Cards for Insight: Learning into aliveness
… cards, patterns of play and shared understanding …
… use the cards to explore new perspectives
and gain insight around a chosen question …
Card: Cards
Cards are play, insight, solving for
adjacent possible, understanding,
story(shared understanding), possibility
space exploration and collaborative
meaning-making affordances.
… gather around a worthwhile dilemma
and formulate generative center questions …
and gain insight around a chosen question.
Card: Understanding
What if understanding is our ability
to hold space for the possibility of
knowledge, as it emerges, unfolds,
directs and discloses its relevance to
unexplored aspects of things known?
… engage in card-play and card-play
conversations by adding thoughts
to, around and between the cards …
Card: Insight
A sudden awareness of
the solution to a problem.
… perceive, observe, orient, design, decide
enact, act, unfold and understand …
(a win^n feedback loop)
Card: Context
Whether seen through the lens of anticipatory
systems intelligence, contextual intelligence,
conversational intelligence or intelligence
turned ability, context emerges as a complex
interplay of elements, constantly shaping and
being shaped by the dynamic and entangled
processes of play, generativity, online social
cognition and relational meaning-making.
… cultivate shared understanding
as generative closure …
Right after concluding our card-play conversation,
we leave the sacred card-play circle and return to
the world, sharing some of our newfound insights.
“Nothing pleases people more than to go on thinking what they have always thought, and at the same time imagine that they are thinking something new and daring: it combines the advantage of security and the delight of adventure.”
— T. S. Eliot
Card: Portals
There’s portals beyond count. The flexibility of
laws is without limit. There is no inevitability.
… make paths by walking, turn paths
luminous by joint sauntering …
Card: Meeting the Universe Half-way
You can return, again and again, until your play and
your generative play^n, game^n and win^n supersets,
intersect and evolve with meeting the universe half-way.
… turn information into knowledge
and knowledge into action …
Card: Prehension
Our connection to the world begins with
a “pre-epistemic” prehension of it, from
which the process of abstraction is able
to distill valid knowledge of the world.
… pick cards and add your thoughts in ways conducive to
connecting them, forming and evolving interconnectivity
in light of meeting the universe half-way …
… in a network, generative questions are adjacent possible affordances …
Card: Adjacent Possible
The space right next to what
we think and what is possible.
Card: Adjacent Possible
The space right next to what we think is possible,
expanding through unexpected connections,
surprising discoveries, and seeds of what could be.
Card: Adjacent Possible
A swirling realm of possibilities just beyond our current
grasp. Fueled by genuine potential, it unfolds through
recursive interactions — unexpected connections sparking
innovation, new order emerging from exploration, and
laws becoming evident through ongoing experimentation.
… pick cards and add your thoughts between them …
“Stuart Kauffman’s revolutionary notion of the Adjacent Possible
as an organizing principle in nature shares much in common with
logician Charles S. Peirce’s understanding of the universe as an
ever-unfolding ‘process ontology’ of possibility space that is
brought about through the recursive interaction of genuine
possibility, transiently actualized order, and emergent
(but never fully deterministic) lawfulness.”
— Donald Favareau
… learn how the generative review of adjacent possible
is co-extensive and co-evolving with human evolution …
Card: Possibility Space
A problem space turned possibility space through
the recursive interaction of genuine possibility and
transiently actualized order in light of emergent
and unfolding paths to preferable outcomes.
… observe how insights, your own and
others, help illumine a different path …
your cynicism, deliberately do less of it.
Card: Trust
Trust your insight.
Move differently.
… play at individual generativity, small group genius scope,
relational meaning-making connectivity, social machine scale
and social social media reach beyond personal ken comfort
zone grasp …
Card: Creative Advance
A combination of individual ability and social collective
intelligence, weaving between unity and diversity and
diversity and unity, shaping events and transforming
collective imagination in light of human evolution.
