Polymathica Refined.. Erudite.. Visionary © 2010 The Institute for Advanced Social and Technological Analysis, LLC
Articles A Finely Crafted Life The Transformation, as discussed in The Future 101, will create a global Information Age civilization that will span most, if not all, of the world. Prevailing incomes within the industrialized nations will, at least, quadruple over the next twenty years with most of the rest of the world ‘catching up.’ We also expect that the typical work week for the knowledge class may fall from its current 40+ hours to between 25 and 30 hours. The combination of affluence and ample leisure time can encourage several different life patterns. Certainly we have ample historical examples of this combination leading to chronic indolence and even decadence. However, we also have many examples, such as Thomas Jefferson, where it liberated the individual and allowed him to strive for extraordinary levels of refinement, erudition and achievement. The former will likely significantly outnumber the latter. However, the latter will congregate in Polymathica and, for them, we introduce the concept of A Finely Crafted Life. We will readily stipulate that our modern civilization has become overly obsessed with income. However, in many ways, it is akin to the teenager who becomes obsessed with the opposite sex. It is a necessary, if somewhat annoying, step toward adulthood and, as such, is characteristic of a life stage, not the life itself. In many ways, our civilization is also in its adolescence. Obsession with material affluence is a necessary, if somewhat annoying, step toward our collective adulthood. In the Future 101 we discuss the iminent impact of Robotics and AI on productivity. In addition to the resultant affluence, the Transformation, by automating the more routine tasks, will also take much of the drudgery out of the work experience. The combination of affluence and leisure will cause members of the knowledge class to progress through Maslow’s hierarchy and, over time, develop a culture of self-actualization. Self-actualization is a difficult concept that has had nearly every imaginable trait, considered to be good and pure by someone, included in its definition. Definitional elements that we found in a cursory search included; 1) an accurate perception of reality, 2) a high level of creativity, 3) few defenses, 4) a high level of integration, 5) personal autonomy, 6) unconventional ethics, 7) a need for human kinship, 8) compassion, 9) humility, 10) deep and harmonious interpersonal relationships, 11) a respect for others, 12) a desire to establish new forms of communications and intimacy, 13) an ongoing concern with personal growth, 14) spontaneity, 15) receptivity, 16) a problem-centered approach to life, 17) detachment, 18) a fresh appreciation of things, 19) a democratic attitude, 20) a unique value system, 21) a capacity to cope with circumstances, 22) a likelihood of having peak experiences 23) an openness to nature and other people, 24) an unconditional self-regard, 25) an inner freedom, 26) authenticity, 27) a yearning for a spiritual life, 28) an indifference to material comforts, 29) a feeling of closeness to nature, and 30) a skepticism of science and technology. Nearly all of the above are expressions of cultural values rather anything as universal as a definition of self-actualization. For our purposes we define self-actualization as the process of creating life experiences and circumstances that are proper expressions of one’s unique manifestation of human potential rather than those dictated by necessity or the expectations of others. Such a definition properly frees us from the categorical statements so frequently made with regard to self-actualization. Rather, depending upon the character, interests, culture and moral values of an individual, varying combinations of the previous traits may or may not define self actualization for that person. This places a large measare of responsibility, even within clearly defined, culturally communities, upon the individual to create a personally relevant definition. So, from a purely practical perspective, a methodology for determining what self-actualization means for each individual is required. The analysis of a pursuit of a finely crafted life is a distinctly Information Age way of thinking and, as such, is far from fully developed or even well explored. We begin with the concept that life is experienced through various modalities. An identification and description of these modalities, however, is intrinsically difficult. The human spirit and motivational suite is a sprectrum, not a set of discreet factors. Yet, as a rainbow is a spectrum but is perceived to be comprised of distinct colors, the notion of experiential modalities also can be usefully segmented. We propose a preliminary list, in alphabetical order, as follows: Aesthetic Creative Intellectual Kinesthetic Procreative Productive Sensual Social Spiritual Status. Because it is preliminary and, to a degree, arbitrary, we expect that others will create somewhat different lists. However, the list is useful for elaborating on the concept. Each person, based upon their unique character, has a specific preference as to the degree of each modality they wish to experience in their life. The structural analysis of these modalities and one’s sense of self-actualization are inextribly linked. A modality that is under-experienced contributes to a person’s sense of unfulfillment. When a modality is over-experienced a person feels harried When this happens a person frequently will say that they feel like they aren’t leading the life that they are meant to lead. On the other hand, a balance between actual and preferred modalities creates a sense of self-actualization and a feeling that one’s life experiences are personally appropriate. In other words, the person with a finely crafted life feels that they are prosecuting it in a way that expresses their uniqueness. Clearly, A Finely Crafted Life is a highly personalized thing. One person may feel the need for a very high expression of the Aesthetic in order to feel fulfilled. A different person may have little need there but will desire a significant expression of the Intellectual. Therefore, designing a A Finely Crafted Life necessarily begins with great attention to acquiring self knowledge. As part of that search for self knowledge, the Polymathican will ask and answer the question, “Which modalities are personally the most important for me and which do I need to experience to no more than a minor degree?” From this self knowledge, one can consider how appropriately each is currently being expressed and what strategies may facilitate a more self-actualizing expression. From this is derived the concept of modality vehicles. For example, a job can, at a