Change is a ubiquitous characteristic of life. It is central to how we exist in and experience the world. But as humans have altered and developed the environments of which they are a part, so change has become increasingly complex and rapid. We have created systems which are ever more interconnected at and across different scales, and we have social, economic, cultural and environmental processes which are accelerating, and on occasion move beyond our control.
But why a website which takes change as its central theme?
It was not too long ago that humans tended to see change as broadly cyclical, and a relatively predictable, slow process. In agrarian societies life is and was hard, but was generally predictable, measured by the passing of the seasons and a rhythm dictated by crop and livestock cycles. Whilst uncertain in many ways, particularly in the face of adverse weather, change was predominantly characterised by cyclical patterns, only very slowly seeing linear changes, such as the introduction of new crops, and soil management methods to name but a few.
As humans have become more advanced, they have had increasingly profound impacts on the earth and the other species with whom they share the planet. At the same time, they have also developed increasingly sophisticated ways of running their own systems, leading to complex social, economic and cultural systems, all of which have become bigger, more interconnected, and importantly, faster. Over the last 100 years in particular we have seen rapid social acceleration.
Social acceleration is not by definition a negative process, but it brings with it more rapid, and greater volumes of change. Presently, a series of issues and processes are emerging which may fundamentally change the way in which we perceive and act in the world. The classification of the Anthropocene, worsening climate change and its often non-linear consequences, globalisation, social acceleration, the rise of artificial intelligence, medical and genetic advances, socio-economic inequalities within and between countries, the rise of post-democratic political systems, and signs of the beginnings of chronic resource depletion. These processes are suggestive of the possibility of radical, rapid and complex change. Many of the solutions and accommodations to these problems will and must emerge from innovations within specialist disciplines. However, understanding the processes of change and how we can understand and manage them is becoming important in its own right, and requires a transdisciplinary approach.
This website, and the blog connected to it, is intended as one possible interaction with the underpinning idea of change and how by considering this concept and its myriad processes, we might be able to gain new and useful insights into complex, emergent processes at a range of scales and within a range of disciplinary contexts.
But why a website which takes change as its central theme?
It was not too long ago that humans tended to see change as broadly cyclical, and a relatively predictable, slow process. In agrarian societies life is and was hard, but was generally predictable, measured by the passing of the seasons and a rhythm dictated by crop and livestock cycles. Whilst uncertain in many ways, particularly in the face of adverse weather, change was predominantly characterised by cyclical patterns, only very slowly seeing linear changes, such as the introduction of new crops, and soil management methods to name but a few.
As humans have become more advanced, they have had increasingly profound impacts on the earth and the other species with whom they share the planet. At the same time, they have also developed increasingly sophisticated ways of running their own systems, leading to complex social, economic and cultural systems, all of which have become bigger, more interconnected, and importantly, faster. Over the last 100 years in particular we have seen rapid social acceleration.
Social acceleration is not by definition a negative process, but it brings with it more rapid, and greater volumes of change. Presently, a series of issues and processes are emerging which may fundamentally change the way in which we perceive and act in the world. The classification of the Anthropocene, worsening climate change and its often non-linear consequences, globalisation, social acceleration, the rise of artificial intelligence, medical and genetic advances, socio-economic inequalities within and between countries, the rise of post-democratic political systems, and signs of the beginnings of chronic resource depletion. These processes are suggestive of the possibility of radical, rapid and complex change. Many of the solutions and accommodations to these problems will and must emerge from innovations within specialist disciplines. However, understanding the processes of change and how we can understand and manage them is becoming important in its own right, and requires a transdisciplinary approach.
This website, and the blog connected to it, is intended as one possible interaction with the underpinning idea of change and how by considering this concept and its myriad processes, we might be able to gain new and useful insights into complex, emergent processes at a range of scales and within a range of disciplinary contexts.