Sept 13, 2020 - Stewart Brand’s Mental Model of Pace Layering (With Alex Yao)
Fellow Interintellect Alex Yao explores how we relate to time, based on Stewart Brand’s mental model of pace layering.
About this Event
Stewart Brand describes six significant levels of pace and size in the working structure of a robust and adaptable civilization. From fast to slow the levels are:
- Fashion/art
- Commerce
- Infrastructure
- Governance
- Culture
- Nature
In a healthy society each level is allowed to operate at its own pace, safely sustained by the slower levels below and kept invigorated by the livelier levels above. "The order of civilization. The fast layers innovate; the slow layers stabilize. The whole combines learning with continuity."
How do we resolve conflicting demands and time scales in our own lives? How can we use the mental model of pace layering in relation to our own lives, work, and to society? When do our own lives sync up with these layers of civilization? What happens when we are disconnected from these layers?
What does equilibrium look like in the 21st century, where each layer respects the other (Governance vs. Commerce, Commerce vs. Nature, Commerce vs. Culture, etc.)?
In this Interintellect Salon, we’ll be exploring these questions and explore how this mental model helps us see the world differently.
Good to read pre-salon: