On (or around about give or take a chocolate or two) 6th day of Christmas I sat down to
think. To observe the Noughties transformation as rich and as complex as the
renaissance. By the end of the
noughties I know less about more.
In the space of 10 years
we’ve moved from a narrow horizon that may “blind us” (Csikszentmihalyi) to Richard
Foreman’s “pancake people spread thin with little substance, connecting wide
with a vast network of information accessed by a mere touch of a
button".
The GFC has created a gritty
reality and moved us away from objectified change that "distracts society
from valuing the truths and insights it has acquired throughout the best
moments of human history" (Frank Furedi).
Csikszentmihalyi (a.k.a that flow guy – thanks @trib) maintains that
"creative new ideas arise at the interface of domains, markets,
technologies” (Csikszentmihalyi, 2001). Thanks to Arnold Hauser, I discovered
that “in the art of the early Renaissance…the starting point of production is
to be found mostly not in the creative urge..of the artist, but in the task set
by the customer” (Arnold Hauser, 1951, p 41; The Social History of art,
Vintage).
So where are we? Micropatronage has provided new forms
of funding, open systems and an abundance of data have created new
opportunities across Health, Medicine, Education, Government. An empowered community of
technologically and digitially literate individuals have created the "synergy
of newfound knowledge and able artisans" (that flow guy..) necessary for
this new renaissance.
It’s greater than a bubble or
a boom, something that facilitates transactions of experience between
generations. Even, as was
suggested in the Spectator, a new form of GDP based on intelligence not wealth.
In my current field
e-learning, online learning, online multimedia- whatever it is called today and
what it will be called tomorrow we transforming content from a product into a growing
ecosystem of content a publication environment that empowers users. It’s scary building something that you
don’t quite understand – but exhilarating too…
We (my team and I) are making
a playground where expertise meets content… Where human experience, work experience and industry
experience are blended to make customised ‘outfits’ suitable for all.
Our part of the renaissance
is informed and supported by experts past and present. We are not inventors, we are artisans,
informed by experts past and present.
Like the builders of the Florence Duomo we take what was excellent, mix
it with what is excellent, and add a pinch of what could be excellent.
My noughties are all about
mixing and I am excited to be a part of this Renaissance.
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