Seeds of Renaissance design system · Diagrams

Drawing style for diagrams

Two ways to draw the same two figures, with the type fixed (Apfel only, no bold) and one red accent. References: Tufte, the FT, the Economist. Then the figures in context: on a page of the paper and in a web article.

Fine

After Tufte. Thin lines, hairlines for scaffolding, no boxes: layers sit on a rule. The accent as a red arrow.

Click for 1:1.
Click for 1:1.

Panels

After the FT and the Economist. No outlines: layers are panels in the red tint, the same as the wisdom gap, as wide as their text, with equal padding.

Click for 1:1.
Click for 1:1.

Printed in black and white

The red has to survive a black-and-white printer: as a grey area or panel, or as an arrow with its label.

The Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeWisdom gapTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Fine
Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Panels

At 400px, as in a feed

From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
Fine
From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
Panels

In context

The figure beside running text: Bricolage for the text, Apfel in the figure. Switch the style to see each one on the page.

A page of the paper (A4, figure as a plate)

4Wisdom and Wanting What’s Good

Addressing the wisdom gap

Amid the decline of modern industrialised society, we are obliged to trace the shape of wisdom in negative space. Manifold crises, the threat of systemic collapse, and a general inability to change direction suggest a profound lack of collective capacity to choose action for the greater good. At the same time, with societal complexity escalating faster than our capacity to manage it, our technologically enabled power to inflict catastrophic harm upon ourselves, each other and our world likewise continues to grow: a disconnect known as ‘the wisdom gap.’7

The Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeWisdom gapTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Fig. 1A rapidly growing gap between society’s technological and social complexity and our “wisdom”, our capacity to manage that complexity well. The curves show a direction, not measured trajectories.8

It’s uncontroversial to associate wisdom with rational understanding: with the capacity to grasp what’s going on in a given context, and apply knowledge and analysis to interpret events and guide action. The complexity of our times plainly overwhelms understanding, and it’s tempting to suggest that this shortfall alone explains our ‘wisdom gap’. Still, most would intuitively agree that there’s more to wisdom than analytical skill.

A web article

White paper No. 6 · Wisdom and Wanting What’s Good

Addressing the wisdom gap

Amid the decline of modern industrialised society, we are obliged to trace the shape of wisdom in negative space. Manifold crises, the threat of systemic collapse, and a general inability to change direction suggest a profound lack of collective capacity to choose action for the greater good. At the same time, with societal complexity escalating faster than our capacity to manage it, our technologically enabled power to inflict catastrophic harm upon ourselves, each other and our world likewise continues to grow: a disconnect known as ‘the wisdom gap.’

From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
Fig. 2 The crises we see sit on deeper dysfunctions, which sit on ideas and tendencies we rarely examine. Working on the surface alone does not reach the root.

It’s uncontroversial to associate wisdom with rational understanding: with the capacity to grasp what’s going on in a given context, and apply knowledge and analysis to interpret events and guide action. The complexity of our times plainly overwhelms understanding, and it’s tempting to suggest that this shortfall alone explains our ‘wisdom gap’. Still, most would intuitively agree that there’s more to wisdom than analytical skill.