On the journey back to my kitchen table, where I am looking out the window, marveling at a late October day that may yet see 70 degrees here in Chicago, thoughts of the PopTech conference have started to settle and form out of the constant swirl that has been orbiting my head these past few days (imagine Peanuts Pigpen and dust, only swap out dust for ideas...). While it is romantic to envision the rebel as lone wolf, pirate or band of outlaw non-comformists (oh James Dean, oh Woodstock), the truth that emerged is of something seemingly much more mundane, well within the reach of everyone, yet profoundly powerful. Regina Dugan summed it up with such grace and grit: If you want to make a real difference in someones life, showing up is key. As one who used attendance to pass gym class in high school, I may have intuitively understood the power of presence, yet still missed the point: It is the foundation upon which everything else depends. There is a parallel in improv (grew up with Second City...): If you say Yes, you get another scene. No stops the drama cold. But, of course, rebellion is about what you do once youre there. Presenter after presenter talked about long arcing journeys made of countless incremental steps leading to occasional leaps and yet more incremental steps. To reject the status quo, no matter how bad it might be, isnt enough without the philosophical underpinnings to guide the development of a better, more just infrastructure, noted Alec Ross. Parker J. Palmers journey has taken a lifetime, with wisdom and insight that starts with showing up, in every sense of the word. His has been a long, meandering, sometimes personally painful path first towards understanding, then teaching how the abstractions of those philosophical underpinnings can be brought into daily focus and practice. Ayah Bdeirs rebellion is about the optimism of and, what if why not and lets try. Like Palmer, she has found a way to make complexity accessible, then actionable. Being a rebel goes beyond the desire for change. It is about vision, which as Hiroshi Ishii pointed out, comes from art and philosophy, and not from needs or technology. The latter is the means to the ends, which does not mean that unguided those means cant stir up a world of trouble (see Anil Dash). To rebel is easy, but to be a rebel requires the tenacity of the long haul. Attendance mandatory. So... Here is to STEAMing ahead, full of vision, tenacity, kismet and connection...and to those wonderful Poptech hors doeuvres, both conceptual and off the platter, that seem to inspire so many tasty conversations. Thank you Leetha Filderman, John Maeda and the entire Poptech team! btw, the flower photo of from a bush I found near the harbor before I left yesterday. Anyone know what it is?
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:33:11 +0000