Maps
and Mapping "What
is the territory of collective wisdom? How might graphic representations
help us recognize its landmarks and navigate this territory successfully?"
People
Map: This map of the all the continents includes markers
indicating people who have been described by their colleagues
and friends as active, engaged and in one way or another involved
in the field of collective wisdom and for whom we have received
a self-portrait.
Places
Map: These meeting places have been recommended by colleagues
as places where transformational collective experiences have taken
place. They represent a variety of settings and types of meeting
spaces worldwide in which place and environment are considered
significant contributing factors toward intended outcomes and
quality of experience for those gathered.
Events Map:
Markers on this worldwide map indicate where you will find upcoming
activities having to do with practice related to and events and
action with a collective wisdom focus. Each event is convened
by colleagues or organizations contributing to evolution of the
Collective Wisdom field.
Visitors Map: This
global map shows the last 1000 visitors to the CWI website. On
the average, CWI has a new visitor every 15 minutes, which means
about 150 a day or 5000 a month. 85% of these visitors are
new to the website day by day; 15% have visited prior and are
returning again and again to explore more of what the website
has to offer.
In
the summer of 2003, the Collective Wisdom Initiative commissioned
an experiment in the design of a dynamic (moving) map for the
collective wisdom field. A team of six from the Rhode Island School
of Design's Graphic Design Graduate Program, conceived and crafted
what came into form quite unexpected as an animated interactive
practice tool. Tom Ockerse, Dan Gaidula, Soe Lin Post, Stephanie
Grey and Anne West focused their creative mapping attention in
response to Jacob Needleman's compelling question: "How do
can we touch and be touched by the intelligence we need?"
Based on Tom Ockerse's extensive work in the field of semiotics
(the study of how we construct meaning) and design theory, they
designed an interactive software program based on an array of
28 principles and practices
for developing capacities of collective wisdom as described in
Centered
on the Edge (pages 59-63). This practice tool is innovative,
provocative and useful for personal practice, and can be experienced
by clicking here. Also, see
Designing the Map
for a description of the process of creation and thinking behind
design of the interactive software.
Mapping the Field of Collective Wisdom
Collective
wisdom may be a form of spiritual presence that pervades group
consciousness, an intelligence that appears to be calling each
of us. At the heart of our initiative, there has been the task
of “mapping the territory.” What calls for our attention?
What experiences and relationship of ideas frame our exploration
into this territory? How might visual forms of mapping make visible
subtle and complex phenomena? Based on conversations with several
stewards of the initiative, we asked Chrisann Brennan, an artist
and graphic illustrator, to create a visual synthesis of some
of our initial reflections, Mapping
of the Field of Collective Wisdom. Read also The
Story Behind Mapping the Field of Collective Wisdom.
Elements and Shifting Factors in Collective Resonance
Renee Levi
interviewed individuals from 32 diverse group contexts ranging
from military units, football teams, and police arrest situations
to professional work groups, leisure gatherings, and educational
environments to study “collective resonance”. This
work resulted in a doctoral
dissertation, which includes two maps summarizing her findings
(click on images below).
See also her notes
on the creation of these Collective Resonance maps.
