THERE’S MORE TIME THAN THE PRESENT

@BUD_CADDELLSTRATEGIST

TODAY, I AM TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD.YESTERDAY I WAS TWENTY-SIX.

IN THE EARLY MORNING OF NOVEMBER 11, 1982, THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA EMBARKED ON ITS FIRST MISSION.

FROM HER HOSPITAL BED, MY MOTHER LOOKED UP AT THE TV AND CHOSE MY MIDDLE NAME...

JOSEPH P. ALLEN

IN THAT MOMENT, WE WERE CONNECTED

BY TECHNOLOGY. ASTRONAUT ALLEN

MOM & ME

AND SINCE THEN, TECHNOLOGY HAS RULED THE MOMENT.

WE’RE PERFORMING AN ALWAYS-ON BEHAVIOR BECAUSE WE’RE INCREASINGLY AWARE THAT THERE ARE THINGS ALWAYS HAPPENING.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE OVER 250 EDITS MADE PER MINUTE ON WIKIPEDIA.SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA, SEP 2009

ONCE YOU ADD THE HERE TO THE NOW, YOU’RE REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE.QUITE LITERALLY.

AND WE’RE INCHING EVER CLOSER TO WHAT BRUCE STERLING IMAGINED IN 2004 AS A SPIME, A LOCATION-AWARE, ENVIRONMENT-AWARE, SELF DOCUMENTING TOOL.

FRANKLY, WE’VE BECOME OBSESSED WITH EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.NOW FEELS GOOD. NOW REMINDS US WE’RE ALIVE AND THAT WE’RE APART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

AND WE’VE BEGUN INVENTING NEW WAYS TO DESCRIBE ALL OF THIS NOWNESS.ALL HAIL THE INFORMATION DESIGNERS, AKA THE MOMENTARIANS!

A MACROSCOPE IS A TOOL THAT ALLOWS US TO VIEW THE AGGREGATION OF TINY INTERACTIONS INTO A LARGER SYSTEM.FROM JOHN THACKARA

BY THE WAY, WE TEND TO LABEL ALL THIS NOWNESS REAL-TIME.TO DISCERN IT FROM FAKE-TIME?

ULTIMATELY, SEMANTICS FAIL US WHEN TRYING TO DESCRIBE THE PRESENT MOMENT.WHEN IS NOW? NOW? OR NOW? AND WHILE WE’RE ON THE TOPIC, MORRISSEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW SOON IS NOW?

WE CALL THIS THE FUTURE.

AND LABEL THIS THE PAST.

SO THIS MUST BE NOW?

WE CAN ALSO CALL IT THE HYPERSURFACE OF THE PRESENT.IF WE REALLY WANT TO.

ULTIMATELY, SAYING NOW IS LIKE SAYING HERE, BOTH ARE INFINITELY DIVISIBLE AND DEFINED BY PERCEPTION.

KANT GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD.

IN STUDYING SPACE AND TIME, KANT ARGUED THAT BOTH EMPIRICISM AND RATIONALISM LACKED AN UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN PERCEPTION AND A PRIORI, THE FACULTY BY WHICH WE APPREHEND OBJECTS.

SINCE KANT, WE’VE COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT TIME IS RELATIVE.TIME DILATION: MOVING CLOCKS ARE MEASURED TO TICK MORE SLOWLY THAN AN OBSERVER’S “STATIONARY” CLOCK.

AN EFFECT PROVEN BY BODIES IN MOTION AROUND THE EARTH, LIKE ASTRONAUT ALLEN (AND GPS SATELLITES)

BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT TIME IS DEPENDENT ON HOW OUR MINDS PERCEIVE IT AS WELL.OR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ITS PASSING

THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAD TWO WORDS TO DESCRIBE TIME: CHRONOS & KAIROS

CHRONOS REPRESENTED THE PASSAGE OF TIME, CALENDARS, SEASONS, HARVESTS, AND DEATH.THE SCARY VERSION OF TIME

KAIROS REPRESENTED A TIME IN BETWEEN, A MOMENT, USUALLY OF OPPORTUNITY.THE DON’T FRET VERSION OF TIME

SIMILARLY, MODERN CULTURAL STUDIES HAVE DESCRIBED ONE’S USE AND PERCEPTION OF TIME AS MONOCHRONIC OR POLYCHRONIC.

POLYCHRONS VIEW TIME AS FLOWING, UNSTRUCTURED, AND CONTINUOUS.PREVALENT IN LATIN-AMERICAN AND MIDDLE-EASTERN CULTURES

MONOCHRONS VIEW TIME IN DISCRETE UNITS THAT SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND SCHEDULED.PREVALENT IN WESTERN OR MORE INDUSTRIALIZED CULTURES

TOGETHER, KAIROS/CHRONOS AND POLY/MONOCHRONIC PROVIDE A VALUABLE SPECTRUM TO CONSIDER PERCEPTION.

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

BECAUSE THESE ARE CULTURAL MINDSETS, MOVEMENT FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER IS RELATIVELY INFREQUENT.

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

BECAUSE THESE ARE CULTURAL MINDSETS, MOVEMENT FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER IS RELATIVELY INFREQUENT.

