recognition of his continued excellence in teaching general semantics David Hewson received the J. Talbot Winchell Award in recognition of his indispensable contributions, accomplishments, and time-binding efforts in service to the field of general semantics Laura Trujillo-Liñán received the Marjorie Kendig Award for outstanding translation Podcast Update Our August episode features coaches Keith Clark and Ted Delicath, in conversation with IGS president Lance Strate, discussing the CORO Fellows Program in Public Affairs and its relation to general semantics, as well as related topics such as leadership, governance, listening, cybernetics, and journalism. Our September episode featur Cristina Knopf, a professor of Communication and Media Studies at the State University of New York at Cortland, in conversation with IGS president Lance Strate. Their discussion focuses on her research in comics studies and reflections on the comic book medium, its history, and the superhero genre, as well as the depiction of superheroes in movies and television, including this past summer’s films featuring Superman, and the Fantastic Four. Our October episode features author, filmmaker, and IGS trustee Nora Bateson, who is also president of the International Bateson Institute and the creator of the Warm Data Labs initiative. Her conversation with IGS president Lance Strate centers on the current sense that we are experiencing multiple crises, or what has been referred to as a polycrisis or metacrisis. They also touch on topics such as science communication, therapy, the family, language, AI, and storytelling, and draw upon media ecology, warm data, and general semantics.  You can listen to all of our podcast episodes via our host site, and they are also available through most major podcast platforms, so please subscribe. Additionally, they can be accessed via our YouTube channel. ETC Update The second issue of volume 82 has been published and mailed out, and ETC editor Thom Gencarelli reports that the third issue will be distributed in the near future to all of our members in good standing for 2025. For now, here are the main contents of the next issue: Letter from the Editor Martin H. Levinson, Senior1 Is Not Senior2, Etcetera Deepa Mishra, Beyond Survival of the Fittest: Korzybski’s Blueprint for a Scientific and Ethical Governance Jane Blanchard, Interiority [POEM] Phil Rose, Mimesis as a Signalic Activity Martin H. Levinson, Mapping Happiness David Miller, The Remains [POEM] Divya Tahira Mayadas, Working from Home as an Educator–Navigating the Blurred Personal and Professional Boundaries Milton Dawes, Realities: Words, “Minds,” Institutions, Psychoanalysis, and Cosmoanalysis: A Calculus-Structural-Heuristic Approach Joseph N. Agostino, Closure and Flexibility of Closure as it Relates to Word Perception David Miller, (Untitled) [POEM] Martin H. Levinson, Book Reviews [Review of Samanta, A. (2025). Art of giving: A way of life. Rupa Publications Pvt. Ltd. by Deepa Mishra] Book Publication Update Our book publishing has been affected by the recent US government shutdown as well as earlier budget cuts and staff layoffs, because we rely on the Library of Congress to provide Cataloguing in Publication data prior to publication. We do expect to have the new anthology, General Semantics and Politics, edited by Corey Anton and Thom Gencarelli, available for purchase before the end of the year. Almost ready for publication: IGS Trustee Christopher Mayer‘ s third book in our New Non-Aristotelian series, entitled, The Unspeakable Level: Korzybski’s Razor and Other Ways of Revealing. And in production, a new entry in our Language in Action series, a collection of satirical writing by Marleen S. Barr entitled Doomsday Scenario. Two translations are currently being prepared. Patrick Hug, having previously provided a French translation of the Sixth Edition of Science and Sanity, is now finishing up a French version of the Fourth Edition of Alfred Korzybski‘s General Semantics Seminar Olivet College Lectures 1937. And Orli Berger Kadim is now working on translating a new book by IGS Fellow Isabel Caro Gabalda from Spanish to English: Cómo Asumir La Incertidumbre: Una Perspectiva Psicoterapéutica. Also in preparation is a new collection edited by Lance Strate and Bini Babu Sudha, entitled, Modeling Our Ways of Knowing: Examining and Evaluating the Structural Differential. And in 2026, look for another addition to our Language in Action series from Martin H. Levinson, entitled Dinner at the Woke Street Café: Satirical Food for Thought. Marty is also the author of our most recent publication, Sensible Thinking 3: The Adventure Continues.  All of our publications are available via major online and the Institute of General Semantic Store (IGS members in good standing are eligible for a 15% discount on our offerings. Email us for the discount code.) In Local News IGS Trustee Laura Trujillo-Liñán is forming a new general semantics society in Mexico! For more information about joining and participating, please email her. The New York Society for General Semantics recently posted the video from their September 10th program, Back to School: Getting Our Bearings for the New Year, featuring IGS Fellow Nadine Strossen, IGS Trustee Susan Drucker, Missy Alexander, and NYSGS President and IGS Trustee Peggy Cassidy. Also recently posted is the recording of Book Launch: Not A, Not Be, &c featuring Paul Levinson, Thom Gencarelli, and Lance Strate. The video from their November 12th session featuring Joshua Meyrowitz and Paul Levinson will be posted soon, and an event is being planned for January 16th Sign up on the nysgs.org home page for updates. The recording of the June 14th meeting of the Australian General Semantics Society session featuring IGS past president Jeff Mordkowitz speaking on «Saving Our Sanity: The SevenSimpleSteps® Way» is now available for viewing on YouTube. Their previous session featuring IGS Trustee Martin Levinson speaking on « GS and Civil Political Discourse» is also available for viewing on YouTube and their recent program fe aturing Melanie Trecek-King speaking on «Why Facts (Usually) Don’t Change Our Minds» is on YouTube as well. The Balvant Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences in India held a seminar on Orality, Textuality and Time Binding on March 11th to 13th. IGS Vice-President Corey Anton delivered a keynote address entitled, «Understanding Literacy: Differences Between the Spoken, Written, and Printed Word». For more information, click here. Let Us Hear From You! Do you have news related to local general semantics organizations and programs that you would like to share with us? Are you interested in starting, reviving, or enhancing a local group or