Culture is changing
I thought I’d share another picture with you to prompt some discussion.
What you see below is what I have conceptualised after having reread a few of Mark’s articles on changing culture and the various ‘hyper’ terms that we have been studying over the last few weeks.
This was a slightly more difficult exercise than my attempts of the first schematic I shared with you and I am not quite as confident on it’s capture of the various notions. But I figure, why worry about not getting it exactly right when I have a group of people who will examine it and provide useful feedback on how it may be improved, not least for the fact that amongst you is the author of the articles I read to construct the picture.
In contrast to my (consciously provocative) depiction of the features of our current culture, I have given an interpretation of the features of the new culture emerging. Note that we are only looking at a limited set of features and the picture is not really capable of describing either the current or the emerging culture as a whole.
The culture is changing
Tags: culture, hyperconnectivity, hyperempowerment, hyperintelligence, hypermimesis, knowledge, purpose, understanding
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 12:55 am and is filed under Share This Course, hyperconnectivity, hyperempowerment, hyperinformation, hyperintelligence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Nice! But shouldn’t ‘hyperconnectivity’ point to ’shared knowledge’ and ‘hyperintelligence’ to ’shared understanding’? Just seems to make more sense intuitively.
[Reply]
January 7th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I certainly reflected upon those particular relationships. I tinkered with this picture over the course of the day, yesterday, in between doing other things, letting the concepts play about in my subconscious before returning to it every so often.
Hyperintelligence points to the existence of a pool of knowledge existing to a breadth and depth not seen before. To be sure there is a connectivity involved, with anyone being able to upload and download information as well as engage in group editing, for example.
But the use of a term like Hyperconnectivity seems to provide more value in the analysis of what’s going on when it’s reserved for referring to that connectivity that is fairly directly focused on the sharing of understanding.
As I pored over Mark’s scribbles on the topic, I allowed certain images to settle in my mind, roughly along the lines of seeing hyperintelligence relating to the ability to browse the gopher servers around the world, hunting down pictures of the solar system, with connection to other people being virtually nonexistent, beyond email. But in that context email was no different to telephone, in the sense that one needed to kind of know the person to know their email to be able to contact them. And the culture of contact was different.
On the other hand, the image of a well connected person in the complete absence of any reference material, information or knowledge can gain understanding (and the relevant knowledge) from other people. This is like going to a computer club, say, and talking to (relative) gurus on how to get something to work, etc. A person can do this without even being able to read.
This is why public libraries are fascinating. Most people know one can go there and look up an information system to find something, but one’s experience can be all the better if one leverages the benefits that can be gained from connecting with the librarians (people), who can transfer an understanding that will leap frog one’s effort to hunt and use knowledge.
Does anyone recall the anecdote where Henry Ford responded to a visitor’s questions about his business by picking up the telephone to ask people for the answer? When the visitor commented that Ford appeared no none of the answers for himself, Ford explained that he was surrounded by university graduates with heads full of knowledge, which some call intelligence. As for Ford, he said he needed to keep his head as clear as possible to allow him the room to think…
[Reply]
January 7th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
i’m not sure it helps me understand more but maybe i have to let it sit in my subconscious for longer yet.
i think a simple schematic showing a cycle of hyperconnectivity –> hyperintelligence –> hyperempowerment –> (back to hyperconnectivity) works for me at the moment.
ie, when we connect, we contribute to, and partake of, the collective intelligence which allows (empowers) us to share even more. as the intelligence grows, so does the gravitational pull of the collective … we start to attract others outside the original sharing community and so it keeps growing …cycling through the schematic.
my problem with this is that it sounds too much like the wikipedia model. undoubtedly, there are similarities. the question is – how are we different? is our ‘value proposition’ the creation of a ‘hyperculture’?
[Reply]
Sylvano Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
@malyn, I think both you and @psychegram, have taught me that my draft is very much a draft.
But to go easy on myself, I also reckon that it’s pointing to the need for a few different schematics to explore the concepts and their relationships.
The schematic in this post was an attempt to contrast the cultural shift we’re experiencing and how the components change and rearrange to bring about the new cultural paradigm.
Whereas, if I’m correct in my reading, I think the feedback is showing up the necessarily fuzzy interaction between components and the desire to describe the nature of the processes involved.
Dare I say that even Mark’s articles have the loci of the conceptual components shifting about as the ideas are explored and analysed, which is not unreasonable given that fundamental physics teaches us that in some circumstances light is best analysed as if it were a wave, but in other contexts, analysing it as a particle is the way to go.
One aspect of my picture that I’d be interested have feedback about is the ’shared purpose’ concept I’ve slipped in. In a sense, any culture must have certain aspects of shared purpose, but there is a particular kind of shared purpose that is obviously distinct to the new culture arising from the hyperisation of intelligence, connectivity and empowerment that is deserving of discussion.
[Reply]
kyledstedman Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:17 am
@Sylvano, The shared purpose question is a good one. I wonder if this image happens over and over again, with a whole new complete image splitting off for each shared purpose. I’m thinking of fan communities rallying around a wiki project (Lostpedia, or Star Trek’s Memory Alpha), each of which begins with different kinds of hyperintelligence and hyperconnectivity and ends with communities with different shared purposes.
If that’s the case, then there’s perhaps still a mega, meta shared purpose, whether different communities state it or not: the purpose of changing the shape of sharing.
Not sure what I think yet…still poring these things over.
[Reply]
ctucker Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:49 am
@Sylvano, the shared purpose question is very interesting. I wonder if it could even comprehended by any individual, or even by a hyperintelligence participating in it. I see a great conflict, between those who hold to a teleological hyperculture and those who believe it is apophenia.
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
@Sylvano, credit to you for getting it out there. if we are to grow, it’s best to hit areas of discordance….these are opportunities to learn and grow.
re:cultural shift – see reply to @kyledstedman
[Reply]
kyledstedman Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:24 am
@malyn, I like your cycle a lot; very helpful!
I’m also drawn to your image of the gravitational pull of the collective, which grabs the attention of passing spaceships that venture too close.
In some way that I can’t quite articulate yet, it seems related to Mark’s repeated metaphor of centrifugal and centripetal forces at work when these forces are at work. I’ve been thinking about these metaphors a lot with some colleagues as we discuss the community of writing teachers at our university: in some ways, we want teachers to show centrifugal force, shooting outward in a spiral with their own creativity as they devise awesome new assignments, pedagogies, etc. But in some ways we want to ensure a set of shared practices between sections of our writing classes; i.e., we want to enforce some centripetal forces that pull people back to the center.
But when we talk about gravity, than the increased creativity and increased numbers isn’t a centrifugal force of people shooting away into their own random, creative ventures. Instead, people joining together in creative, hyperintelligent ways is more of a gravitational, centripetal force.
(Maybe this is why they tell you not to mix metaphors. My brain hurts!)
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
@kyledstedman, your metaphors are hurting my brain, too.
i’ll try a different one.
Let’s take McDonald’s (this is not an endorsement, ok?). It’s a well-known brand but each store stands alone (even though it is connected to and supported by the whole franchise) and has some leeway to exercise its individuality (to a degree) depending on its manager.
So by the gravitational pull of the collective, I mean the pull of the ‘brand’ as well as each ’store’; collective and individuals together.
My understanding (and I’m happy to be corrected) is that the vision of this course is to nourish a culture via hyperconnectivity leading to hyperintelligence and hyperempowerment at a group and individual level…and keep it going (hence the cycle back to hyperconnectivity). Imagine the possibilities!!
Also, my view of this is not so much a cultural shift but a cultural assimilation. We don’t lose who we are or our heritage but rather, through sharing, we get to broaden and deepen each other’s cultures.
[Reply]
January 8th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
In some ways, “Hyper Culture” is a better title than Share This Book. Originally – and this is some time ago – I wanted to call the book “Hyperpeople”, because, well, that’s where we’re all headed. But I reckon Share This Book is more accessible. I hope it is.
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
@mpesce, just curious regarding your comment “that’s where we’re all headed”….can people opt out? Regardless of motivations, can people choose not be hyperconnected, etc., or share in this hyper culture?
[Reply]
ctucker Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 3:20 am
@malyn, in the US there are a number of intentional communities who opt out of mainstream culture and technologies; I don’t see hyperculture as changing this for many of the groups.
NPR covered a psychotherapist (Jim Cates) who works with children going through Rumspringa. The interview blew my mind, as Cates very thoughtfully describes the extremely collective culture of the Amish, and the different conception of Self born from it. Many of the youth have such a difficult time integrating their exposure to current mainstream society that I wonder if a healthy, direct transition to a hyperculture would even be possible.
When I visited the midwest, a couple of years ago, there were families who intentionally did not have computers in the home. I expect a contingent, analogous to the Amish, would develop who reject hyperculture. I feel like Humanity may instinctively plant culture time-capsules, an insurance that if a dominant cultural development fails, the species does not end up at square one.
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
@ctucker, i like the idea that there is always a choice.
re: culture time capsule…I’ve just finished a book called “The Kingdom beyond the waves” by Stephen Hunt. The story hinged on finding the kingdom which was a model of the perfect pacifist society with no poverty, hunger, etc. The “legend” goes that this kingdom, Camlantis. Under attack, it was folded in time and space so the evil horde cannot make use of its technology for evil purposes. Everyone was “frozen”, waiting for the perfect time to come back…as judged by those who stayed behind. It was hard going at first but I enjoyed it from halfway onwards.
[Reply]
ctucker Reply:
January 10th, 2010 at 4:37 am
@malyn, that book sounds pretty awesome! i guess i’ll have to read it to find out about the people who stayed behind. thanks for the suggestion!
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
@mpesce, if I could edit my comment I would but this is the best I can do.
By ‘people’ I meant much broader than the people already part of this sharing community.
[Reply]
January 8th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I’m still trying to digest this. could you explain what you mean by hyper-mimesis? I see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimesis but my brain hasn’t made the link yet ( it’s shutdown thinking of upcoming work project atm
[Reply]
Sylvano Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
@kath, To quote Mark, “Hyperconnectivity also means that we can carefully watch one another, and learn from one another’s behaviors at the speed of light. This new capability – ‘hypermimesis’ – means that new behaviors, such as the Birds and Bees Text Line, can be seen and copied very quickly. Finally, hypermimesis means that that communities of interest can form around particular behaviors, ‘clouds’ of potential.” – http://blog.futurestreetconsulting.com/?p=151
[Reply]
malyn Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
@kath, had to look it up to…the key word is ‘mime’…as in to copy, as Sylvano explained above.
[Reply]
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:21 am
Share This Course! » Blog Archive » Shared Perception says:[...] reviewing my pretty diagram, I am now seeing that the linkage between Hyperconnectivity and Shared Understanding needs to be [...]