… hold space for a requisite variety of
thinks, things and gatherings …
Card: Association
Association is the art and practice of relational
meaning-making, tracing novel and purposeful
paths of connection, action, and meaning.
… explore worthwhile dilemmas as
seeds of envisioned end game scenarios …
Card: Learning into Aliveness
We are all learning to live
in a world more complex
than our individual minds
are able to process.
… explore purposeful paths of action …
Card: Conscious Evolution
A purposeful shift in individual
and collective awareness leading
to intentional and responsible
co-creation of the future.
… explore worthwhile dilemmas as
seeds of envisioned end game scenarios …
Card: Unfolding Wholeness
Each and every card-play move making
the smallest difference for our learning
into aliveness, forms part of a path, an
ever evolving and unfolding wholeness:
a kind of homecoming.
“The misconception which has haunted philosophic literature throughout the centuries is the notion of ‘independent existence.’
There is no such mode of existence; every entity is to be understood in terms of the way it is interwoven with the rest of the universe.”
― Alfred North Whitehead
between worthwhile dilemmas and preferable outcomes.
Card: 3D Diagram
Intelligence turned ability.
Behavior turned agency.
Information turned knowledge.
“Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability,
which is capacity to act wisely on the thing apprehended.”
— Alfred North Whitehead
Modes of Thought: Nature Alive
— Alfred North Whitehead
“Now as a first approximation the notion of life implies a certain absoluteness of self-enjoyment. This must mean a certain immediate individuality, which is a complex process of appropriating into a unity of existence the many data presented as relevant by the physical processes of nature. Life implies the absolute, individual self-enjoyment arising out of this process of appropriation.
I have, in my recent writings, used the word prehension to express this process of appropriation. Also I have termed each individual act of immediate self-enjoyment an occasion of experience. I hold that these unities of existence, these occasions of experience, are the really real things which in their collective unity compose the evolving universe, ever plunging into the creative advance.”
— Alfred North Whitehead
approximation, notion, notion of life, imply, self-enjoyment, individuality, immediate individuality, appropriation, process, nature, prehension, occasion, experience, composition, creative advance
One of my happy discoveries reading Alfred North Whitehead and
Karen Barad — almost every notion they explore, can be turned into
a card and/or a pattern of play connecting cards, and/or turned into
a set of generative center questions — informing both a generative
card-play approach and forming part of an underlying modular
process onto-epistemology.
… pick cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book
excerpts and prompt responses, between …
Cards for Insight: Perspectives
… use the cards to explore new perspectives
and gain insight around a chosen question …
Card: Prehension
Our connection to the world begins with
a “pre-epistemic” prehension of it, from
which the process of abstraction is able
to distill valid knowledge of the world.
… pursue conversation as the why and how to
the what and whereto of points and lines …
Card: Prehension
Uncognitive
apprehension.
… turn intelligence into ability
and ability into response-ability …
“turned” = knowledge
Card: Prehension
A process by which an actual entity,
or prehending subject, becomes
itself by appropriating elements
from other actual entities.
… pick cards and add your thoughts between them …
Card: Human Becoming
Individual intention
meeting constraints.
… pick cards and add your thoughts conducive to
cultivating and extending shared understanding …
Cards for Insight: Play Your Story
Play your story together with others.
Card: Question
What if understanding is our
ability to hold space for the
possibility of knowledge, as
it emerges, unfolds, directs
and discloses its relevance
to unexplored aspects of
things known?
… begin with questions, generativity and shared understanding in mind …
and cultivate shared understanding as generative closure.
Card: Understanding
What if understanding is our
ability to hold space for the
possibility of knowledge, as
it emerges, unfolds, directs
and discloses its relevance
to unexplored aspects of
things known?
… taking thought, enacting room for relational meaning-making,
taking shared understanding as generative closure …
Card: Shared Understanding
Effective communication in light of
the information being conveyed.
Conversational intelligence turned
ability to hold shared context.
