Intro: A story about the 4th Industrial Revolution, Big History
Last year in 2017 I stumbled upon a article: “Learning by Doing and Other Design Lessons” by Microsoft Design on Medium.
https://medium.com/microsoft-design/learning-by-doing-and-other-design-lessons-ec67c54b0a9a
In this article I was introduced to the 4th Industrial Revolution, a proposed iteration or next version in the series of industrial revolutions that mankind has been going through for the past 200 years. This 4th industrial Revolution “is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.”. What I really found interesting was how it played into design as explored in the Microsoft Design article.
Fast forward a little I really wanted to learn more about this industrial revolution came to be that is when I consulted Crash Course, a really popular educational youtube channel, I clicked on this video called the Modern Revolution, and my perspective on a lot of things has changed. First off this video was a part of a larger series called Big History, which focuses on the history of the big bang to the present. What may one learn from this series you may ask? Well there are three central themes that puts where we as human beings are at and are going to go: Collective Learning, Energy Flows, and Complexity. Collective learning is the idea that knowledge and information is transmitted from one generation to the next and accumulated through culture and language. Energy flows is why collective learning happens because humans have culture and language we’re able to take control of the energy flows happening in ecosystems. We’re able to build tools from our shared ideas as innovators to take advantage of the environment in a multitude of ways. Due to these higher levels of energy we’re able to create complex systems of various levels.
You might be wondering what a complex system is, and why complexity is important I think that this quote is a helpful explanation:
“Complexity means more than just “very complicated”. It involves both interrelatedness and unpredictability, as in complex systems — from computers and computer networks to society and social networks, and from financial markets to the climate system. Being systemic, complexity transcends self-contained categories — it’s the grey between the black and white, the nuances beneath opposing positions.” — Ted Bililies