A WESTERN CULTURE

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

BECAUSE THESE ARE CULTURAL MINDSETS, MOVEMENT FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER IS RELATIVELY INFREQUENT.

A WESTERN CULTURE

A LATIN-AMERICAN CULTURE

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROSCONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM OF THE MOMENTARY PERCEPTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROSCONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM OF THE MOMENTARY PERCEPTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.

A NEED TO PLAN ONE’S TIME

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROSCONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM OF THE MOMENTARY PERCEPTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.

A NEED TO PLAN ONE’S TIME

A NEED TO FLOW AND DISCOVER

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROS

ULTIMATELY, OUR PERCEPTION OF TIME IS GROUNDED IN OUR PERCEPTION OF EVENTS.WE PERCEIVE TIME AS THE DURATION BETWEEN EVENTS AND ACTIONS.

ASTRONAUT ALLEN

MOM

ME

THE DAY OF MY BIRTH ABOUT TEN YEARS LATER WE ALL MET IN PERSON

WE PERCEIVE SHORTER EVENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF LONGER EVENTS.

AT THE MOMENT OF AN EVENT, WE DECIPHER WHAT HAS CHANGED AND WHAT HAS STAYED THE SAME.THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF OUR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE PATTERNS.

WHAT HAS BECOME AND WHAT HAS PASSED

AND THROUGH THIS MENTAL PROCESS, WE BECOME CONSCIOUS OF THE FUTURE.WE RECOGNIZE PATTERNS OVER TIME IN ORDER TO MAKE PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE.

SAFETY OR RISK?

HOPE AND DESPAIR ARE THE EMOTIONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS.WE FEEL EITHER ONE BASED ON THE PREDICTIONS WE MAKE FROM PASSING EVENTS.

WILL THERE BE A FUTURE?

APPROACH AND AVOIDANCE ARE THE MOTIVATED BEHAVIORS MANIFESTED FROM FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS.WE WORK FOR OR AGAINST THE FUTURE WE HOPE OR DESPAIR WILL COME TO PASS.

WILL WE PLAN TO ACT?

WHEN AN EVENT OCCURS, WE:

DISCERN TIME BETWEEN THIS EVENT AND THE LAST EVENT WE RECALL

LOOK FOR PATTERNS

COLLECT MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE FUTURE SO THAT WE CAN VISUALIZE IT

WHEN WE PREPARE TO REACT, WE:

FEEL HOPE OR DESPAIR BASED ON OUR SECURITY OR RISK

CHOOSE APPROACH OR AVOIDANCE

BUILD SCENARIOS, SET GOALS, ASK WHAT-IFS, VISUALIZE THE FUTURE, AND PLAN

WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MARKETING & TECHNOLOGY?WHEN WE INTERACT WITH PEOPLE, WE INITIATE A MENTAL PROCESS.

ATTENTION IS OUR SCARCEST NATURAL RESOURCE.AND ATTENTION IS GIVEN BASED ON A PERCEPTION OF TIME AND A CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE FUTURE.

ARE WE PROVIDING SOMETHING WORTH THE ATTENTION?

AND HOW LONG WILL THE

PAYOFF TAKE?

AND ARE WE CREATING COGNITIVE BARRIERS TO ENTRY?

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROS

OUR INTERACTIONS IMPACT A PERSON’S POSITION ON THIS MAP.

IN DISCOVERY MODE

MONOCHRONIC

POLYCHRONIC

CHRONOS KAIROS

OUR INTERACTIONS AFFECT A PERSON’S POSITION ON THIS MAP.

PLANNING TO TAKE ACTION AND WHAT THEY CAN

ACCOMPLISH ON OUR BEHALF.

WHEN WE DESIGN EXPERIENCES AROUND NOW, WE OFTEN DESIGN FOR KAIROS TIME.

WE DESIGN TO FIND SOMEONE IN FLOW, BUT WE OFTEN DON’T ENCOURAGE PLANNING.EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE COGNITIVELY CONSIDERING THEIR OPTIONS AT THE TIME.

WE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGING WHAT-IFS, OFFERING SCENARIOS, PROVIDING VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE FUTURE, AND CREATING WAYS TO PLAN.FOR A PURCHASE OR AN ACTION

WE SHOULD DESIGN A SYSTEM THAT MINIMIZES A PERSON’S PERCEPTION OF TIME SPENT.

WE SHOULD BE CONSCIOUS OF THE PATTERN WE’RE CREATING.

AND WE SHOULD FOSTER AN ENDURING SENSE OF...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

ABOUT ME:MY NAME IS BUD CADDELL AND I WORK AS A DIGITAL STRATEGIST FOR THE NY BASED DIGITAL THINK-TANK, UNDERCURRENT. FIND ME AT HTTP://BUDCADDELL.COM

WISH ME A HAPPY BIRTHDAY BY SHARING THIS PRESENTATION

WITH SOMEONE YOU KNOW!

ABOUT THIS DECK:IF ANY IDEAS SOUND TOO GOOD, I MUST HAVE STOLEN THEM. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK: http://bit.ly/3aiVWe