society? We would love to hear from you, and to help you in any way that we can. Please feel free to contact us at <president@generalsemantics.org>. And Coming Soon! As an affiliate of the National Communication Association, the IGS has organized a program for their annual meeting in Aurora, Colorado, Perspectives on Politics and the Future of Democracy, featuring Corey Anton, Peggy Cassidy, Susan Drucker, Thom Gencarelli, and Lance Strate. The session will be held on Saturday, November 22nd at 11 AM, followed by an IGS business meeting at 1 PM. The IGS is also an affiliate of the Eastern Communication Association, and will be involved in several programs at their annual meeting on April 9th to 12th, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We are also an affiliate of the International Communication Association, and will host a session at their annual conference being held on June 4th to 8th, 2026 in Capetown, South Africa. We are always happy to join together with our friends in the Media Ecology Association, and look forward to the MEA’s annual convention, June 25th to 28th, in Winnipeg, Canada, hometown of both S.I. Hayakawa and Marshall McLuhan. For more information and a link to the call for papers, click here. Look for a call for papers for our 2026 online symposium in the near future! Save the date, October 2nd to 4th, for the 2026 Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and Symposium. Look for an announcement in the near future! Plans are afoot for continued educational initiatives in 2026, including online courses, a mid-July return to London for our next summer seminar, and a new partnership in graduate education. We are also working on new journal and book publication initiatives in the coming year. And more! So stay tuned.. Show Off Your Non-Aristotelian Style In Style! We are pleased to introduced a brand new lapel pin based on the IGS logo. Now on sale exclusively via the IGS store for only $10! Recent Videos The videos from our Communication, Consciousness, & Culture 2 Online Symposium, held on April 19, 2025, and featuring over 30 participants from Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America, are now available for viewing. To view the entire playlist, click here. Also now available are the videos from our in-person Gary Gumpert Memorial and Marshall McLuhan Screening, held on April 29, 2025. The memorial tribute features IGS Trustees Lance Strate, Susan Drucker, and Thom Gencarelli, along with Lewis Freeman, Mary Kahl, Nancy Willets, Erik Garrett, and Joshua Meyrowitz, followed by a screening of a 1960 TV program produced and directed by Gary Gumpert, featuring Marshall McLuhan, Harley Parker, and Robert Shafer. To view the entire playlist, click here. And while you’re at it, why not subscribe to the IGS YouTube channel so you’ll be notified whenever new videos are added? Other Recent News On May 15th, IGS Vice-President Corey Anton gave a plenary address via Zoom on «Literacy and Meta-Cognition: Exploring Some Connections» for the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Ad Orbem Per Linguas/To The World Tthrough Language” which was held at Kyiv National Linguistic University in Ukraine. IGS Presid ent Lance Strate was interviewed for the Gadfly Academy/You Are Not a Machine YouTube channel; a playlist for the 3-part series can be viewed here. He was also a guest, along with Sean Illing, on an episode of the Center for Humane Technology’s podcast, Your Undivided Attention, interviewed by Tristan Harris on Neil Postman and the contemporary media environment. This episode is available via most major podcast distributors (or just click on the link above or right here), and a video of the discussion is available on YouTube. Additionally, he was a guest on Paul Levinson‘s podcast to discuss his new book published by the IGS, Not A, Not Be, &c. The full episode of Light On Light Through is also available via most major podcast distributors (or just click on the link above or right here), and a video of the conversation is also available on YouTube. Artist, writer, and scholar John Cussans has published a book chapter, «This is Not A Diagram: Applying General Semantics to Contemporary Arts Pedagogy» in a co-authored book entitled, Drawing Analogies: Diagrams in Art, Theory, and Practice, published by Bloomsbury Collections. The book is available to download for free via Open Access agreement. To access the specific chapter, click here. Martin H. Levinson, a trustee and past president of the Institute of General Semantics, and author of several books published by the IGS, has been quoted in Barron’s magazine. To read the article online click here. He also authored a piece entitled «Semantic Antics» that was published in the February 2025 issue of the Mensa Bulletin. We are proud to share that IGS Trustee Chris Meyer, author of two books published by the IGS, How Do You Know: A Guide to Clear Thinking About Wall Street, Investing, and Life, and Dear Fellow Time-Binder: Letters on General Semantics, has been interviewed in Edge magazine. To read the interview online click here. Social Media Reminder: We have an official IGS Group on Facebook. To join, just search for the Institute of General Semantics, and ask to join. And look for InstituteofGS on X(Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, to find, follow, and subscribe to us! We are now on Bluesky! Look for @generalsemantics.org! Emails have been going out to renew or join anew. We appreciate and value each and every one of you, and we don’t want you to miss out on everything that we have to offer! So please activate your membership for 2025, and encourage others to join! It is easier than ever to join or renew online, or download our membership form if you would prefer to send a check or otherwise join by mail. IGS membership benefits include Subscription to our journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics Discounts on books and other items at the IGS Store Access to the members-only pages of the IGS website Free admission for members and their guests to the annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and dinner, and accompanying symposium (and exclusive access to the livestream) Discounts on other events, seminars, and courses If you are pleased with our efforts and want to show your support, please do so by joining and renewing your membership. And consider going above and beyond by joining on the Contributor, Supporter, Sponsor, or Time-Binder level. And please keep us in mind for charitable donations. The IGS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, so your donations are tax deductible. Go to Our Membership Page |
19,154 Institute of General Semantics: November News
Blog de Octavio Islas 