Most Hollywood mind confections
are cotton candy that reverts back into sugar and coloring as it enters
your mouth. Whats missing is any substance that you take away
after the movie. Theres no nutrition there. When the movie is
over, youre left with nothing.
We need to take back the
powerful media of film the media should be teaching us valuable
lessons about how to survive, keep the earth clean and healthy. There
are so many important discussions, new philosophies, concepts, ways
to living, so many valuable ways the media could function, instead of
focusing only on killing, wealth and excess. Who will teach us how to
survive the coming ecological and economic storms?
The one idea that Hollywood
movies strive to suppress more than any other is the idea of an egalitarian
society. We are constantly reminded of how bad we are, how criminal,
how bloody, how deadly.
In a psychological test,
70% of us seem to readjust our brains to believe what a peer group says
happened, rather than what we actually witnessed ourselves in real life.
Movies and media dictate
peoples consciousness by glorifying the lives of the rich and
criminal, simplifying our stratified social order and making the unspeakable
norm. Do we accept the rule of the 1% over the 99%? Thoughts by Dimitri
Devyatkin an American filmmaker, writer that specializes in social
documentaries, historical feature films.
We'll see
you at the
future of Film - Thursday, 26 January!
.... interested in knowing
more and sharing thoughts and ideas .... email us!
By
Tiffany Shlain. Honored by Newsweek as one of the Women
Shaping the 21st Century, Tiffany Shlain is a filmmaker,
artist, founder of The Webby Awards, co-founder of the International
Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and a Henry Crown Fellow
of The Aspen Institute.
Alfred
Hitchcock said a film is made three times: when you write it,
when you shoot it, and when you edit it. Today there's a fourth:
when you distribute it. With all the new technologies and D.I.Y.
opportunities available to reach people with your project in fresh
and exciting ways, you get to be just as creative when you take
a film out into the world.
My team and I have done a lot of experiments in distribution with
our film "The Tribe," which played at Tribeca Film Festival
in 2006. In many ways, I felt like we were throwing spaghetti
at the constantly receding wall of the Internet to see what sticks.
A lot stuck. Our 18 minute film, "The Tribe," became
the first documentary to ever reach #1 on iTunes.
This was thanks to an amazing community that we connected with
at festivals like Tribeca. They supported us, followed us, linked
to us and continued to spread the word, which ultimately made
it so we raced past Pixar and Universal on that iTunes list.
That was five years ago. With all the new tools available today,
we're not only able to throw pasta strands but able to have a
big feast with all the people that want to engage with our films.
10 Big Ideas
In terms of the future of film, below is a list of things I want
to help make happen in the future.
1. All films would be translatable to every language on Earth
so everyone could experience them.
2. All video images/songs you found online could be easily negotiated
with a simple rights page, or through Creative Commons.
3. There will be a true transparency on distribution sales, expenses
and with aggregators.
4. The crazy time labels/constraints will be removed. No longer
a world of just "shorts & features." Time is a construct
and there is room for every length and every length should receive
the same respect.
5. When you search a subject on Google, the results you get --
along with books and articles -- you would also see trailers of
videos about the subject too (that one is not too far away).
6. In whichever theater the audience member wants to stay connected
to the issue, to the director, you can find an easy way to stay
connected (oh yeah, we already can do that).
7. As a documentarian, there could be a website where you could
show a whole film and hyperlink outward every clip that you can
contextualize or get more info.
8. 3D documentaries will be inexpensive to make so the visceral
experience of important subjects of our day can be conveyed in
immersive forms.
9. Last, I hope some filmmakers will call themselves interdependent
rather than independent filmmakers. All these new tools are about
the power of us being connected, helping each other, sharing best
practices, sharing networks, strength in the network. So ultimately,
we are interdependent filmmakers.
10. Any small idea repeated thousands or millions of times via
the web becomes a big idea. That's the power of the network. That's
the future.
Triggering Conversations
The goal with all of my films is to trigger conversations about
important issues of our day. In some ways I no longer think of
myself as a filmmaker but more like a conversation maker. We want
to provide people a way to engage with the core ideas in the film
through many entry points and experiences...whether it's the film,
physical objects to read or play with, mobile phone apps and live
events.
