[p2p-research] thinking about leapfrogging

Fri Oct 3 18:05:42 CEST 2008

>
> Hm. Well... I'm less judging of this stuff. People are animals, we evolved
> to want more, as big a share of the pie as possible high social status and
> so on. Advertisers etc. are symptoms of human nature, not corrupting forces.
> We can encourage rational thought, but not much more -
>

We can also encourage media literacy...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_literacy if we are going to use the
technologies of communication mediums, we want to understand them, to be
"literate" with them

> most of the time we just have to work on making the composting toilet look
> as good as the flush one and get on with it.
>

Well, except that everyone is not working on the toilet. :-)

>
> I don't believe in directed cultural change.
>

Nor do I. It is impossible. The only "directed" change that works is
regression (like fear, etc). What I am talking about is literacy, and
broadening perspectives.

> I believe in transforming the technological landscape which culture flows
> through.
>

I think that you are right that this is a huge part of the battle. But
technology alone will not do it. If people believe that materialistic gain
is the ultimate way to solve problems, then new technology will just be
reframed by them into that world view. Yet, you cannot start making people
believe, or understand a world view that is different than their existing
world view. They will only do it if they are *ready* to do it. Prior to
being genuinely ready, they will do what they are already doing.

This comes from the work of http://clarewgraves.com and work of TS Kuhn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift

However, I actually agree with you wholeheartedly that if you create
technologies that let people solve old problems in new and better and more
rational ways (like a composting toilet) you are going a long way towards
helping create the conditions where people will be "ready" for a real change
in world views. But I think this is not quite enough. For instance, people
also need ways of communicating, creating shared meaning,  collective
decision making, and other parts of their total human systems improved. Not
just the technologies they use for basic subsistence living (although
definitely fundamentally including the technologies for basic subsistence
living. For, without solving the basic subsistence level problems of
existence, we can't hope to leave people the cognitive space to work with
the more complicated ones).

>
> And I want advertisers working *for* the good, not against it - a question
> of aligning incentives.
>
> Vinay
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 7:54 AM, Vinay Gupta <hexayurt at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.appropedia.org/User:Vinay_Gupta#Envisioning_a_Leapfrogged_World
>> Feel free to republish if you like, it's GFDL.
>>
>> Vinay
>>
>>
>> --
>> Vinay Gupta
>> Free Science and Engineering in the Global Public Interest
>>
>> http://hexayurt.com - free/open next generation human sheltering
>> http://hexayurt.com/plan - the whole systems, big picture vision
>>
>> Gizmo Project VOIP : (USA) 775-743-1851
>> Skype/Gizmo/Gtalk  : hexayurt
>> Icelandic Cell     : (+354) 869-4605
>>
>> "If it doesn't fit, force it."
>>
>> On Oct 1, 2008, at 11:46 AM, Michel Bauwens wrote:
>>
>> Dear friends,
>>
>> It appears that leapfrogging, a direct leap to a new technological level,
>> hardly ever works, even the cell phone is not a good example, according the
>> articles below. The bottom line is that new tech requires a lot of prior
>> level infrastructure, as well as cultural underpinnings ...
>>
>> While this may be based on research, I also find it hard to accept as
>> 'definitive truth', so I would reframe the question: under what conditions
>> could leapfrogging work?
>>
>> I was wondering if I could motivate some of you here, and in particular
>> the people in cc, to some commentary on that crucial topic, for publication
>> in our blog,
>>
>> - http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10650775&fsrc=RSS
>>
>> - http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10650775&fsrc=RSS
>>
>> - http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2006/03/the_myth_of_lea.php
>>
>> --
>> The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer
>> alternatives.
>>
>> Wiki and Encyclopedia, at http://p2pfoundation.net; Blog, at
>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net; Newsletter, at
>> http://integralvisioning.org/index.php?topic=p2p
>>
>> Basic essay at http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=499; interview at
>> http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/09/p2p-very-core-of-world-to-come.html
>> BEST VIDEO ON P2P:
>> http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=4549818267592301968&hl=en-AU
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Sam Rose
> Social Synergy
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-- 
Sam Rose
Social Synergy
Tel:+1(517) 639-1552
Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451
AIM: Str9960
Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samrose
skype: samuelrose
email: samuel.rose at gmail.com
http://socialsynergyweb.com/services

Related Sites/Blogs/Projects:
OpenBusinessModels: http://socialsynergyweb.net/cgi-bin/wiki/FrontPage
http://p2pfoundation.net
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
http://www.cooperationcommons.com
http://barcampbank.org
http://communitywiki.org
http://openfarmtech.org
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