Strands of Genius: Creativity is a Modern Idea, The Miseducation of American Boys, Transform 20
+ our thoughts on: nothing ever really ends
WRITING FROM | Athens, GA
WORKING ON | Beyond Boring Briefs Remote Workshop | Writing | Procurement Processes
LOOKING AHEAD
Oct 29 - Nov 16: Athens, GA
Nov 16 - 23: St. Petersburg, FL
Nov 17 & 18: Wunderman Thompson’s TRANSFORM (Register free)
Nov 24-Dec 3: Beersheba Springs, TN
Dec 3 - 10: TBD
Dec 10 - Jan 16: Nashville, TN
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Well. How are you feeling now? Nothing has happened exactly — but expectations about the shape or direction of the future have probably shifted, and there have been corresponding celebrations and, well, other moods. It’s worth bearing in mind, how simply believing something different about the uncertain future can dramatically effect how we feel, or decide to feel. As we’ve been saying a lot this year: all futures are fictions. And nothing ever really ends.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
All the Fall colors, sunshine and the CRISPNESS, Rachel Hogan/Charlena Hog, Rebecca, Gareth, and all the folks over at WT, pizza, banana bread, celebratory libations, yoga, Morgan&Colin (Happy birthday MLKd!! We love you!!), walk n talks, hope.
This edition of Strands of Genius is sponsored by Wunderman Thompson, who also happen to be the hosts of Transform, a virtual event where we’ll be taking the stage (err, screen) alongside a slew of interesting folk. We hope you’ll join us!
WUNDERMAN THOMPSON presents TRANSFORM 20
Transform is for the inquisitive -- for the “learn-it-alls” not the “know-it-alls”. More specifically, our content collective is aimed at those responsible for shaping the future of some of the biggest brands on the planet. Whether you’re in marketing, digital, data or technology, Transform is here to help make your brand relevant, customer-centric, creatively brave and future-ready.
Rosie and Faris are speaking alongside a host of interesting people, including musicians, activists, Youtube creators, senior client and agency leaders, and the founder of WhatsApp.
Register for your free pass to attend here. (EST Nov 17 / SGT Nov 18)
:: THE LINKS ::
THE RISE AND RISE OF CREATIVITY
Creativity, like its companion originality [which we believe is a myth, as you likely know by now], is an interestingly modern idea. As a concept, it only applied to God until society began to secularize, when poets began to apply the idea to themselves. Since then it has slowly, but not entirely, unwound itself from the corresponding ideas of lone genius and art, becoming highly prized for its ability to drive economic growth and thus studied: “the expert practices of identifying people, social forms and techniques that produce the new and the useful are integral to the business world and its affiliates.” (Aeon)
WAYS TO SEPARATE WORK FROM HOME & LIFE @ HOME
6 simple techniques for those of us all working and living entirely in the same space, in a short 2-minute video. It’s worth the watch. (Fast Company)
THE MISEDUCATION OF THE AMERICAN BOY
Masculinity doesn’t have to be toxic, but a lot of what culture communicates about it to boys is. As gender roles for women continue to undergo critical and cultural reevaluation, maleness has had no such development. “Now it’s time to rethink assumptions about how we raise boys. That will require models of manhood that are neither ashamed nor regressive, and that emphasize emotional flexibility—a hallmark of mental health.” More blades may not be enough. (Atlantic)
Strands of Genius is currently read by 12,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: NOTHING EVER ENDS ::
I was thinking about this and kept hearing echoes in my head. Nothing Ever Really Dies [N.E.R.D.] and Nothing Ever Really Ends and it was bugging me so I tried thinking with my fingers. I soon ‘remembered’ that Dr. Manhattan says it to Adrian Veidt in The Watchmen and that’s probably at least partly where I am hearing it, considering how many times I have read it.
But what does it mean? Why am I conjuring it now?
It’s an idea about time and perspective and stories. As Kurt Vonnegut pointed out with his story graphs, what makes a story happy or sad is mostly a matter of when it ends.
We know from Daniel Kahneman’s work on the experiencing self and the remembering self that we have a strong tendency to overweight endings, so much so that they color that entire experience as we remember it. But, as Dr. Manhattan points out, nothing ever ends.
We have uncertain months ahead of us and, this being America, campaigning for the next election will begin a few minutes after this one is officially over. But the story of the USA, of humanity, is ongoing. The work of keeping the moral arc bending towards justice is never done, just as the labor that sustains you will never end.
So, if you stumble upon feelings of joy and hope, grasp them and bask in them. They are your reach.
Rosie’s mom texted her on Wednesday, saying “Joy is an act of resistance! Find your joy today!” and somehow it rang true.
An aside [but not really. although this is] - the video that helped me remember discusses the philosophy of The Watchmen t.v. show in forensic detail through meta-textual analysis. It considers authority, war, politics, how violence becomes embedded in law, genetic trauma, racism, and the toxic tendency of attacking from the ‘victim’ position.
Mostly, most importantly, it considers how history creates the present and informs the future - from Dr. Manhattan’s atemporal point of view. The TV show’s extremely detailed look at history brought the real tragedy of the Tulsa Race Massacre to life for a generation that had ‘almost’ forgotten about it - it doesn’t appear in history books so it had almost vanished from view.
By confusing chronology and through time-shifted devices like movies, museums and the drug ‘nostalgia’ the audience experiences linear time through Dr. Manhattan’s infinitely wide screen. How history is written, and rewritten, is an ongoing process and the tendency of patriotic sensationalism is to ignore uncomfortable aspects or, worse, elide them completely.
How we think about the future changes how we feel and experience the present. How we think about history does too. Nothing ever ends ;)
:: AND NOW… JIM RISWOLD ON ORIGINALITY ::
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Send ‘em our way!
It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)