Cards for Insight: Lost Horizon
In a network, cards as stepping stones.
We left nature in favor of cities, culture and commerce. In our exodus
from nature, in our infatuation with small empty text boxes we thought
we had to fill, desperate to win online status games, we lost ourselves,
we lost sight of the horizon, and, gradually, lost each other as well.
“I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of noise. Every time I open my phone, it’s like stepping into a battlefield where ideas clash, opinions scream over one another, and the headlines, oh, those headlines — they’re designed to grab my throat, not my attention. It’s relentless. News feeds, posts, videos, ads, comments. The moment I think I’ve caught my breath, another wave comes crashing down. I can’t tell anymore what’s worth knowing, what’s urgent, or even what’s true. It’s just… everything, all at once.
Some days, I feel like a puppet with invisible strings being yanked in a dozen different directions. Algorithms tug at me, showing me things I didn’t ask for, but now I can’t ignore. It’s like they know my weaknesses better than I do. My fears, my insecurities, my angers — they’re all exploited, fed back to me in endless loops. I see posts about tragedies halfway across the world, and I ache for those people. But then, I scroll a little further, and I’m bombarded with memes and influencers pretending life is all filters and highlights. Should I be grieving? Laughing? Changing my life? I don’t even know what I should feel anymore.
Even when I try to step back, the guilt creeps in. Am I uninformed? Am I complicit in the problems of the world because I didn’t read every article, share every post, or leave a comment to stand up for what’s right? And when I do engage, it feels so small, so meaningless. Like tossing a pebble into an ocean and expecting waves to change course. The issues are enormous — war, climate change, injustice — and I’m just… me. What could I possibly do about any of it?
The worst part is the helplessness. The constant awareness that I can’t unsee or unknow these things. People say “disconnect” like it’s easy. Like I can just turn off my brain along with my phone. But even if I manage to put the device down, my mind keeps buzzing. Did I miss something important? Did someone message me? What’s the latest thing to worry about, to be outraged about, to pretend I understand when, really, I’m just as lost as anyone else?
I’ve started to notice how heavy my chest feels after scrolling, like I’ve been holding my breath for hours. My shoulders ache, my mind races, and yet, I keep coming back, drawn to the very thing that’s overwhelming me. It’s a toxic relationship, isn’t it? Me and the media, the notifications, the endless scroll. I hate it, but I can’t stop. The fear of missing out feels worse than the exhaustion of keeping up.
I envy people who seem immune to all this. Are they? Or are they just hiding it better than me? Sometimes, I want to yell into the void, “Does anyone else feel like this?” But I already know the answer. I see it in the fragmented conversations online, the quiet resignation in people’s eyes when we talk about the world. We’re all stuck in this machine together, too small to fight it, too afraid to leave it.
It’s ironic, isn’t it? This world of infinite information was supposed to empower us, connect us, make us better. Instead, it feels like it’s stripping me down to nothing, like I’m losing pieces of myself with every click, every scroll. I used to feel grounded, like I had some control over my thoughts, my choices. Now? Now I feel like a tiny, defenseless speck caught in an avalanche of everything, everywhere, all the time.
And I don’t know how to make it stop.”
Cards for Insight: Navigating Complexity
The above is the voice of Aria, before she discovers and joins
Cards for Insight, a combined Card-Play and Immersive Adventure.
Further into the card-play — Aria invites two of her friends, Jules
and Kai, with Elle, their AI-assistant, helping them along:
Kai’s Pick: Equity for Future Generations
Tagline: Fairness That Stands the Test of Time
Card Text:
Highlights intergenerational equity, ensuring decisions today
do not compromise the well-being of tomorrow.
Kai’s Reflection:
“This card feels like a north star. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment — it’s about creating systems that endure and adapt. For the MKR(Modular Knowledge Repository), this means thinking long-term: how do we design it
so future participants inherit something valuable, flexible, and capable of evolving with their needs?
I’m imagining a system that doesn’t just store knowledge but grows with it.
What if the MKR had a way of archiving the processes behind our insights? Future players could see not just what we discovered but how we discovered it, learning from our patterns and improving on them.”
