How Are You Feeding Your Imagination?
There was a time when imagination fed imagination.?
People read Jules Verne, HG Wells, or Tom Swift (look it up)…way back when…and imagined themselves in huge submarines like in “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” (look at the year it was written), or going back in history via “The Time Machine”, or chasing the future like “Tom Swift and his Flying Lab”.?
Then, of course, Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke built on their predecessors and the advances made to technology to imagine even more…and faster than light (way) space travel. Robot Laws and the end of the world via what can only be called AI-fueled daydreams were my food of the day.?
For those of us who grew up in the United States, The Jetsons cartoon, and of course, Star Trek, upped the ante powered by actual early space exploration.?
And then, all too soon, tech exploded out and nothing was impossible…except we turned one of the greatest tech advances, ever, into a shopping mall surrounded by advertising, trolling, fake news, and hate.
WHAT HAPPENED and how do we get back on track?
The other day I was watching my grandkids play video games—specifically, the NFL. I was reminded of the state of the art football toy when I was a kid, my older cousin had it. It was a football field printed on a piece of tin with a vibrating motor under it and little figures with plastic ridges under them, so when the motor was on (it was loud), they would “dance” around with no way to control them. We all imagined what it would be like if you could actually control each player…call a play, throw and tackle, you get the rest.?
Imagination feeding imagination.?
For me, it was toy soldiers. I built forts. Deployed armies. Mourned the dead. Celebrated the heroes. All in my head. I do remember thinking about how amazing it would be if I could control the action. Each individual soldier. The battle….you get the rest.?
Imagination feeding imagination.?
We watched movies and TV shows about the future, where the special effects were so hokey you could see the wires and puppets and painted backgrounds. BUT WHO CARED!! Our imaginations were pumping overtime.?
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And, of course we read, books, even comic books, which added gas to the fire.?
Frankly, I fear we are losing the turbo-charge…the accelerants…the pedal to the metal (if you will) that caused us to imagine what many, honestly, could not even imagine imagining!!
We are so wrapped up in social media…in trolling…in posting…taking selfies (hell, the selfie has become more important than the background)…shopping…spewing meaningless slogans…and monetizing all things digital via the latest advances in trying to get you to buy those pink pants with the purple whales that you don’t really want. In the process, we have lost sight of the goal to advance Humankind. To change the world for good.?
Hate has replaced discourse and KillTech advances quicker than healthtech.
Time to take stock. How do we nurture imagination and refocus it on the unimaginable to save our world? Ignite the next generations to think again? To kill the hate??
What is amazing is that two of the most incredible, iconic, and legendary thinkers of all time saw IMAGINATION as critical to thinking:
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” —Socrates
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” —Albert Einstein
One focused on wisdom, the other on knowledge, but both firmly planted on wonder and imagination…think on that.
Let’s do all we can to inspire WONDER AND IMAGINATION…WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE…our future as a species depends on it.
What do you think?
Retired but available if you’re interested
9 个月Creative thinking leads to creative results #myopinion
Medical Director @ Removery | Anesthesiologist, B.C.
9 个月Valid point! Thanks, as always, for sharing your perspective. It makes me give consideration to what I term “Generation A.D.D.” This refers not specifically to those who have been diagnosed with this condition, and (hopefully) benefit from its recognition and management, but to a broader perspective. This is my “acronym”, of sorts, for what I call Addicted to Distracted Devices. Clearly this is not just limited to a single demographic, (i.e. Gen Z, Millenial, etc.), but quite literally a large number of us (including myself), where we find it so easy to drop down the “rabbit hole” of a Number of “Apps” (which can include L.I.). Perhaps this is one of the reasons (of several) why I enjoy outdoor activities such as Bicycling and Hiking as much as I do! Gets me off the “device” du moment, and gets my “brain” to be a bit more “engaged” in the “real world”. Tough to follow the most recent F.B. Post or Tk Tck video when you are screaming down a 15% Grade and trying to dodge the Potholes! So - I do encourage folks to get off their “Devices” and get outside (weather and conditions permitting), and really LOOK and Experience the broader environment, and do at least a momentary “Digital Detox”. Thanks.
podcaster, blogger, curious about humans
9 个月I was struck by an elementary school teacher discussing the challenges children face with imagination. She shared an exercise where she asks her students, "Imagine you have a dragon. What color is your dragon?" Many 6-8-year-olds struggle to answer because they are accustomed to having images provided for them. To help, teachers suggest closing their eyes, but this is often insufficient. As a further step, they encourage the children to imagine they are looking at a screen. I don't think schools are to blame for lost imagination. I would suggest looking at how overfeeding the brain with screen time and being overbusy every second of the day might kill the space imagination need to flourish.
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10 个月Stay hungry, stay foolish.
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10 个月Strong opinion!