Create
We explore creation in myth, religion and science. Religion and myth use language and metaphor to explain why order emerges from chaos. S cience uses mathematics, physics and other analytical approaches to explain how order emerges from chaos.
As disciplines such as evolution, chaos theory and complexity are applied to biology, physics and technology, we are gaining greater appreciation of how nature creates, designs and refines -- and how better to imitate nature in our own creations.
We are only beginning to understand the Internet's creation stories, where there is much to learn. In a world that prizes organized competition, collaboration has emerged as a surprisingly powerful force of self-organization. In a world dominated by passive media, millions of people suddenly began to read and write much, much more.
Seeking out and allowing ourselves to be touched by multiple points of view is an essential source of creative energy. The world's first great publishing house, the Aldine Press, arose from a collaboration of religious academics and mechanics with a merchandiser. Aldus succeeded (after Gutenberg died bankrupt) by finding the "sweet spot" of compromise among content, technology and marketing.
MCC Media's primary research project automatically identifies interesting people and ideas on the Internet by uncovering invisible patterns in on-line discussions. Our approach is something like Google's, but based on time-series and traffic analysis rather than links. And we're generally looking for what's unusual, rather that what's popular.
Brainstorming calls for a rapid exchange of ideas and points of view. Like plants, ideas grow with exposure to light. As we see through each others' eyes, order emerges from chaos.
Use multiple media to bring ideas to light -- speak, draw, model. Sing if you must.
Pick up any book on creativity and you'll find something like this: "Creative people are interested in everything." Ideas come from the strangest places, but they don't have any impact if we immediately decide that they are bad -- or good. When we're brainstorming in high gear, quantity counts for more than quality. Try things, lots of things.
Suspending judgment is not just for you. It's also for the person next to you. Learn from Plugged In, one of the most successful community technology centers, where creativity is nurtured by making the environment safe. Not just safe from crime, abuse and so forth; Plugged In is an extraordinarily safe place to fail.
Everything is done by a team. Everything. We are all in debt.
In the mass media, there are two sides to every issue and all that counts is which side is winning. That kind of thinking is the enemy. Immersed in mass media, we have to work very hard to resist imitating it.
We're doing it. Millions of people are writing billions of e-mails a day, many of them in discussions, debates and arguments. Far more of us can now spot a straw man or an ad hominem attack.
As we discuss ideas, choosing which to pursue, remember what the process is not about: