1. Where we are now
In 2020, the world crossed a tipping point.
Whatever else it has done, Covid-19 has knocked our global society out of its previous state and into a whole other regime. No matter how long we wait, the world will not return to where it was.
It’s hard to mourn the loss of a system that has benefited so few at the cost of so many. For millions of people across the world, the crisis arrived a long time ago. My friend Hanna Cormick has written eloquently about the ways in which disability makes you a canary in the coalmine for climate crisis. First Nations peoples worldwide have borne the cost of unlimited industrial exploitation of a limited biosphere. In some ways, the virus is a useful wake up call for a society sleepwalking into disaster.
But equally, there’s nothing to celebrate about the arrival of a shock which is disproportionately falling on the least advantaged, and which has the potential to accelerate all sorts of human rights disasters.
I’m writing this in June 2020. At this moment, no-one knows what the outcome of this change will be. We are still very much in that period of shock and transition — which may either stabilise into a new paradigm, or else usher in a prolonged emergency of shock upon shock.
This is the moment for people who are good with uncertainty. We need tools and frameworks that can help us manage complexity and cope with ambiguity.
My practice
I’m a playwright, storyteller and game designer. For the last decade and a half, I’ve worked with government, business and research institutions to model complex systems and future scenarios.
I turn these models into rich experiences for people to engage with, using narrative, design and interactivity.
Presented as games, performances and workshops, these models are designed to help people understand the systems they’re part of, to help them make better decisions, and to train useful skills.
What follows are my notes and observations towards a way of model-building that captures some of the richness of human experience. These narrative models work alongside data-driven models, not separate or in opposition to.
Not intended as a textbook, these essays are more a set of tools and techniques that have worked for me, observations, meditations on things that were successful and other things that failed.
I’m writing in this moment in the spirit of reflection, considering what this abrupt shock might have to teach me about my own practice, and where to next. This is writing as discovery, and I hope you take it in that spirit.
Acknowledgments
As a practitioner, I rarely work solo. Most of the projects and techniques I discuss below have emerged from my work as a member of Boho (Australia), Coney (UK) and as an associate of the Sipat Lawin Ensemble (Philippines).
In particular, my thanks to JK Anicoche, Michael Bailey, Jack Lloyd, Ralph Lumbres, Brandon Relucio, Rachel Roberts, Janessa Roque, Nikki Kennedy, Tassos Stevens, Jordan Prosser, David Shaw, Ben Yeoh and Nathan Harrison.
You can read more about my work at davidfinig.com
1. Where we are now
Crossing a global tipping point, my practice as a writer, theatre artist and game designer, tools & techniques for thinking about the world
2. We live in systems: Becoming aware of what surrounds us
The disasters were designed by us — cuckoo clocks vs ants nests — the humility of systems thinking — seeing deep patterns
3. How to make a model: The art of systems modelling
What is a model? — maps on napkins vs satellite images — as simple as possible but no simpler — Best Festival Ever: modelling a disaster
4. A snapshot of everything: Tools for systems mapping
Mapping a Swedish forest — thousand year old oak trees — resilience assessments — a walk through the woods — Democratic Nature —
5. The future doesn’t exist: Scenarios and prediction
Why bother trying to predict the future? — the practice of creating scenarios — there are four possible futures — CrimeForce: LoveTeam
6. Narrative in systems: How to tell stories about complexity
Are theatre shows systems models? — underdog narratives & police procedurals — perspectives on an Indonesian rainforest in 95 Years or Less
7. Creating an experience: What design and dramaturgy teach us about worldbuilding
Theatre as rehearsal for revolution — dramaturgy & design thinking — tactility in Get The Kids and Run — collective experiences in Gobyerno
8. Don’t play games, make games: Interactivity in complex systems
Games are systems — game theory in Temperature Check — calculating risk in Busy Mayors — skilltesters vs decision-makers in Run A Bank
9. Lessons learned
Final thoughts — steering 9 billion people through a century of climate and global change — working with time instead of against it -