minimum, provide a vehicle for the expression of Intellectual, Productive, Social, Status and Creative modalities. An avocation could fulfill nearly any combination of modalities. Time spent with family can, depending upon the activity, also can provide a vehicle for nearly nearly limitless combinations of modalites. Consequently, we consider these activities as opportunities to experience, in varying measures, several modalities. We do not refer to balancing work and personal life. Rather we speak of balancing modalities and then strategically selecting vehicles through which the modalities are experienced in such a way as to meet create life balance. We readily admit that, in the Industrial Age, work was an especially important vehicle, since, in addition to providing significant opportunities to express many modalities, it also enabled or limited one’s ability to finance utilization of other vehicles that satisfied a broad spectrum of modalities. Consequently, in the Industrial Age, many people found themselves selecting jobs that were highly enabling (paid well) and came to ‘need’ their jobs for its enabling characteristics rather than for the modality expression needs they provided. Because of this, the requirements of jobs that satisfactorily enabled other vehicles of modality experience, also demanded degrees of modality experience that resulted in a lifestyle that, in its totality, could not be brought into modality balance. The imminent Information Age income explosion and related reduction in unfulfilling, but necessary, career and domestic tasks, will completely change how we view work as a fulfilling, rather than enabling, activity. While work will be essential to membership in the knowledge classes, its emphasis will decrease for most people. It will become more appropriately chosen as a vehicle for experiencing life modalities rather than a source of consumption rights. Simultaneously, changes in life structure allowed by the preponderance of ‘live anywhere’ style telepresence careers will facilitate an integration of work with other life activities. As a profoundly affluent knowledge class emerges, its members will begin to focus more directly upon how to craft a life that provides them with their unique expectiations of modality distribution. Those with a strong productive need will emphasize productive activities. Those with a strong intellectual need will spend more time learning and discussing. Because Polymathica is defined as a global community of refinement and erudition, there will be a distinctive slant to what most of its members consider to be a finely crafted life. Certainly we would expect a greater emphasis on the modalities of Intellectual, Creative, Aesthetic, Spiritual and Status than the general population. In one interpretation, we would expect to be able to define the culture of Polymathica, using the cultural calculus, as a specific factor within the general definition of a finely crafted life. Because we all will live the rest of our lives in the future and the Fellows of Polymathica will be among the first to enter the knowledge class, younger Fellows should fully consider how they will want to prosecute their life and what, to them, is meant by a finely crafted life. As more seasoned Fellows consider how they wish to transform their lives through Fellowship, they should be fully cognizant of the principles of a finely crafted life. Because the Industrial Age was not particularly friendly to people of refinement and erudition, there will probably be significant opportunity for improvement. It is within the context of a Finely Crafted Life that the Fellowship of Polymathica can be most beneficial to its members. Viewed from contmeporary Western culture, it may seem that the Fellowship is primarily concerned with attaining, by today’s standards, a wealthy lifestyle. While it is true that less than 1% of U.S. households have incomes in excess $500K, as the Information Age income explosion takes place, the percentage will increase to about 10%. We take the simultaneous increase in affluence and decrease in work week to be a critical enabling event; not for conspicuous consumption, but as life as art. Its significance is in freeing the refined, erudite individual to express his or her essential self. As the Polymathica culture cannot be divorced from the emerging Information Age affluence, it also cannot be divorced from the emerging extended years of life. It cannot be seperated from the receding significance of geographic identification. The emergence of smaller, culturally homogenous, communities will signficantly alter how we think of our social place. Each of these aspects of the Transformation, though not directly related to a Finely Crafted Life, enables it. We will undoubtedly construct robots to clean our houses, keep our lawns and gardens carefully manicured, prepare complex gourmet meals for us, etc. In a way, we will become the ultimate slave owning class, save that, since the slaves, in a demonstrable way, will have no objection to their status, there will be no moral dimension. The combination of shorter, more self-actualizing hours spent in a polymathic career, combined with the removal of domestic demands upon our time, will lead to a lifestyle of signficant leisure. However, the pursuit of refinement and erudition the universe of potential experience is far too large to be embraced in one, albeit likely extended, lifetime. Additionally, even for the most polymathic among us, not all knowledge and experiences are likely to be contemplated with equal relish. Consequently, our Fellows will no doubt pursue a course of creating, to the degree possible, a congruence between the prosecution of their lives and their unique expression of human potential. Success in this regard we refer to as A Finely Crafted Life. For the Polymathica Fellow it will be both a necessary and gratifying process. For Polymathica Fellows, we expect that much of this excess time will be occupied by ongoing, autodidactic learning and erudite professional and avocational discourse. Consequently, the concept of a Finely Crafted Life will be one of several persistent threads that will define Polymathica and permeate our discussions of it. We suggest the following exercise. Using a spreadsheet, list each of the ten modalities across the top and assign to each a value between 1 and 10 describing how important it is to you. Now list each activity that you engage in that contributes to your experience to each modality. Rate it on how much it contributes to each modality. You will undoubtedly discover that you are under experiencing some and over experiencing others. Most people will discover that, generally, their life is not finely crafted. The need to find ways and means to transform their life to fit their values and lifestyle preferences.