While nothing will replace the bonding that happens in the dark
watching a movie together, there are many tools that can help
extend a conversation that a film sparks. For "The Tribe,"
we created a discussion kit that included the film, a written
guide, conversation cards, and curriculum. 2006 was also when
critical mass had finally appeared on Facebook so we were able
to expand the discussion and community. I also have had an email
newsletter for a decade since I started The Webby Awards called,
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" which I send out to my community
4 times a year. Old school email is still a great way to engage
people in dialogue and experiments.
For our new feature documentary film Connected:
An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology
(Sundance 2011), we engaged our community -- even while we were
making the film. Filmmaking to me at its core is one big collaborative
interconnected idea fest. I write collaboratively, edit collaboratively,
get a lot of feedback from minds I love as well as from the hive
mind online through Twitter and Facebook. During the script writing,
I asked questions about subjects we were wrestling with, song
suggestions, archival shot ideas and received amazing responses
-- many of which ended up in the film. It's ultimately all about
the push and pull of other people's perspectives that excites
me about the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the Internet.
We want to take all forms of engagement with our audience to a
whole new level with our new film, "Connected" by giving
our community even more ways to experience the ideas of the film
now that it's been released. "Connected" explores what
it means to be connected in the 21st century -- both personally
and globally. Here's the trailer for it:
For the film, we have a mobile phone app coming out and an iPad
app with Mopix we are working on. We just released our educational
kit for the film that includes a curriculum, a 100-page book and
conversation cards. We were able to use a new eco-friendly DVD
that is recyclable and the whole kit is handmade. We also just
released an educational guide to the film. Even though we are
fully living in digital times, I am still very into the handmade,
and we have a lot of exciting plans coming up in the fall. There
are various ways we hope to trigger a global conversation about
what it means to be connected in the 21st century.
Going Farther
It's an incredibly exciting time to be a filmmaker. Not only are
we able to make films with inexpensive tools that allow each of
us to really have our own production studio, but now we can have
this direct connection with our audience. To challenge us, to
support us, to engage with ideas so we can all understand them
further.
One of my favorite quotes about the future is by John Pierpont
Morgan, "Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you'll
be able to see farther." The future of film is about us all
seeing as far as we can see, imagining new forms of connection,
making it happen with other filmmakers, supporters and those that
engage with our films so we can all see farther ...together.
This article was cross-posted at The Future of Film blog, launched
as part of the Tribeca
(Online) Film Festival,
features leading filmmakers and other experts within the film
industry sharing their thoughts on film, technology and the future
of media. Click here
to follow Tiffany Shlain and other experts from film and technology
as they comment on the changing media environment on the Tribeca
Future of Film Blog.
Thursday,
January 26, 2012 Registration: 18:30-19:00,
Conference: 19:00-21:15 Location: Pakhuis
de Zwijger, Expo Zaal, Piet Heinkade
179, first floor, 1019 HC Amsterdam
The conference language is English. registration more
information
In collaboration with Freelance
Factory
The speakers and
topics are
Eline
Flipse, Independent
Motion Pictures and Film Professional
Her film NASHA GAZETA, about a one-man Russian newspaper, brought
Flipse the Jury Award at the 2010 Hot Docs Film Festival in
Toronto.
Wendy L. Bernfeld,
Founder, Managing Director, Rights Stuff
Wendy
Bernfeld will present a short talk on the evolving future of
film, from the business and creative perspective. She will outline
various new approaches and opportunities regarding producing
/ distributing / funding films, embracing cross- platform /
transmedia via international VOD platforms, brands, tech companies
and other new partners, and also via innovative (non traditional)
''windows''. The importance of engaging with audiences long
before the film is released eg via online sourcing and social
networks, is also discussed.
Paul
Breuls,
CEO, Corsan NV, Producer & Director
Dialogue about European Dreams
Corsan has cast the top American actors Robert De Niro and John
Travolta in its new production "Killing Season".
Moderated by Jonathan
Marks, Director,
Critical Distance
.Italo
- the "Ferrari" train
Thinking of Ferrari cars ...
NTV is the first
private operator on the Italian high speed rail network and the
first operator in the world to use the new Alstom AGV train, the
train currently holds the high speed train record.
"AGV won't be the first train that will run at this speed
in Italy, but it will be the most modern," said Bruno Sol-Rolland,
vice president for rolling stock mainlines at Alstom Transport.
