We need a "macroscope" to allow us to see the detail and the long-range view simultaneously, according to Berg's CEO Matt Webb, speaking at the Guardian Activate summit.
A macroscope is, according to designer John Thackara, "something that helps us see what the aggregation of many small actions looks like when added together". His theory is that such a device could help to focus ideas in the same way that a microscope focuses light, because it's seldom true that experts have access to both the micro and the macro views simultaneously.
Webb mentioned Stewart Brand, who in 1966 campaigned to make Nasa turn their satellite cameras away from space and back towards Earth. He sold badges for 25 cents each asking "Why haven't we seen a photograph of the whole Earth yet?". He hoped that the image of our planet might be a powerful symbol. In 1968, Nasa took the first picture of Earth, followed by the famous Blue Marble picture in 1972. "Turning the satellites towards Earth made us look at ourselves as never before," Webb said.
He went on to explain that even the cleverest people in the world who can understand the human impact of the credit crunch cannot tell a cohesive story about the macroeconomic situation, because it is too big to see or grasp. Where is the picture of the whole financial system, he asked. A macroscope would allow us to see the both the human impact of the financial crisis and the globalised financial system at the same time.
"If you are close enough to see the thickness of a human hair, you can't see both ends of the hair at the same time," he added.
The same, he argued, applies to society. People need to be able to understand the role that their individual actions play in creating societal change. He talked about the fact that it took around 100 million man-hours to put a man on the Moon, and the same amount to build Wikipedia. These enormous human achievements are the result of many individual hours. "How do we choose between a Moon landing or an online encyclopaedia of the world's knowledge? It just sort of happens."
He then set a challenge to the audience to set aside just 100 hours to work on a project - "create soething, learn to sketch, learn a language, build a wall… do something." Following a previous talk where he had set the audience the same challenge, he had been contacted by a German man called Florian Sieper who had taken his 100 hours to organise an event called Porkcamp. This was an event which brought together farmers, abattoir owners, chefs, food critics and food lovers over a weekend to understand the supply chain of pork, from pig to table. Florian has since launched a business off the back of Porkcamp, called Foodtrips, which organises trips to understand where food comes from.
"He has created a business around something that he loves. Put aside 100 hours. Society is not something we are in, it is something that we do," he concluded.
By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Duncan Geere
Continue reading...
via Wired.co.uk
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-06/27/matt-webb-activate-macroscope
No comments:
Post a Comment