Elle’s Input:
“Kai, your vision of a living archive is compelling. We could incorporate meta-documentation into the MKR — capturing not just outcomes but the pathways taken to reach them. This could include visualizations of card-play patterns, recorded metalogues, and iterative design notes, offering future users both content and context.”
Human-AI Metalogue: Aligning Perspectives
Jules:
“Elle, I feel like the MKR is becoming more than a repository. It’s starting to feel like an organism — alive, adaptable, and interconnected. How do we keep it that way while ensuring it remains usable?”
Elle:
“Jules, your observation is astute. Usability and adaptability often seem like opposites, but they can coexist if we design with modularity. Each session, each contribution, becomes a self-contained unit that plugs into the larger system. Users can interact with the MKR at the level they’re comfortable with — exploring individual nodes or zooming out to see the whole ecosystem.”
Aria:
“I love that. It’s like creating a forest where each tree is unique, but together,
they form something greater. How do we ensure the MKR stays inclusive?”
Elle:
“Inclusivity begins with affordances. For example, creating multiple entry points for different learning styles — visual maps, narrative pathways, or even guided sessions. The Equity Booster Pack itself could inspire thematic pathways, where participants navigate insights around fairness, reciprocity, and growth.”
Kai:
“That’s powerful. And if we think about future generations, we need
to make sure the MKR doesn’t just grow — it also stays meaningful.
How do we ensure it evolves with the times?”
Elle:
“Through periodic ecosystem reflection. Just as you reflect on cards,
the MKR could include built-in prompts for the community to reassess
its purpose, relevance, and design. This creates a feedback loop where
the system evolves alongside its users.”
Building the Collaborative Narrative
The players pause to reflect on their growing alignment. Each card from the Equity Booster Pack has deepened their understanding of the MKR as a living, breathing entity. They see how their individual insights — knowledge sharing, systemic fairness, and intergenerational equity — are not separate threads but part of a larger tapestry.
They take turns journaling their thoughts:
Aria: “What if the MKR became a shared classroom, where everyone is both a teacher and a learner?”
Jules: “What if equity wasn’t just a theme but a guiding principle for every contribution to the MKR?”
Kai: “What if the MKR didn’t just preserve knowledge but invited future users to innovate with it?” Their shared reflections are added to the gameboard, forming a new field: MKR as Ecosystem.
Aria, Jules, Kai and Elle are all rendered by the AI. However,
the cards, the card-play and human-AI dialogue, can be played
as well by human participants, individually, in small groups
as well as in online communities of card-play practice.
Cards for Insight: How to play
Add your thoughts to and between the cards.
Use the cards to navigate complexity.
Cultivate understanding as generative closure.
(scroll down for a list: Why Bother?)
The Card-Play can be as simple as picking two cards:
Card: Switching
Reflecting on what happens with
our social media-conditioned,
online behavior when we switch
from judgment to perception
and from perception to story.
… add thoughts; explore perspectives;
journal reflections; highlight insights;
see context; shape stories …
Card: Understanding
Understanding as 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.
The cards are not about answers — they’re about invitations. Invitations to pause, to reflect, to connect, and to act. Each card is a stepping stone in a dynamic journey, a piece of a map that emerges as you engage with it.
When combined with human-AI dialogue, this practice transcends individual meaning-making to become a co-evolutionary process — a weaving of insights that creates clarity in the face of complexity, connection in the midst of isolation, and purposeful paths where none seemed possible.
The magic lies in this: a single step, taken with curiosity and care, can unfold into a journey that transforms not just you but the world around you. This is card-play: a practice rooted in the seed of possibility planted within each of us, nourished by kindness, curiosity, and the courage to reach beyond our grasp.
Take that first step. Pick your first card. The journey begins here.
Card: Stepping Stones
Cards as stepping stones for
humans finding themselves
between narratives, seeking story.
Aria:
“I felt torn in that moment. Part of me wanted to dismiss it, to roll my eyes and return to the comfort of my familiar disempowerment. That part of me was loud, almost shouting: It’s just another fancy idea! Nothing changes! Stories won’t save you!