The service will
start by the end of 2011 with the name of "Italo".
The technological leadership of the train Italo
Italo is based
on the latest Alstom AGV technology in terms of high speed train,
features a system of locomotion distributed throughout the different
cars of the train, rather than being concentrated in the front
and back locomotives. The space made available by the elimination
of the locomotives is placed at the disposal of the passengers
(increase of 20% in onboard capacity).
The structural architecture
made possible by the distributed locomotion almost eliminates
mush of the onboard vibration and noise, while attenuating the
movements between cars, optimising the aerodynamics and guaranteeing
maximum safety, in addition to reducing maintenance costs by 15%.
What is more, the
combination of this technological innovation with composite materials
and traction systems brought to even further heights of perfection
has made it possible to lighten Italo by approximately
70 tons, compared to the trains manufactured by the competition.
As a result, Italo,
the future train of NTV, offers extremely high environmental performance,
with energy consumption reduced by 15%.
In detail, the primary
advantages of the new Italo train regard all aspects of
performance: weight/power ratio, onboard space and comfort,
energy consumption, safety and maintenance.
Weight/power ratio
the bogies house synchronous engines that operate with permanent
magnets and put out excellent levels of power, at the same time
as they permit reduction in mass and volume, all to the benefit
of energy savings. In fact, Italo generates an unequalled
weight/power ratio of 22.6 kW/ton, a figure 23% higher than the
competition.
Onboard space
and comfort The elimination of the locomotives, replaced by
the system of distributed locomotion, freed up space which was
given over to the passengers, further increasing the liveability
of the internal spaces (a 20% increase in the surface area).
In terms of width
as well, with a body of 3 metres and an internal space of 2.75
metres, Italo ranks as the best in its class in terms of
liveability, providing increased comfort in terms of both seating
and aisles, whose size allows passengers to move and pass by each
other with ease, even when carrying bulky luggage.
Completing the optimisation
of the space layout is the attentive handling of light (+15% window
surfaces), ergonomics and the onboard equipment and accessories
for passengers. In addition, travelling noise and vibration are
limited by the deck, ensuring maximum comfort for passengers.
The train has been
made easy to enter for all passengers, thanks to a floor that
is a full 10 centimetres lower than those on trains built according
to traditional architecture.
The care taken with
ergonomics is also reflected in the drivers cabin, designed
in accordance with the international programs European Driver
Desk and European Cabin. Drivers are able to control of the control
station rapidly, making for optimal operation.
A final guarantee
of elevated passenger comfort on Italo is the low level
of noise inside the train, made possible by numerous inventions
in the field of aero-acoustics. In addition to the general reduction
in travelling noise, a number of highly refined solutions, such
as a body lining unaffected by pressure waves, will make it possible
to limit the effect of air pressure on eardrums when passing through
tunnels.
Energy consumption
Thanks to the reduction in the number of bogies brought about
by the new architecture of Italo (resulting in less turbulence
and, therefore, less resistance), together with the accurate aerodynamic
features of the new design, especially high levels of environmental
performance are possible, with energy consumption reduced by 15%.
Compared to a TGV, the energy consumption per seat is roughly
30% lower.
Safety
Italo is designed to guarantee maximum passenger safety. In
the case of collision, passenger protection is guaranteed by the
criteria used to set the dimensions of the body structure and
by the energy absorbers, which fully satisfy European standards
for passive safety. Furthermore, the configuration of the train
as a whole, an approach that introduces a stronger link between
the cars than is the case with conventional trains (the bodies
are connected to each other with a bogie) provides the train with
greater rigidity: resistance to side winds is improved, and, in
the case of a derailment, the train does not crumple accordion
style, unlike what would occur with a train lacking such
links.
Maintenance
Bogies alone account for 35-40% of the total maintenance cost
for a train, seeing that they contain the largest number of parts
subject to wear. The reduction in the number of bogies, as compared
to a classic train, makes possible not only increased passenger
capacity but also a 30% per-seat reduction in the cost of maintenance.
