Bloody Concepts War

“The Rosseaus, Marxes, Tolstois — men of thought, mind you, ‘impractical’ men, ‘idealist’ have done

more to decide the food you eat and the things you think + do than all

the millions of Roosevelts and Rockerfellars.”

F. Scott Fitzgeraldhttp://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/24/f-

scott-fitzgerald-responds-to-hate-mail/

Concepts are “...mere abstractions from what is known

through intuitive perception...".

A. Schopenhauer, (Parerga and

Paralipomena).

Concepts determine the most important human behaviors and their social and economic developments,

... as well as the drive of technological innovation, artistic and political movements, religions, media

and corporation management and marketing.

Strong concepts, in the right place at the right time, make the ideas pop in our minds,

… triggering major changes in the directions of civilization.

Democracy, socialism, colonization, nationalism, zionism, orientalism,

self-determination, fundamentalism… have sparked wars and revolutions.

Multiculturalism, sustainability, dilution of national borders,

failed states, among others, will cause unpredictable changes...

… while in daily businesses, cloud computing, branding, outsourcing,

trendwatching, social networks, biotechnology, micro-payments,

long tail, remote work...

… are causing drastic economic shifts and disruptions in business

models (disruption is in itself a new and scary concept).

Due to its abstract rational nature, it is often difficult to understand

the complex structures and scopes of conceptual construction.

Fortunately designers are here to help us,

… though sometimes even the most talented among them can’t do it!

Concepts wish making you see the world in a different way - their way!

They compete in value, urgency and innovation in the different social dimensions;

... sometimes they overlap - partially or completely, they try to be elastic,

and at the same time definitive;

… form a complex hierarchy where major concepts subordinate the weaker ones in contention for

ideological segments and markets;

… strongly disputing a good place under the sun, or rather into people's brains and pockets.

Behind them are the interests of corporations, universities, publishing groups, nations and churches,

… backed by their squads of journalists, economists, authors, consultants, artists, scientists, historians etc..

The dominant concepts compose the socio-economic-cultural framework

reflecting the power structure of society;

… and for the ‘authors’, to establish a winning concept is a straight way to fortune and glory.

(*) Jim O´Neil, ‘inventor’ of BRICs, in 2002

Collateral effects

Concepts, as sophisticated articulators of language, are essential to human

development as we know it,

… but the competition between them for people’s attention and adoption can have devastating

side effects on our lives:

… We get confused and anxious, intolerant, paranoid, bigoted and even violent, among

other psychological damages due to excessive and indiscriminate consumption

of these cocktails of ideas...

… that sometimes are selfish, manipulative, contradictory - intrinsically or among themselves

- and eventually malicious and untrue.

Sign of the times

The emergence of the Internet is at the heart of the matter: its speed and multifaceted ‘many-to-many’ architecture enables a frantic and

chaotic conceptual diffusion.

Despite the apparent formal order within its tags, indexes and lists, web design serves better the www than ordinary people's mental balance.

Servers, cloud engines and infrastructure make the web a bloody global UFC arena where only the strongest or most clever concepts triumph.

For content producers the web is like a gigantic ideological supermarket since a huge amount of information is needed to fill the channels that multiply non-stop.

But for the consumer, alas, the internet looks more like an all-

you-can-eat restaurant,

… could result in a cerebral indigestion!

Concepts, how to use

Concepts are fundamental in the hyperinformation society and to deal

with them critically is crucial to personal and professional growth,

… but being overwhelmed is an infallible recipe for failure and frustration.

The purpose of this rant is to reassure the reader that it’s not our fault! - we are just experiencing the

symptoms of hyperinformation,

… and we can achieve at least an ‘honorable draw’ and some peace of mind if we learn more about the

nature of the threat.

For those who like tips, here are some simple ones from my personal

experience and reflections:

1- The collector Adopt routinely concepts that will

help you view and sense a more coherent world;

2- The wheat and the tares Compare new concepts with the

previously adopted - if they seem contradictory dispose one of them;

3- When less is more Never ‘buy’ concepts on impulse,

after all, not always the free comes cheap;

4- We are all designers Draw the structure that better

organizes your selection - could be in shape of tree, flowchart, mind map...

5- Wall Street Concepts only make sense in a

hierarchy - in our era, almost always subordinated to ‘capitalism’;

6- Perpetual motion Review and rearrange your concept

collection constantly, always considering coherence as its north.

Good Luck

www.eitanrosenthal.com