But there was another part — a quieter, softer voice. It was the same part that had stopped me from scrolling earlier, that had clicked on the Stepping Stones card. This voice didn’t shout. It simply whispered: What if?
What if there’s truth here? What if story is the way through? What if this drowning feeling isn’t permanent, but part of something bigger — something
I can’t see yet?”
Card: Story
Imagine thought as a journey
through an intricate landscape.
Cards for Insight: Why Bother?
1. Why Bother? Why cards, why not post-it notes instead?
Why: Cards have a structured format that allows for flexibility and complexity, serving as probes, affordances, prompts and containers for knowledge. Unlike post-it notes, which can quickly become cluttered and disconnected, cards can be digitally organized, annotated, and augmented with AI for further insight.
How: Use cards to turn information into knowledge, and build lasting knowledge structures that can be re-arranged, connected, and built upon. Cards are not just for brainstorming; they facilitate deeper engagement, strategic thinking, and ongoing co-creation.
2. Why Bother? Why cards, why not just an “ordinary” Tool for Thought?
Why: Cards for Insight adds an interactive, narrative-based layer to tools for thought, moving beyond static notetaking or isolated thinking. Cards facilitate collaborative exploration, pattern discovery, and the development of a shared understanding.
How: Play with cards to not only capture thoughts but to build dynamic, evolving thought journeys. AI-assisted annotations amplify your thinking, while the card-play format creates a framework for emergent knowledge.
3. Why Bother? Why cards, why not just ordinary platform designs
like posts, comments, like buttons?
Why: Traditional platforms prioritize reactions and surface-level interaction. Cards for Insight, on the other hand, prioritizes deep engagement, layered discovery, and collective meaning-making.
The card format helps slow down and organize thought in ways posts and comments don’t, encouraging more reflective and purposeful interactions.
How: With cards, you engage in guided conversation, fostering richer discussions and uncovering deeper insights than typical social media interactions.
4. Why Bother? Why bespoke card-play patterns of play,
why not any which heuristics?
Why: Patterns of play are carefully designed sequences of actions that foster generative thinking. They are not random heuristics but are meant
to guide you toward deep insights, foster connections between ideas,
and help navigate complex issues.
How: Follow card-play patterns to explore complex topics with intention. AI-assisted prompts and annotations enrich these patterns by introducing connections you might not otherwise see, making the process more meaningful.
5. Why Bother? Why AI-assisted annotations,
why not just human annotations?
Why: Human annotations are valuable, but they can be time-consuming and limited by individual perspective. AI-assisted annotations speed up
the process, introduce new connections, and help you see relationships between ideas that may not be immediately obvious.
How: Use AI to enhance, not replace, your thinking. The AI assists by suggesting links, connections, and new avenues for inquiry, helping you reach deeper insights faster and more comprehensively.
6. Why Bother? Why online cards, why not just physical decks?
Why: Physical decks are wonderful for in-person collaboration, but online cards offer flexibility, accessibility, and augmentation through AI. Digital cards can be saved, searched, annotated, and used collaboratively in ways that physical cards cannot.
How: Take advantage of the digital format to collaborate with others remotely, use AI to augment your card-play, and save and revisit
your card sessions for continuous learning and development.
7. Why Bother? Why card-play conversations,
why not just ordinary chat or comment threads?
Why: Ordinary chats and comment threads tend to be linear, short-lived, and often lack depth. Card- play conversations are structured, evolving dialogues that allow for the emergence of complex ideas and shared understanding over time.
How: Engage in card-play conversations to explore ideas thoroughly, use AI assistance to maintain context, and collaborate meaningfully. The cards guide the conversation, ensuring it doesn’t devolve into shallow exchanges but builds toward insight and action.
8. Why Bother? Why complex dilemmas and generative center questions, why not simpler discussions?
Why: The world is full of complex challenges that require deep thinking and creative solutions. Simple discussions often lead to surface-level engagement, but by tackling generative center questions, we unlock
new possibilities and explore multiple layers of understanding.
How: Use cards to explore complex dilemmas through structured inquiry, fostering both individual and collective breakthroughs.
9. Why Bother? Why knowledge artifacts and card-casts,
why not just leave ideas as they are?
