Sunday, June 26, 2005
Temple of the Creative and Knowledge Economy
In this day and age, how important is religion in contemporary society? True and true, that many have died, dying and will die because of jihads, regligious crusades, etc. However, how many really dread and fear afterlife, the noise on the roof, the little "retributions" anymore? Religion is now more often than not something inherited at birth rather than practised. So God, where art thou now?
Temple to the God/s
In the nascent age of human social consiousness, we attributed all phenomenon to greater forces at work, and within our limited understanding of the world, we gave them faces, set up altars, hoping that somehow this would appease them, or bring us better fortune.
Temple to Knowledge
Making a huge leap ahead in time, probably somewhere in the Renaissance (depending on which part of the world you're from, this might vary in period), emphasis began to be placed on knowledge, and temples to knowledge was established. These came in the form of academies, libraries, museums and universitites.
Temple to Industry/Capitalism
Closer to where we are today, shopping malls became our temples. A resultant of economic forces at work, they replaced the churches, mosques and temples as the focus of our cities and lives.
Temple to Creativity and Knowledge
Crossing the millenium, with increasing globalisation, and economic competition, rise of China and India, terrorism, a new temple has risen, and that is the temple to Creativity and Knowledge. Countries and cities around the world have noticed the trend (thanks to Richard Florida's book - "Rise of the Creative Class". Increasingly, cities will be revolving around museums, libraries and universities again. This is truly a renaissance of human culture. More importantly, adding on to knowledge is creativity, which brings with it the contemporary creation centres and community centres where exploration and interaction paves the way to creativity, and creativity is what makes use of knowledge to generate more knowledge.
Notable quote: Knowledge without wisdom is artificial intelligence.
Temple to the God/s
In the nascent age of human social consiousness, we attributed all phenomenon to greater forces at work, and within our limited understanding of the world, we gave them faces, set up altars, hoping that somehow this would appease them, or bring us better fortune.
Temple to Knowledge
Making a huge leap ahead in time, probably somewhere in the Renaissance (depending on which part of the world you're from, this might vary in period), emphasis began to be placed on knowledge, and temples to knowledge was established. These came in the form of academies, libraries, museums and universitites.
Temple to Industry/Capitalism
Closer to where we are today, shopping malls became our temples. A resultant of economic forces at work, they replaced the churches, mosques and temples as the focus of our cities and lives.
Temple to Creativity and Knowledge
Crossing the millenium, with increasing globalisation, and economic competition, rise of China and India, terrorism, a new temple has risen, and that is the temple to Creativity and Knowledge. Countries and cities around the world have noticed the trend (thanks to Richard Florida's book - "Rise of the Creative Class". Increasingly, cities will be revolving around museums, libraries and universities again. This is truly a renaissance of human culture. More importantly, adding on to knowledge is creativity, which brings with it the contemporary creation centres and community centres where exploration and interaction paves the way to creativity, and creativity is what makes use of knowledge to generate more knowledge.
Notable quote: Knowledge without wisdom is artificial intelligence.