Global Crop Diversity
Trust was founded in 2004 by the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), a United Nations structure, and Bioversity International
as an initiative following the uprising concern over the last
decade for global food security. Global Crop Diversity Trust,
in a partnership with major private foundations such as the Bill
Gates foundation and the Rockefeller foundation and the FAO, focuses
on getting a fix on the global food security issue which has become
increasingly preoccupying. The global population will have grown
to nine billion individuals within the next forty years and Global
Crop Diversity Trust, by its publications, actions and partnerships,
is studying and acting on all the possibilities to best feed the
planet in 2050. The organism stresses the importance of climate
change and its effects on the food security issue for the future,
setting it even before urbanization or the lack of cultivatable
grounds in the major obstacles in feeding the global population
for the next decades. The necessity of adapting the current agricultural
methods and seeking for new cultivable plants more resistant to
dryness should be set as upmost priorities according to Cary Folwer,
executive director at the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The situation
is not alarming but he stresses the importance of acting now to
ensure as much as possible food security worldwide in the future.
A
Polish Bank a 100% Facebook
The Polish Bank Alior announced in November the opening of a new
branch which would be only accessible from social networks such
as Facebook. This innovation could be seen as a new generations
of banks fitting our now globalized, technology-oriented and highly
connected world. Wojciech Sobieraj, CEO of Alior Sync, with this
move focuses on the needs, desires and timetable of the young
generations who spend a lot of their free time on social networks
and rely on them more and more for information research and other
services in development. This new branch of Alior would propose
classic financial services available in any bank but also the
possibility of organizing the client's budget via these same social
networks. This project is very likely to be successful for it
appears that the Polish population is already up to 20% for using
on-line banking and this number is said to rise to 40% by 2016.
The use of on-line banking is, after all, only a step away from
"social-network banking".
.International
Year of Cooperatives (IYC)
The United
Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International
Year of Cooperatives,
highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic
development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment
generation and social integration.
With the theme of Cooperative
Enterprises Build a Better World, the Year seeks to encourage
the growth and establishment of cooperatives all over the world.
It also encourages individuals, communities and governments to recognize
the agency of cooperatives in helping to achieve internationally
agreed upon development goals, such as the Millennium Development
Goals.
So what exactly are cooperatives? What differentiates them from
other forms of business? What are the advantages of cooperatives
for members and communities in general?
Cooperatives are business enterprises owned and controlled by the
very members that they serve. Their member-driven nature is one
of the most clearly differentiating factors of cooperative enterprises.
This fact means that decisions made in cooperatives are balanced
by the pursuit of profit, and the needs and interests of members
and their communities.
Cooperatives take many forms and operate in all sectors of society.
Most share a unique set of principles which keep them attuned with
their member-driven characterization.
Following the successful formula of previous Phaidon "10x10"
titles, this new book in the series will present 100 of the world's
most exceptional emerging film directors, selected by internationally
prominent festival directors including Frederic Maire/Locarno, Piers
Handling & Cameron Bailey/Toronto, Sergio Wolf/Buenos Aires,
Wieland Speck/Berlin, Kim Dong-Ho/Pusan, Korea, Marco Muller/Venice,
Michel Ouedraogo/Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Li Cheuk-to/Hong
Kong.
Arranged alphabetically
by film director, the book explores the work of each director
through the close analysis of one key film per director featured
on 2 spreads, providing the reader with detailed information about
each film and its author both in words and pictures, including
film stills, on-set photographs, posters, and more. In addition,
each festival director-curator will present one seminal film,
which has influenced his understanding of contemporary cinema.
Each curator will write an essay about the film director and the
selected film. For each film, the reader will learn about the
plot, the cast, the full credits, the film location, the budget,
the release date, the nominations and awards, as well the genesis,
the production and post-production elements. Each film will be
illustrated by sequences of films stills as well as sketches,
location scouting shots and storyboards. Finally, at the end of
the book, each curator will select one cultural reference from
varying genres and media to illustrate the context in which film
directors operate today. The book will include a short biography
for each film director and each curator. The result is unique
source book, a fresh and up-to-the-minute collection of the best
global and regional cinematographic creations in all fictional
genre - drama, crime, horror, fantasy, science-fiction - around
the world.
Criteria for selection:
each curator (nominators) will select ten film directors and one
long feature film which the director made, produced and distributed
in the last five years. Each selected film must be a long feature
film and should be his or her first, second or third film.