Metalogue conducive to mutuality,
learning and comprehension.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book excerpts
and prompt responses, between …
John Kellden:
Outline five complementary takes on shared understanding.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book excerpts
and prompt responses, between …
OpenAI:
- Shared understanding as a foundation for effective communication: In order for communication to be effective, it is necessary for all parties involved to have a shared understanding of the information being conveyed. This can involve agreeing on definitions of key terms, having a shared context for the conversation, and ensuring that there is mutual comprehension of the message being conveyed.
- Shared understanding as a basis for collaboration: When people have a shared understanding, they are able to work together more effectively towards a common goal. This can involve coordinating tasks, aligning goals, and building a sense of trust and cooperation.
- Shared understanding as a means of building consensus: In group decision-making, it is important to ensure that all members have a shared understanding of the options being considered and the implications of each choice. This can help to build consensus and avoid misunderstandings or conflicts.
- Shared understanding as a way to reduce conflict: When people have a shared understanding, they are less likely to misunderstand or misinterpret each other’s actions or words, which can help to reduce conflict.
- Shared understanding as a way to facilitate learning: When people have a shared understanding of a subject, they are better able to learn from each other and build on their collective knowledge. This can be especially important in educational settings, where a shared understanding is necessary for effective teaching and learning.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book excerpts
and prompt responses, between …
John Kellden:
With five hundred cards providing 120k two-card and 21M three-card combinations, designed for players to add their thoughts between the cards in ways conducive to understanding and understanding understanding (feedback in general and design cybernetics and conversation theory in particular), outline five complementary takes on shared understanding.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book excerpts
and prompt responses, between …
media reach, networked intelligent distribution and social machine scale
ChatGPT:
Sure, here are five complementary takes on shared understanding using the cards you described:
1. Contextual Understanding: Understanding a concept or idea is not just about the individual cards themselves but also about how they fit together within a larger context. This approach to shared understanding emphasizes the importance of considering the broader context in which ideas exist and how they relate to each other in that context. Players can use the cards to explore the relationships between ideas and gain a deeper understanding of the context in which they exist.
2. Perspective Taking: One of the keys to shared understanding is being able to see things from different perspectives. This approach to shared understanding focuses on using the cards to help players see issues or concepts from multiple angles. Players can use the cards to explore different perspectives and gain a more nuanced understanding of complex issues.
3. Language and Semantics: Language and semantics play a critical role in how we understand and communicate ideas. This approach to shared understanding focuses on using the cards to explore the language and terminology used to describe different concepts. Players can use the cards to identify commonalities and differences in language and terminology and gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of different concepts.
4. Feedback and Iteration: Shared understanding is an ongoing process that requires feedback and iteration. This approach to shared understanding emphasizes the importance of using the cards to gather feedback from others and iterate on ideas based on that feedback. Players can use the cards to explore different iterations of an idea and refine it based on feedback from others.
5. Systems Thinking: Understanding complex systems requires a holistic approach that considers the interactions between different components. This approach to shared understanding focuses on using the cards to explore how different ideas and concepts fit together within larger systems. Players can use the cards to gain a deeper understanding of the interconnections between different ideas and how they contribute to larger systems.
Cards for Insight: Q&U
- Gather a small group genius around a generative question
- Pick two cards and add your thoughts between
- Engage in conversation and cultivate shared understanding in light of intelligence augmentation and intelligence turned ability
- Take practical wisdom as a stopping rule and generative closure
- Create Q&U cardcasts, forming interactive supersets to the more commonly known Q&A podcast formats
Q: Questions; U: Understanding, see cards below.
Cards for Insight: Formats for cultivating shared understanding
Since 103% of all co-creation of value resides in the links, feedback
loops, the in-between spaces and unique insights and annotations
from participants, let’s unfold a way to address this:
Cards for Insight
1. Addressing how we relate to information and meaning-making.
2. Pick two cards and add your thoughts between.
3. Notice social stigmergy and reflect on attention.
4. Design and homestead social learning systems in light of intelligence, networked intelligence and systems intelligence.
