http://www.theoryzoo.com/2009/06/accidental-matters-work-in-progress/ An Open Lab & Catablog of Design Animals Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:26:42 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 http://www.theoryzoo.com/2009/06/accidental-matters-work-in-progress/comment-page-1/#comment-7 David Dunworth Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:26:42 +0000 http://www.theoryzoo.com/?p=15#comment-7 So I'm reading the definition of recursively enumerable and I start to get excited about endless possibilities and acceleration of knowledge beyond current human comprehension. Then I am reminded of Georg Simmel's The Metropolis and Mental Life. Really powerful stuff that was way before it's time. The idea is that humans in big cities are surrounded by so much change and disruption, that they create a mental callous that shields them from all but the most outrageous differences. This also causes a disconnect from their fellow metropolans. In an effort to reconnect and get noticed, each must create an alter-self to present to the world. Typically, these must be hyper-versions or conceptual personas that are superficial at best. I'm wondering what happens when the knowledge landscape truly accelerates and changes at speeds we cannot conceive. Is disruption an apt word when we are in a constant state of disruption, and who are we in context to the landscape? So I’m reading the definition of recursively enumerable and I start to get excited about endless possibilities and acceleration of knowledge beyond current human comprehension. Then I am reminded of Georg Simmel’s The Metropolis and Mental Life. Really powerful stuff that was way before it’s time. The idea is that humans in big cities are surrounded by so much change and disruption, that they create a mental callous that shields them from all but the most outrageous differences. This also causes a disconnect from their fellow metropolans. In an effort to reconnect and get noticed, each must create an alter-self to present to the world. Typically, these must be hyper-versions or conceptual personas that are superficial at best.
I’m wondering what happens when the knowledge landscape truly accelerates and changes at speeds we cannot conceive. Is disruption an apt word when we are in a constant state of disruption, and who are we in context to the landscape?

]]>