"Our scientific
power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles, but
misguided men." - Martin Luther King
If you start a discussion about human evolution, you are likely
to end up talking about the past, about the history of evolution.
And if you start a discussion about the future, you are likely to
end up talking about the future of technology, or the future of
society or the future of the planet. You are very unlikely to end
up talking about the future of evolution or the future of the human
being. In this short piece I outline why I believe we are still
evolving, that we still have a long way to go, and that there is
much that we could, and should, do to shape the pace and direction
of our individual and collective evolution.
Are we still evolving?
There is no a priori reason to suggest that we have stopped
evolving. If our evolution has stopped, did it stop suddenly,
in 1956, for example? In any event, how would we know? On the
other hand, there are compelling signs that we are still evolving
in two important aspects - consciousness and intelligence - and
that we still have a very long way to go. When I say consciousness,
I mean three things. We know more, we are more awake, and we experience
in new ways. And when I say intelligence, I mean wisdom and effectiveness
right across the whole spectrum of human ability.
Clearly, we are not
all evolving at the same pace or in the same ways. Indeed, some
of us seem stuck. But I do feel that, taken as a whole, humanity
is definitely evolving in consciousness and intelligence, and
that we will eventually reach levels of consciousness and intelligence
that we can barely imagine today.
The evolution
of consciousness
Human consciousness is evolving both collectively and individually.
We have witnessed three major forms of collective consciousness
emerge in the last 100 years alone - "human race consciousness",
"Nature consciousness", and "planet earth consciousness".
First, we became aware of the idea of the human race as a whole,
as a single entity. This awareness has taken many forms, such
as the emergence of the United Nations, the concept of the human
family, and so on. Second, we developed an awareness of Nature
as a whole. This has taken the form of our interest in wildlife,
threatened species, the environment, ecology, and the fact that
we are all part of these things. Third, and thanks to pictures
of Earth taken from space and to writers such as James Lovelock,
many of us now see the planet as a single, unified entity. Some
of us even think of it as an intelligent, living being - Gaia.
Three things have accelerated this collective consciousness in
the last 25 years or so - the Internet, globalisation, and David
Attenborough.
So, yes, many of
us are more aware, more conscious, in this collective sense. At
the same time, many of us are more "awake", more aware
of ourselves, of others, and of what is happening in the world.
Our individual consciousness has also evolved. But there is even
more, because some of us have been able to experience forms of
consciousness that are just not part of the normal daily diet
of modern life. I will say a few words about two forms with which
I am familiar. I call them "teleconsciousness" and "paraconsciousness".
Teleconsciousness
can be defined as knowing at a distance, through space or time,
without any physical means. It includes basic intuition, telepathy
(literally "feeling at a distance), and precognition - knowing
something in the future. Although many people have had these kinds
of experience, they do not happen often, and they are not regarded
as part of normal life. And there is a widespread misconception
that that this form of consciousness is a "gift", available
only to a very few. If it is a gift, then so are our eyes and
hands and legs! I believe that teleconsciousness is part of our
birth-right, available to anyone who makes the effort to awaken
and train it.
Paraconsciousness
("knowing beyond") is direct experience of the non-physical
aspects of the world and ourselves, the aspects that can never
be perceived by any of our five physical senses. As with teleconsciousness,
I believe that the ability to perceive non-physical aspects of
the world and the human being is also available to all of us,
should we choose to develop and use this faculty. But it does
not come easily, because we are so conditioned to believe that
the physical reality is the only possible reality. However, if
we developed this form of consciousness, it would change our knowledge
base completely. Science, for example, would cease to be science
of the physical, which it is at present, and become "science
of the whole", because it would be the whole human being
looking at the whole world.
What has all this
to do with our future evolution? I believe that, if some of us
are able to awaken and use these forms of consciousness, this
suggests that, in time, all of us can. I am convinced that the
evolution of our collective and individual consciousness is central
to our future. Indeed, I cannot imagine a viable human future
if we do not evolve in this way.
The evolution
of intelligence
Although some of us continue to insist that we human beings are
the most intelligent species on this planet, the sad fact is that
we have become the most dangerous and destructive. We kill and
damage our own species with a ferocity that is unrivalled anywhere.
And we are destroying the biosphere at an alarming rate. It may
be true that we have the potential to be the most intelligent
species, but we have a long way to go before this becomes a fact.
