Out of the box

Abstract

One of the most interesting phenomena in evolution is the concept of the punctuated equilibrium: in which periods of relative stability give way to rapid change. As we progress to a digital world we are seeing the turbulence of change in a disruptive movement which is also becoming destructive. Whilst the hard sciences, fact based, always benefit from new technologies the social sciences stand to both gain and lose.

With my interest in management science writing, I draw on 1960s science fiction to recognize a society that became fragile by losing access to its history. It builds a worrisome picture of accidental vandalism where today, vested interests – of librarians, of academics and of publishers – focus on new certainties to the detriment of learning. The fragility we are creating comes from the vacuum in our learning caused by ignoring our failures. As we consider our digital future we must think as a designer, remembering that ‘the central goal of the designer is to obviate failure, and thus it is critical to identify how a structure may fail’. ¹ Our design error will be to fail to embrace in the digital revolution the unremarkable early texts – too young to be classics, too old to be the latest.