Homo Creator & Reframing Karim Benammar Citizen Artist Incubator, Vienna, September 9-11, 2016
Solar Surplus
Creativity Surplus energy: leaving more behind than we take Essential nature of human beings to create History of our civilisation Our destiny as homo creator
Physical creativity Physical habitat: agriculture, dwelling, cities, dams, polders Physical infrastructure: transport, mobility, communications, Artificial materials: plastics, chemical compounds and nuclear energy
Money: a virtual institution
Virtual creativity Laws: property, intellectual property, social contracts, institutions Money: insurance, pensions, leveraging, derivatives Language, education, the Arts Belief systems
Exercise virtual creativity What virtual human creation can you think of that is not so visible? What is its function? How did it get established historically? What would happen if we changed it? Discuss with your neighbour (5 minutes)
Self-creation Education, skills, taming ourselves Physical / chemical enhancement: sports, bodybuilding, plastic surgery, longevity DNA manipulation, creating life, the animal that accelerates its own evolution
Anders Sandberg Transhumanism
Anders Sandberg: spreading life through the universe
Aubrey de Grey Anti-aging: aging is a deadly disease Repairing damage is easier than slowing down damage Life experience and life expectancy of young adults We can continuously improve repairing Our first reaction is a pro-aging trance We can t imagine it We don t want to get our hopes up and be disappointed We see all kinds of problems (over-population; boring lives; having children) Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end. Woody Allen
Aubrey de Grey: longevity escape velocity
Juan Enriquez homo evolutis
World-object Atom bomb Internet Global financial system Global Warming Anthropocene: era of human-driven change
Building blocks Manipulate at the level of code From breeding animals to DNA manipulation Re-creating species Creating artificial life Juan Enrique: Homo evolutis
Vulnerability and Power We determine who lives Creators of our common destiny; Playing God Human vulnerability: earthquake, virus, asteroid, Artificial Intelligence Destroying each other, species, natural environment Mix of carelessness, shorttermism, destruction Adolescence
Crises underlying wave Length of the time-frame Time of crisis 1. Relation to the land 2. Mobility 3. Health 4. Demographics 5. Connections 6. Conflicts Hominiscence: human flourishing Michel Serres
Exercise crisis What system do you see being in crisis? What is the old structure? What is it changing to? What is it disrupting? Discuss with your neighbour (10 mins)
What do we need? Awareness of crises and the need for new strategies. Creative destruction and destructive creativity: the future of work Experimentation: networks; bottom-up initiatives, crowdsourcing, crowd funding
Creative tension 1. Vision of flourishing human race 3. Steps to get there - milestones Robert Fritz 2. Honest assessment of where we are now; analysis of power structures
Creating meaning Viktor Frankl: giving meaning to our lives through self-chosen projects that come to define us Individually As communities Globally
Exercise homo creator What change are you in? What needs to change? Are you driven by energy anger, frustration, divine discontent? Are you attracted by a positive future, called to a project? What is your project as homo creator? Discuss with your neighbour (10 minutes)
Love and Beauty Creating our common future: individual, communal and global human flourishing Aesthetics over ethics; experimentation over the precautionary principle, creativity over prescription
Reframing
Reinventing the wheel Sam Pearce
Fosbury Flop 1968
Thinking differently 1. Why do we do things the way we do them? 2. How can we do things differently? Examining our assumptions: Our actions are usually based on unexamined assumptions We can uncover our assumptions We can change our assumptions
Examining our assumptions Historical precedent this is the way it has always been done Our upbringing our communal and family culture Our education - what we have been taught Established institutions what we may believe to be natural What we choose to believe Every system is a legacy system Reframing: questioning our beliefs by overturning our assumptions
Layers of assumptions PURE MATHEMATICAL AND LOGICAL FORMULAS NATURAL LAWS EMPIRICAL CLAIMS EXPERIENCE W.V.O. Quine (1908-2000)
Paradigm shifts Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996)
WE EMPLOYEES TRUST ARE OUR NOT EMPLOYEES THIEVES EMPLOYEES ARE THIEVES FIXED WORK SHIFTS TEAMS NON-FIXED DECIDE WORKSHIFTS HOURS SALARIES NOT DECIDE YOUR SET BY OWN SALARY MANAGEMENT TRADITIONAL SEMCO MAKE EXPENSES YOUR NON- OWN REGULATION DECISIONS SALARIES SET BY MANAGEMENT INNOVATIVE SEMCO EXPENSES REGULATIONS ONE-PAGE SHORT REPORTS MEMO LONG REPORTS MEETINGS ARE COMPULSORY MEETINGS ARE CONTRIBUTE NOT OR DON T GO COMPULSORY
Step 1 REFRAMING Determine your core belief about the topic Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Map your supporting beliefs Choose the four most important ones Find opposites for each of your supporting beliefs using: linguistic opposites conceptual variations extremes Do not discuss merits Do not worry whether they are true Construct a reframed core belief based on your reframed supporting beliefs What if these four extreme supporting beliefs were true?
STEP 3: TAKE THE OPPOSITE FUNDS WANT TO INVEST INVESTORS AS STALKERS BANKS PROVIDE CREDIT FUNDS THE GOVERNMENT INDIVIDUALS PROVIDE LOANS BANKS PROVIDE PLENTY OF LOANS BANKS WILL NOT PROVIDE LOANS
EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO INFORMATION TEACHER HAS PRIVILEDGED ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE TEACHER SPEAKS, STUDENT IS SILENT EVERYONE SPEAKS - CONSTANT CHATTER TRADITIONAL EDUCATION EDUCATION IN THE 21 ST CENTURY RECIPROCITY BETWEEN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS UNQUESTIONED AUTHORITY INSTITUTIONAL POWER INDIVIDUAL RELEVANCE
SHOW YOUR SKILLS HIGHER EDUCATION DEGREE REQUIRED APPLY FOR JOB AND GET HIRED CONTINUOUSLY CREATE VALUE FOR PROJECTS EMPLOYEE INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS AND CO-CREATION HIERARCHY AND JOB DESCRIPTION JOB SECURITY FLEX WORK, INSECURITY
THE SUN AS CONSTANT SURPLUS THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE FIGHT AGAINST NATURE USING VIRTUOUS GROWTH CYCLES SCARCITY THINKING ABUNDANCE THINKING FLEXIBLE PIE VIEW FIXED PIE VIEW ENDLESS COMPETITION CO-OPERATION AND COLLABORATION
GOD IS DEAD GOD-GIVEN VALUES OBEDIENCE IS REQUIRED MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS HERD MENTALITY ACCORDING TO NIETZSCHE SELF- DETERMINING OVERMAN I AM GOOD THE OTHER IS EVIL WEAKNESS AND SELF-PITY ARE VIRTUOUS STRENGH AND PRIDE ARE VIRTOUS
Step 1 REFRAMING Determine your core belief about the topic Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Map your supporting beliefs Choose the four most important ones Find opposites for each of your supporting beliefs using: linguistic opposites conceptual variations extremes Do not discuss merits Do not worry whether they are true Construct a reframed core belief based on your reframed supporting beliefs What if these four extreme supporting beliefs were true?
Karim Benammar Citizen Artist Incubator, Vienna, September 9-11, 2016