possibility studies
The idea is that it's a system for imagining and executing big projects that actually works. The theory emerges from the intersection of two maxims.
First, there's William Gibson: "The future is already here—it's just not evenly distributed."
Then, there's William Faulkner: "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Mashing those together, we get
... See moreEliot Peper • Robin Sloan: Binding the Moon
As philosopher Jonathan Rowson often says, first souls, then systems, then society (we presently have that very often backwards). "We believe the world’s major challenges stem from a crisis of perception and imagination, and the failure of political culture to honour the fullness of reality. We are fascinated by the myriad ways in which our tacitly... See more
Paul Venuto • feed updates
People are not roles. "Finding a way" is about the unique possibilities that occur in relationship between particular people, in that particular water, on that particular day. There is no formula, no method; this realm of possibility is accessed through a sentiment of human care and imagination.
Nora Bateson, Combining
This prompted me to review many of the hundreds of books published each year on society, economics and politics. While many offer a striking diagnosis, most offer little in the way of prescription, which is usually left to a final chapter.
Geoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
This vision of a society where violence and conflict are uninteresting, where everyone is seen in their power and full emotional breadth, created a yearning in me. I want to make that world come true,
adrienne maree brown • Loving Corrections_adrienne Maree Brown
From the interdictions of quarantine to the forced migration of millions, from post-truth politics to the consequences of extreme weather phenomena, our reality reminds us that the positive futures imagined for the 21st century are in question. Or, at least, that we paradoxically live, at once, in the best and the worst of times (Wijnberg, 2019)
Vlad P. Glăveanu • Possibility Studies: A Manifesto
The infrastructure of possibility—the spaces, conditions, practices, rituals, and language (and the networks of practitioners, communities, and organisations that nurture it)—destabilises conventional ways of seeing and knowing the world, and invites us to experience the fullness of reality, beyond the colonial constraints of modernity and its... See more
Will Bull • Building the Infrastructure of Possibility
What I love about the idea of scenius is that it makes room in the story of creativity for the rest of us: the people who don’t consider ourselves geniuses. Being a valuable part of a scenius is not necessarily about how smart or talented you are, but about what you have to contribute—the ideas you share, the quality of the connections you make,... See more