Meanwhile, all other species put us to shame by the ecological,
intelligent ways they live their lives.
As for human knowledge,
an important part of our intelligence, it is true that we know
a lot about ourselves and the universe. We have clearly come a
long way. But a little humility is in order. If we think about
how far we have come in the last hundred years, for example, it
should give us a sense of how far we can go in the next hundred,
and the next thousand. We still have a great deal to learn and
understand about ourselves and the universe. When some people
tell us that we already know nearly all the important things there
are to know, or that we are getting close to the "mind of
God", this simply does not sound right.
Intelligence is notoriously
difficult to define, so I prefer to describe its qualities. When
we meet highly intelligent people, we are usually impressed. There
is something compelling about the way they look, the way they
speak, and even the way they move. They tend to be economical
in their use of words and their use of energy. They seem to be
able to get things done without really trying. And it is reassuring
to have them around, because they always know what to do when
something goes wrong. We feel good when we are in their company,
because they are cheerful and friendly, but also because they
seem to understand us at least as much as we understand ourselves.
If we were able to look inside highly intelligent people, we would
see that they are acutely sensitive to the world around them.
They notice a lot and miss very little. And we would see that
they are masters of their feelings, and are able to tune into,
and empathise with, the feelings of others. They have exceptionally
good minds, which enable them to think clearly, communicate simply
and effectively and see, at a deeper level, why things are the
way they are and how they are likely to be in the future. They
have learned to trust their intuition, and they have learned to
transcend many of the conventions and beliefs that restrict human
development and creativity. They are very obviously mentally and
emotionally intelligent, but it goes far beyond that. Everything
about them is intelligent. We have a sense that everything they
do and say makes the world a better place. And they seem to have
ascended to a higher order childhood.
I recognise that
all this may sound too good to be true. It is rare that we come
across the kind of people I am talking about. But there are good
reasons for this. We live in an age of specialisation, with a
strong emphasis on technology and on the skills and knowledge
that can be used profitably in the economy. The few schools and
colleges that do offer a "whole-person" education are
so rare that they have to make a special point of advertising
their unusual offering (see, for example www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk).
As you can see, I
understand intelligence as the whole range of human behaviour
- the way we are, the way we move, the way we speak, the way we
feel, the way we think, and so much more. For me, a truly intelligent
person is good, in every sense of the word. It goes without saying
that there is much that we could do to become better, in
every sense of the word. When I think of the evolution of our
intelligence, it is this that I have in mind. If large numbers
of people worked on themselves to be more intelligent, in this
fuller sense, the world would change out of all recognition.
A route map
Some of us may believe that evolution happens of its own accord,
as part of the natural order if things, and that there is nothing
we can do to change it. If that is true, then why do so many of
us put in the time and energy to develop ourselves in one way
or another? We educate and train ourselves in a huge range of
knowledge and skills. We have literally millions of initiatives
to make the world a better place, and many of us engage in some
form of therapy or spiritual practice to nudge forward our own
evolution. Although we may not think of it as such, many of us
are already influencing the pace and direction of our own evolution
and that of humanity as a whole.
It is by no means
easy to prescribe a route out of the deep hole of materialism
that we keep digging for ourselves. But I can think of a few things
that might help.
A new central
purpose
There can be little doubt that the current central purpose of
humanity today is material growth. For countries, this manifests
as perpetual economic growth. For businesses, it manifests as
ever increasing profits. And for large numbers of individuals,
it manifests as having more money and things. Although economic
growth has been useful in some respects - it raised the living
standards of billions of people - it is well past its sell-by
date, because it now brings more problems than benefits. As Clive
Hamilton points out in his book Growth Fetish: "Growth
not only fails to make people contented; it destroys many of the
things that do. Growth fosters empty consumerism, degrades the
natural environment, weakens social cohesion and corrodes character."
It is clear that we urgently need a new central purpose. Imagine
how different things would be if the central purpose of society
was to develop people to their highest potential and to care for
this planet as if it really mattered. If this was our central
purpose, our whole lives would change, as would the way we work,
the way we govern ourselves, and the way we relate to each
other. It would be a very different world. There is important
work to be done here, in developing and promoting a new central
purpose.
This is no idle matter.