Why: Knowledge artifacts and card-casts turn ideas into tangible, shareable outcomes. Instead of leaving thoughts in fragments, these artifacts help you document your thinking process and share insights with others in a meaningful way.
How: Use the cards to co-create artifacts that can be referenced, built upon, and shared as part of a collective knowledge-building process.
10. Why Bother? Why generative play, why not just work through tasks?
Why: Generative play encourages creativity, divergent thinking, and serendipitous discovery — essential elements for innovation and problem-solving. Task-driven work is important, but it’s through play that we often unlock new, unexpected insights.
How: Engage with the cards in a spirit of playfulness to uncover new ways of thinking. AI annotations help expand the creative process by adding layers of context and connections.
Cards for Insight: Value Proposition
With Cards for Insight, users engage in meaningful conversations
that unlock both individual and collective intelligence.
New and seasoned participants alike can explore dynamic spaces,
from simple two-card formats to Immersive Card-Play Adventures,
that foster curiosity, adaptability, and collaboration.
The card-play system with its heuristics provide entry points for maximizing play, participation, and deepening inquiry, making it accessible, scalable and meaningful across individuals, small group
genius and diverse communities of practice.
The 500-card source deck providing 120k two-card and 21M three-card combinations, combined with customizable booster packs offers a tailored experience for users seeking to address questions, explore perspectives, navigate complex problems, cultivate insights, make progress and achieve preferable outcomes.
Incorporating AI-assisted insights alongside human imagination,
Cards for Insight offers a blend of structured inquiry and dynamic conversation, empowering users to tackle challenges and transform
them into pathways for growth, innovation, and understanding.
Why?
To transform the overwhelm of modern life into opportunities
for insight and action, empowering ourselves and others
to weave meaning in an evolving world.
Lost Horizon
“We have reason. It is the entire meaning and purpose of Shangri-La. It came to me in a vision long, long ago. I foresaw a time when man exalting in the technique of murder, would rage so hotly over the world, that every book, every treasure would be doomed to destruction.
This vision was so vivid and so moving that I determined to gather together all things of beauty and culture that I could and preserve them here against the doom toward which the world is rushing.
Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity crashing headlong against each other. The time must come, my friend, when brutality and the lust for power must perish by its own sword. For when that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life. And it is our hope that they may find it here.”
— James Hilton, Lost Horizon
Your Story:
It begins like this: not with a solution, but with a question.
You pick up a card. Its words speak to something raw and real
in you — something you didn’t even know needed to be spoken.
Maybe it’s Story, whispering that we’re all between narratives,
hungry for meaning. Or Stepping Stones, nudging you to notice
the small moves, small steps you can take next.
You pause. You reflect. You write.
The first steps are quiet, almost imperceptible, like a seed being planted. But as you pick another card, and another, something shifts.
Threads of thought begin to weave together. Patterns emerge.
You share these insights with a friend, and their response deepens your own understanding. Together, you realize you’re not just exchanging ideas — you’re co-creating a map, one that’s both uniquely yours and shared between you. There they are. There you are.
Once we’ve moved beyond the information overwhelm, having found
ourselves, a few others and our bearings, setting our sight yet again on a newfound light at the horizon, our next tasks are all about returning, together with a growing number of others, sharing our newfound insights with others, as we reclaim and repurpose our networks. Seeding what needs to be seeded, unfolding paths, cultivating what needs to be built.
Card: Switching
Reflecting on what happens with
our social media-conditioned
online behavior when we switch
from judgment to perception
and from perception to story.
… add thoughts; explore perspectives;
journal reflections; highlight insights;
see context; shape stories …
Card: Understanding
Understanding as 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.
Elle(the AI-assistant):
Switching as the Catalyst:
Switching lays the groundwork for openness. It reframes our social
media-conditioned instincts, encouraging us to move from reactive judgment to a perceptive stance that allows new experiences
to emerge without immediate categorization.
Understanding as the Expander:
Once the perceptive shift occurs, Understanding enables us to dwell
in the richness of what we observe. It invites patience and curiosity, allowing insights to reveal themselves naturally over time, rather
than through forced reasoning or preconceived notions.
…………..
There’s a few more cards here.
