Predictions, possibilities, and being alone together
We’re going to break format a bit this week because we couldn’t avoid the Topic that Shall Not Be Named anymore (but also couldn’t bear to make you read six takes on the pandemic), and frankly because we’re a bit overwhelmed ourselves. Instead, we’re going to share one speculative read on the futures we may be heading toward, some tools for thinking about new possibilities, and a few of our favorite creative responses to quarantine.
34 Short Stories about What’s Next
One of the challenges of dealing with an unprecedented situation is that it’s very hard to wrap one’s head around how this all plays out. Beyond the obvious questions like “How long will this last?” and “Will I be okay?”, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand what the world looks like on the other side of this pandemic. What kinds of changes might we expect, from shifts in social behavior to overhauls of our economic and governmental systems? Thanks to Jessie Shefrin for pointing us to this Politico Magazine piece in which 34 thinkers, from filmmakers to political scientists, speculate on the lasting impacts we may see in the coming days and years.
Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How. - POLITICO
A guide to imagining possible futures
As with any roundup like this, the Politico piece contains gems and duds (as a Vassar alumna, Alexis is a bit embarrassed by the college president’s “VR is the future” take), but we found it useful to zoom out beyond the fears of the moment to try and better understand what this might mean as a turning point in our collective history. If you’re interested in thinking through potential futures post-coronavirus in a deeper and more methodical way, we highly recommend our friend Scott Smith’s “Mapping Impacts and Implications”, which provides a succinct overview of models for forecasting. In our own work, the STEEP model with multi-order impact mapping has led us to some compelling (and prescient) ideas.
Mapping Impacts and Implications - Scott Smith - Medium
These are crazy times. The good news is, right now we’re seeing multiple spontaneous efforts sprouting in parallel, all trying to make sense of and map out the longer-term impacts of COVID-19. The…
Necessity is the mother of invention, but boredom is its godfather
As you know from this newsletter, we’re fascinated by creative hacks in the face of new technological constraints or capabilities. One thing sustaining us in the current moment is seeing how adverse situations can bring out the best and weirdest in humanity. So we’ll leave you with a list of some of our favorite #QuarantineHacks:
Calm that sports craving: Sure, we can’t fit 30,000 fans in an arena and yell at a dozen people throwing a ball around, but there might be other outlets. Check out this aerobics class from balconies in Seville, Spain, or watch these neighbors play paddle ball in Madrid. For something a bit more professional, ESPN brought “The Ocho” back to television with competitive stone skipping, sign twirling, and marble races.
Games to play with friends over Zoom or Hangouts: Dungeons and Dragons, Scrabble, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes all work well.
Stay entertained: Our friend Ben Lillie runs Caveat, which is the best venue for “intelligent nightlife” in NYC (In fact, we spent our last night out in society there at the Crossword Show). They are live streaming their shows for the foreseeable future and can be counted on for smart and hilarious entertainment.
That’s all for this issue! We hope you’re all staying healthy and sane. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And watch the video below for a little something warm and funny.
— Alexis & Matt
my mom has really enjoyed being quarantined with me since classes went online https://t.co/R6N8hYCSvL
Six Signals: Emerging futures, 6 links at a time.
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