Material for thought

Complex Systems Theory could help us predict public’s opinions. The applications are endless and rather scary, e.g. media manipulation for political control or commercial gains. On the other hand, these researches could also explain us how we interact in a society, and maybe in which conditions social change is possible. It is in any case necessary for the general public to become aware of these new techniques. If not, nothing will refrain their use for the benefit of a few. Here are three examples from the ECCS 2010 conference in Lisbon. (I have edited the paper introductions in order to make them more accessible.)

I had the opportunity while I was in Berlin to attend a talk at the Deutsche Guggenheim about the recent researches made in neuroscience to understand how much control a given film has upon viewers’ brain activity. The talk was given by Professor Uri Hasson (Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University) and film director Amos Gitai (Israel). It was organized by the Association of Neuroesthetics in collaboration with the Berlin School of Mind and Brain and the Institut für Raumexperimente (Studio Olafur Eliasson).

I read about world fairs and utopias while I was curating the Dreams of Progress exhibition last year. A utopia, or a heterotopia such as the world expo, always features inconsistencies or misconceptions. If not, the utopia could be achieved and it would not be a utopia anymore. However, never the inconsistencies of today’s world appeared to me clearer than on the Shanghai World Expo.

The Tour Eiffel from the World's Fair of 1900

I’ve read recently the excellent book from Jay Winter “Dreams of Peace and Freedom – Utopian Moments in the 20^th Century“. It is part of my curatorial homework for the exhibition “Living the Dream of Modernity” that I’m preparing to launch very soon. Here is a summary.