CultureLabel

It is often difficult to comprehend the changes that we are experiencing as a society today, whether social, economic, political or technological in nature. To use the cliche, we are now so used to it, change has become the only constant.

For some, the non-stop rhetoric of revolution fuels a persuasive counter-argument: that in reality, despite all the hype, today’s society is notable for the lack of revolutionary innovation compared with preceding centuries. Richard Morrison, for example, has argued that there is no sign yet of any cataclysmic changes that the years around 1900 or 1800 produced. The internet, the iPod, the mobile phone, human genome mapping… they’re all simply clever commercial applications of earlier breakthroughs, in his view.

Furthermore, Morrison argues that we may even be going backwards, regressing spiritually back into the 20th century as we advance chronologically into the 21st:

“Where’s the audacious genius - the Leonardo, the Einstein, the Freud, the Beethoven, or the Picasso - who’s going to pump a little visionary exhilaration into our bland, plodding, nervous, mediocre, copycat era?”

Donald Braben, professor of physics at University College London, echoes this view, blaming the requirements of ‘efficiency’ and ‘relevance’ for research funding as “a killer for Einstein types”.

Perhaps there is some truth to this - our experience of change has been so gradual and constant, we’ve had little awareness that the rate of change has been growing more rapid.

Shift Happens

To illustrate this, let’s look to the thinking and attitudes arising out from west-coast America. As long ago as 2004, college student Karl Fisch created a presentation to try and help his teachers understand the pace of change in which they lived. Since posting this online four years ago, over five million conversations have revolved around his work, each grappling with the central theme of our changing world. Here’s the latest YouTube version:

Continuity, change and the culture sector

Change today combines pioneering technological and demographic advances with a continuation or reinvention of many familiar sights and rituals. One of the greatest advantages for the culture sector is its familiarity with this paradox: having spent centuries balancing priceless heritage with modern interpretation, the sector is uniquely placed to provide leadership on balancing timeless conventions with modern innovations.