The last few notes have been framed around the question of ‘what time is it?’ (first note, second note, third note). Another question I have been asking alongside it is, ‘where are we’? Together these prompts speak to the sense of confusion and disorientation that prevails as events race ahead of our capacity to comprehend and assign meaning to them. The platform economy is one that encourages immediate responses and explanations, from election results to battlefield victories and stock market surprises, all are flattened into content filled with easy explanations. Stepping back from this cacophony of confident conclusions, one is struck by a strong sense that we profoundly do not have the measure of our present conditions.
This week I delivered a final lecture for some of my students who are soon to be graduating. In the process of preparing, I thought it might be worthwhile to expand and rework it into a presentation to share here. And that is what I have done. In the talk I develop on some themes from recent notes and consider certain characteristics of our present polycrisis. I reflect on where we collectively find ourselves as we stumble into a new year, and appear to be moving into conditions in which the aperture of possibility looks to be considerably widening.
This is very much an experiment. I ask that you engage with it in good faith and with an open mind, that is the intent with which it is offered. The presentation includes slides, but it works fine in audio only. While I much prefer delivering talks in front of an audience or engaging in conversation, I wanted to try this format, as it seemed a good moment to distill and share some of these ideas. One of the things I am trying to work out is how to best present my work without being pushed into content generation and audience building mode (Substack is currently recommending me to try upsells). If you find any of these notes worthwhile, please consider sharing, recommending and citing them. My hope is to be able to slowly continue building a wider audience of people who are interested in engaging together in the practice of open thinking. Any comments, questions, proposals etc, please feel free to get in touch: info.hobson@gmail.com
With this, I’ll be stopping for some rest and space over Christmas and shōgatsu. Thanks to all readers, old and new, for your engagement and support. Wishing you all the best for the new year.
今年も 色々 お世話に なりました。来年も よろしく お願いします。