The central purpose of any system, be it a society, a company,
a health service, a tree or a galaxy, determines everything about
that system, because all aspects of the system have to serve the
central purpose. Indeed, the most effective way to change any
system is to change its central purpose. If, for example, the
main purpose of a business is to make as much profit as possible,
then everything about the business will be in service to money.
But if its main purpose is to provide excellent services to its
customers, then it will be a very different business and attract
very different people to it. If we want shape the pace and direction
of our own evolution, as I believe we must, then our central purpose
needs to reflect this desire explicitly.
Systematic work
on our consciousness and intelligence
In the last 12 years or so, I have given many courses in intelligence
and in consciousness, to individuals and to organisations. It
has often been a case of learning by doing. I have learned a lot.
Above all, I confirmed to myself what I already sensed to be true,
that all of us have the potential to become much more intelligent
and much conscious. Just to be clear, they are not the same. Although
consciousness may be the necessary precursor of intelligence,
it is not the guarantor! Knowing something does not guarantee
that we will act on that knowledge. I am sure many of us can recall,
with some discomfort, situations where we knew something but did
not act on that knowledge. We all know about climate change, for
example. But how many of us can put our hands on our hearts and
say that we do nothing to cause climate change? So, intelligence
is as intelligence does. It has meaning only in the doing. And,
for many of us, the doing can be challenging. For most of us,
being more intelligent and more conscious requires regular, systematic
work on ourselves. This will not come easy, because it can be
difficult to give up the habits, beliefs and behaviours of a lifetime,
especially if they feel like our source of security. And it can
be doubly difficult when faced with pressures from employers,
government, and society in general, to believe certain things
and behave in certain ways. That said, change we must if we are
to have any hope of a decent human future.
Interestingly, there
seem to be no upper limits to intelligence and consciousness.
There are practical limits, yes, such as time and laziness, but
the fact is that, the more we work on our intelligence and consciousness,
the more intelligent and conscious we become. This has far-reaching
implications, but that discussion will have to be for another
time.
A liberating worldview
Do we believe that we are basically higher animals, alone in the
universe, and separate from it? Do we believe we are here only
because life evolved by chance on this planet? Do we believe that
we do not exist after death? Do we believe that the physical reality
is the only possible reality? And do we believe that the universe
has no deeper meaning or higher intelligence? If we believe these
things, then we are likely to give high value to material things
and temporary pleasures. And it would not be surprising if we
did not care much about people and the planet.
If we believe these
things, then any attempt to make "progress" will end
up being some variant of materialism. It could "fair materialism"
(social justice, equality, human rights etc.) It could be "ecological
materialism" (economic growth as usual, but with a weather
eye on the environment). Or it could be the latest fashion, "happy
materialism" (e.g. the Happiness Project www.happiness-project.com)
where we are all cheerful on the surface, but not much is changing
at a deeper level.
Or, do we believe
that we are much more than higher animals, that we are not alone
in the universe, and that we are intimately connected to it? Do
we believe that we are here for reasons that have nothing to do
with chance? Do we believe that we continue to exist in some form
after death? Do we believe that the physical reality is just part
of a much greater reality that we have yet to experience? And
do we believe that the universe is packed with deeper meaning
and higher intelligence? If we believe all, or most, of these
things, then our values and behaviour would reflect this, and
we would be more likely to care for each other and the planet.
We would also be more likely to be engaged in some kind of conscious
evolution.
Afterword
It is not easy to do justice to this topic in 3000 words. I have,
for example, said nothing about the evolution of the human body.
I will note, however, that while many of us seem finer, more beautiful,
large numbers of us are clinically obese. Nor have I mentioned
the evolution of "human capacity", which interests me
greatly. I believe that, as we continue to evolve, especially
in unusual forms of consciousness, we will eventually develop
the capacity to do some things that we can do now only with the
aid of technology. But that, too, will have to be another discussion.
If I have stimulated
you to think about the future of human evolution and to wonder
how we might influence it, then my purpose is served.
Larry Lippitt: "Preferred
Futuring is a way to engage everyone in the system to be able
to communicate with each other. Communication is so important
and so basic to operating as an organization effectively and,
nowadays, it happens so very quickly, too.
Preferred Futuring helps people come together and discuss How
on earth did we get to where we are? and Where are
we, actually?