5. Experience and learn to use Cards for Insight — As easy as a card game, as powerful as a social machine.
6. Understand how to add value in light of situational awareness.
7. Interact to the full extent of your ability.
8. Map moves conducive to knowledge mapping and flows.
9. Play with frames, frame and reframe, move beyond rigid narratives.
10. Cultivate shared understanding in light of generative closure.
11. Take thought conducive to convivial conversation.
12. Extend conversations, at card formats, small group genius scope, social social media reach, networked distribution and social machine scale.
13. Coordinate by applying design cybernetics conducive to a requisite variety of paths between attention turned situational awareness and preferable outcomes.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts, prompts, insights,
individual and small group genius annotations, book excerpts
and prompt responses, between …
Card: 100 Ideas
One hour, one
hundred ideas.
… pick three ideas from the last ten of the one hundred
and turn your combining them into a working synthesis
phrased as a generatlve question …
Card: Question
A question is mind rediscovering
the generative nature of relating
with reality and transforming it
into possibility.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts between …
Card: Understanding
What if understanding is our
ability to hold space for the
possibility of knowledge, as
it emerges, unfolds, directs
and discloses its relevance
to unexplored aspects of
things known?
… pick two cards and add your thoughts between …
Cards for Insight: Cards as affordances
Cards for Insight: Building Blocks
Building blocks of purposeful paths of action.
Card: Cards
Cards are play, possibility space,
unfolding path, understanding and
shared understanding affordances.
… pick two cards and add your thoughts between …
Card: Relate
How do we relate to
information and
meaning-making?
… does this mean that it’s all about what
the Cards do, rather than what they are? …
… yes …
Card: Conversational Intelligence
Conversational intelligence is a function of curiosity,
social cognition, affordances and constraints, signs,
symbols and archetypal meaning-making and
essential character evolving along unfolding paths
made luminous by joint sauntering.
… engage in conversations that mind …
Card: Conversational Intelligence
1. What role are you as a conversation participant assuming?
2. What purpose is your comment serving?
3. What needs can be addressed by the conversation?
4. What feedback, mutuality and learning is provided, by whom?
5. What (joint) focus on what story, tasks and what generative review?
6. What experience and knowledge is shared, what perspectives are explored?
7. What criteria are used, towards teasing out what insights?
8. Which are the necessary and sufficient conditions for a meaningful conversation, and what are the steps followed to ensure there’s shared understanding around these conditions?
9. What insights can be turned actionable, serving what local and community needs?
10. What intention, perspectives, language and tools are chosen and held, making for what action and practice?
11. What unique individual skills combined with what collective intelligence can help produce something extraordinary?
12. What networks of practice, co-evolving and co-creating what value, with what lines of inquiry?
13. Given all of the above, what key insights can be drawn and what actions taken, in order to solve what important issues?
… pick cards and add your thoughts in ways conducive to
insights conducive to addressing the issues at hand …
Your move:
… pick cards and add your thoughts to and between them …
… jot down your thoughts as they relate to
the everyday world around us …
More lines and cards here:
Cards for Insight: Chat, Cards, Cybernetics and Formats
Cards for Insight: LLM’s
Cards, patterns of play and card-play conversations combine, facilitating exploring paths between worthwhile dilemmas, generative center questions and preferable outcomes.
There’s around 500 cards in the source deck, with more than 120k
two-card and 21M three-card combinations. With four-, five- and
six-card combinations mapping to LLM’s, Large Language Models, facilitating human associations(card-play) combining with
AI-assisted annotations(prompts and responses).
Think cards with an underlying pattern language and with an underlying Modular Process Onto-Epistemology forming part of an Online Commonplace, with a searchable Knowledge Repository.
