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Kirby Urner
Here, there, everywhere
Kirby Urner is a Portland, Oregon-based public educator, curriculum developer, and independent scholar with a multifaceted online presence spanning geometry, philosophy, programming, and local tech culture. Born in Chicago in 1958, he grew up in a family influenced by urban planning (his father worked internationally before settling in Portland), which seems to have shaped his interest in systems thinking and place-based learning. He's the founder of 4D Solutions, a DBA focused on futuristic curriculum design, and has spent over three decades blending teaching, programming, and philosophical inquiry. Urner is indeed prolific across platforms like Medium, YouTube, GitHub, and X (where he posts as @thekirbster), often weaving esoteric topics like Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics with practical tools like Python.
### Synergetics on the Web
Urner has maintained *Synergetics on the Web* since the mid-1990s as one of his earliest hypertext publishing projects, hosted at grunch.net/synergetics/. It's a comprehensive digital archive and exploration of R. Buckminster Fuller's *Synergetics*—a conceptual framework integrating geometry, philosophy, and cosmology to challenge conventional notions of space and dimension (e.g., questioning the "three-dimensional" dogma of Euclidean space). The site serves as a "common language" for these ideas, with resources like slide decks, diagrams, and claims of discovery culled from Fuller's texts. Urner frequently presents on this via YouTube (his channel has videos like "Dimension in Synergetics: A Quest" and "Cascadian Synergetics: Tips for Presenters"), tying it to education and even livestreams for the "School of Tomorrow." His Medium essays, such as "A Wanderer's Tale," reflect on launching this project as a career pivot into cyberspace, emphasizing its role in making Fuller's work accessible.
### Footprint in the Python Community
Urner has been active in Python circles since the early 2000s, positioning the language as a "portal to Synergetics" through computational geometry and data visualization. He maintains the edu-sig mailing list on python.org, a hub for educators strategizing Python's use in diverse classrooms. Highlights include:
- Co-presenting "Python for Teachers" at PyCon 2009, focusing on high school curricula.
- Designing courses in Python, computer graphics, and open source software for Oregon high schoolers, often using Jupyter Notebooks.
- A GitHub repo under 4dsolutions with 29 repositories, including math explorations (e.g., Pi Day fun with Decimal precision or testing Ramanujan-inspired formulas).
- Recent X posts and Medium pieces on Python's ecosystem (e.g., integrating with Blender for 3D modeling or Sentence-Transformers for AI experiments like BERT similarity), plus a Udemy course: "Look Ma, No Calculator! Python, Markdown & Jupyter Notebooks."
His approach emphasizes Python's elegance for non-traditional learners, from Sesame Street fans to math esoterica enthusiasts, and he's advocated for its role in "digital math" education.
### Connections in the Silicon Forest
The "Silicon Forest"—Portland's 1990s-era nickname for its tech hub, evoking Intel, Nike, and open-source vibes—looms large in Urner's work as a place-based anchor for his curricula. He's a lifelong Portlander (SE side, per his outage gripes), framing his career as "tours of duty" in this ecosystem through essays like "Adventures in Teaching," "Back to School in the Silicon Forest," and "A Curriculum Dev in the Silicon Forest." These narrate his shift from elite East Coast schools (post-Princeton BA in liberal arts) to regional ed-tech, emphasizing Python+Jupyter for computational geometry tied to local industries.
Key ties include:
- **Oregon Curriculum Network and School of Tomorrow**: His brainchild initiatives, delivering K-16 programs on "digital math" and Synergetics, with fall 2025 recaps highlighting Portland's tech backdrop. He jests about 4D Solutions as a "Silicon Forest giant" (a subsidiary of the fictional Dawn Wicca and Associates for marketing flair).
- **Regional Tech Sector**: As a "back office" dev, he connects with Portland's open-source and gaming scenes (e.g., X posts on Linux tools, crypto-food pod logistics, or Indian Gaming data centers). His work nods to 1990s revolutions (Coke vs. Pepsi open source) and current experiments like AI in Hilbert space or Blender for geodesic domes.
- **Community Hubs**: Active in WikiEducator for global ed resources, with Portland-specific nods like "Asylum District Food Pods" (Google Earth visuals) or calls for PhDs in food truck crypto. No deep dives into named partners (per your note), but his LinkedIn (500+ connections) and X activity position him as a fixture in Cascadia's math-teaching subculture, from Udemy to YouTube.
Urner's vibe is wandering philosopher-meets-coder: optimistic about tech's flow (e.g., "Let's Go with the Flow" memos), critical of infrastructure woes, and always looping back to Portland's quirky potential. If you're diving in, start with his YouTube for visuals or Medium for narratives—it's a rabbit hole worth the hop.
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