Once weve agreed on these issues, we can discuss Do
we have any values or beliefs that have participated in getting
us there? because our basic values and beliefs affect the
way we behave.
And finally, What are some of the trends and developments
on the horizon?. As we hope and plan to arrive at the future
we want, we need to ask, Which trends might impact us?
So we need to be smart in our strategic thinking.
Then, collectively, we all participate in determining Where
to we want to be? Not, Where should we be? or
Where ought we to be? but Where do we want to
be? Its about listening to the passion in my heart
that says This is exciting, and I want us to get there together.
We need to talk with each other in order for us all to work together
towards getting there. This is then followed by planning and implementation.
Thats basically the process."
Dr. Lippitt spoke at a leadership meeting hosted by IBM's Industry
Solutions Lab
.Futurist
Portrait: Faith Popcorn
Faith Popcorn, CEO of BrainReserve
Trend Forecasting and Strategy specializing in Applied Futurism
Faith Popcorn, born
Faith Plotkin, started off as a graduate student of both New York
University and the High School of Performing Arts of New York.
Before founding her marketing consulting firm BrainReserve in
1974, Faith Popcorn worked in the advertising industry as creative
director in an agency.
Her reputation has
been rightly established by the exactitude and acuteness of her
predictions such as in the late 1990's the "cocooning boom".
BrainReserve has a clientele spread all over the world and the
business scale, from small businesses to major companies such
as, overtime, American Express, Pepsi and Tyson. The attention
given to analyzing customer behavior enables Faith Popcorn and
her team to identify imminent trends which have directly applicable
solutions.
Faith: "A documented
95% accuracy rate, I predicted the demand for fresh foods and
four-wheel drives, as well as the spiritual tenor of the millennium
with Cocooning. I was the first to anticipate the explosive growth
of home delivery, home businesses and home shopping. My FutureView,
which focuses on how trends are affecting consumer lifestyles
and purchasing behavior, has been presented to thousands of audiences
across the globe.
Recently I am giving a talk globally about the increasing power
of females and the prediction that the next decade will be the
SheCade and the search for good with The Ark."
Popcorn, aside from
her work at BrainReserve as founder and CEO, exercises many other
professional activities as a reknown author and speaker. The Popcorn
Report: Faith Popcorn on the Future of Your Company, Your World,
Your Life, her best-selling book, Clicking: 17 Trends to Future
Fit Your Life, Your Work, Your Business, and Dictionary
of the Future: The Words, Terms, and Trends that Define the Way
We'll Live, Work and Talk stand as two of her most famous
work as a futurist writer and analyst. Approached by major news
sources such as the Wall Street Journal and the New
York Times for her market expertise and valued trend analyses,
Faith Popcorn is also a much sought-out speaker.
January
26, 2012
the
future of Film January 26,
2012, 18:30-21:15
Location: Pakhuis
de Zwijger, Expo Zaal,
Piet Heinkade 179, first floor, 1019 HC Amsterdam
In collaboration with the Freelance Factory
February
23, 2012
the
future of Social Biomimicry
What we can learn from nature February 23,
2012, 18:30-21:15
Location:
Volkskrantgebouw, Wibautstraat 150, 1091 GR Amsterdam [former
building of the Volkskrant]
March 29, 2012 the
future of Languages-
more than just words March 29, 2012, 18:30 - 21:15
Location: OBA - Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam, Oosterdokseiland
143, 1011 DL Amsterdam
In collaboration with the British
Council
April
2012
the future of
Germany
May 31, 2012
the future of
Taxes May 31, 2012,
18:30 - 21:15
Location: Info.nl, Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16. 1011
HB, Amsterdam
Supported by Info.nl
June 28, 2012
the future of Urban Energy June 28, 2012, 18:30 - 21:15
Option:
Guided Tour 17:00
Location:
Van Eesterenmuseum, Burgemeester De Vlugtlaan 125,
1063 BJ Amsterdam
Supported
by the
Van
Eesterenmuseum
.Credentials
Felix Bopp, Editor-in-Chief
Raphaelle Beguinel, Assistant Editor
.Contact
Your
comments, ideas, articles are welcome!
Please write to Felix Bopp, Editor-in-Chief: editor@clubofamsterdam.com