Seeing things whole

Think about the world at the twilight of the Middle Ages and the dawn of the Renaissance: devastating religious wars, terrifying epidemics… Think of the scholastics pondering about the angels dancing on a needlepoint; and Galilei in house arrest, whispering “and yet it moves” into his beard. Observe that the problems of the epoch were not resolved by focusing on those problems, but by a slow and steady development of an entirely new approach to knowledge. Several centuries of comprehensive evolution followed. Could a similar advent be in store for us today?

A candidate approach to knowledge, called "knowledge federation", has In this intuitive introduction we'll refer to it as "holoscope", and introduce it with the following hint:

Science gave us new ways to look at the world, and our vision expanded beyond bounds. The telescope and the microscope enabled us to see the things that were too distant or too small to be seen by the naked eye. At the same time, science had the tendency to keep us focused on things that were either too distant or too small to be relevant – compared to all those big and important things that now demand our attention. Holoscope is conceived as way to look at the world that helps us see the whole – from all sides, and in correct proportions.

In holotopia we represent knowledge federation by the pseudonym holoscope; and we use knowledge federation (or federation) only as a verb.

We define the holoscope by the ideogram on the right, with the help of the one below. The holoscope is the suitable new 'headlights', designed to be used for illuminating themes, issues and directions. The holoscope can be pointed at any theme or issue. By illuminating what has remained obscure or hidden, it lets us it as a whole – its undistorted shape, and correct proportions.

Making things whole

Once we can see things whole, we can also become able to make things whole.

That's what the holotopia is about, in a nutshell. It's about a whole new way of seeing and acting. Evolving a new way of being in the world. A way that effortlessly "changes course".

The future is brilliant

When the new 'headlights' are used, what results is a cleear vision of the holotopia – and of 'course' that takes us there

The holotopia is a more desirable vision of the future than the common utopias tend to be. Yet it is practically realizable. The reason is that we already own the knowledge needed for its fulfillment.

Margaret Mead wrote:

One necessary condition of successfully continuing our existence is the creation of an atmosphere of hope that the huge problems now confronting us can, in fact, be solved—and can be solved in time."

The future begins now

We don't, however, need to wait for the vision to become reality to enjoy the holotopia. It is now, before the realization, that the creative opportunities are most abundant.

Five insights

What makes the holotopia 'work', its 'engine' if you will, are its five insights. strategically located in five pivotal areas. Each of them alone is sufficient to see the 'conventional wisdom' and the habitual practice in that domain in a similar light as we now see their counterparts in Galilei's time. Still the most interesting are their interdependencies.

Together, the five insights show in clear light the holotopia's main insight—that a comprehensive and fundamental change can be easy, even when much smaller and obviously necessary changes may have proven impossible.

The project

Remember the Renaissance: Isn't it the art, of Leonardo and of Michelangelo, that we tend to remember most? Holotopia is an art project; with a similar ambition. What would art need to be like, in this age, to be able to play a similarly transformative role? It is to that timely question that we want to most humbly contribute.

The mission of Holotopia as a prototype or project is to develop whatever is needed for "changing course" – and reaching the holotopia.

The box

Holotopia's box is a ritual object designed for 'initiation' to holotopia, a way to help us 'unbox' our conception of the world and see, think and behave differently; change course inwardly, by embracing a new value.

The virtual space

Imagine the holotopia as a new continent. This continent doesn't need to be physically isolated, not any more. On the contrary. It can grow in our midst. The point is, however, to have physical and virtual spaces.

The key is the holotopia virtual space which includes physical spaces, with suitable affordances and group dynamics by which the holotopia vision can be realized.

The point here is to provide the right kind of affordances, the right 'furniture' – for the new kind of interaction to take place.

And yet the most important achievement here is this new dynamic – we create cultural forms and norms... Art has been moving in this direction anyway. The modern art liberated itself in form from the traditional arts. Art was, aptly, a rebellion. And the next step? Of course – it's re-creation...!

The stories

We've adopted our use of stories, or vignettes, from the journalists—who use real-life people and situation stories to introduce points of view or issues in an easily digestible way.

Holotopia comes with a collection of stories. The main is about Holotopia's icon, Margaret Mead.

Her familiar dictum points to the holotopia's very core mission:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Another story is of Aurelio Peccei and The Club of Rome of which he was the leader—which contributed the challenge we want to answer. Specifically to engender a cultural revival..

The story of Noah may currently be meaningful only to Dino—but he'll include it here, in these early stages in any case. The point is that the next generation (which Noah naturally represents, in any case to Dino), is present in all this as a stakeholder. Dino's "Raising Noah" stories, and the dialogs from the "In Conversation with Noah" series, may be meaningful to all.

The keywords

Just as science did at the point of its arrival, the holotopia brings along a collection of keywords which engender a new way of seeing and speaking.

An example is the power structure keyword—which represents a completely new notion of the political enemy. Rearranges completely our political and ethical sensibilities.

Another good example is the homo ludens keyword—which depicts the course we've taken in evolution. In the light of these two concepts, Holotopia may be seen as a way to liberate ourselves from the power structure (in the name of justice, democracy...). Or as a way to make the next evolutionary leap—by leaving the homo ludens evolutionary track, and becoming (also culturally) the homo sapiens. </div> </div>