Evokation update 3: My heart the wind collaboration

Was going on, I say, I hear you saying, without saying, was going on. Well I will tell you, I will tell you, in hyper post modern speak, my heart you want to know.

We are all of us called upon to employ our local community insights to solve urgent problems through evoke. Great idea evoke, great idea, great idea. I believe this is a great idea because innovation is speculation without concrete connection to the problem.

But then where does that leave me, me white, male, and Canadian? Well I grew up in poverty, but urban Canadian poverty and that’s only indirectly related to the missions at stake on evoke. Besides, I’m still a white guy so I’m supposed to call on my rich uncle to pay for university or steal a scholarship from a lady (one of the few scholarships I’m eligible for, given my systemic advantages of my whiteness whilst poor.). Well, happiness isn’t getting what you want and satisfaction is sweeter the harsher the challenge right? So I’m wealthy. And besides, Canadian poor is nothing like 2 bucks a day.

So what do I have? Support for those people who are in contact with the world’s most urgent problems? That seems like the most likely answer, and use I have on evoke. But can my own voice find a place in the wind or do I only give my gusto to other drafts?

Obviously, I felt I had something to give with my own evocation. Stemming from my concrete knowledge of my own communities, I see and respond, lend my voice to a wind a can feel on my own skin. Here, first world and Canadian, a few people ask for fair trade coffee and ride bicycles to work. A couple few. And the population of Toronto is 2.48 mil!ion. We could act to redistribute our leisure and resources to making a huge dent in the world’s problems. But we don’t. We have free will, I’m going to assume that. (It’s true, impossible to coherently deny, but that’s a horse of a useless colour). So it would seem that the limits of our actions to make the world a better place SHOULD ONLY BE CONSTRAINED BY PHSYCIAL LAWS.

You. Can. Row. Across. The. Ocean. You could probably be on the ocean ten months from now. You actually can. Not just could, can.

My friend got good at football the day he realized (as a running back), when he had the ball, really, he could do basically do anything he wanted with the ball.

But it’s not true, in some ways tragically, so tragically, not true at all that intentions are only constrained by physical laws. We have a psychology. Usually we ignore this fact, this fact that constrains our will. Are you the kind of person that would walk by a man having a seizure on a sidewalk? You all said no, but most of you are wrong if the sidewalk has 4 other pedestrians*. When there is a shared problem that other people could also be solving, we tend to assume someone else is on it (and that they could do a better job, anyway).

The point is, what I have to offer is local knowledge of this problem on a world stage; I am first-world, developed, and underachieving as a community. What, what innovation could correct this misuse of such a valuable resource (we, the underachieving and resource laden)? Gilbert Ryle correctly pointed out that there is a huge distinction in knowledge: know-that and know-how. We, my community, know that we could x y and z to make a difference. But we don’t know how. It’s like knowing what you need to do to ride a bike but simply not having the capability. Obviously, obviously, obviously, obviously, obviously what we need is practice; more emphasis on what should be done is like pulling the rein on only one side (drawing the horse in circles). That is what I am offering with my evokation, and it resonates with the people on the edge of knowing how, the target audience of evoke:

Interesting Idea! - Kevin Carruthers

Jeremy, I think this is a wonderful project and has a potentially huge value. My first suggestion is DON'T APOLOGIZE! You have no reason to. You have an important idea, well thought-out and expressed here. - Sarah Shaw Tatoun

*applause* ... Creating this as a themed game would be an amazing achievement that could be transferred into any kind of historical, educational, crisis based or gaming type universe... - John D. Boyden

My first thought was also that it should be an online game, but the table-top environment is a great idea because it's a social activity - a group of people sitting around a table interacting in real life. I really think you're onto something here. - Chris Ke Sihai

People tend to think something must be done rather than I must do something. Very true. - Miaomiao Huang

I think this is a well thought out and entirely feasible idea as far as getting gamers to play it. All I have to do is listen to my gamer teenage children... - Cynawynn

Great idea and I like it doesn't require a computer so could be played where there's no power. - Buffy B

Whoa, cool idea.... - Teresa R

Wow, I love this - Samiran Roy

Your idea is just perfect!... We humans are exactly this, ... When preparing oneself for a job interview one practices this game (without knowing),... - Ternura
Rojas

great game - A.V.Koshy

Reflection on the comments of other agents has empowered me to say: send me to the summit. No, really. I cannot represent many of the urgent problems facing Africa, though I have useful ideas about them with which to discuss opine and add to the dialogue. But I can represent the urgent problem of inaction in my community, and it is a big community. Perhaps it doesn’t look urgent because it’s always been that way in modern memory. Oh but wait, that applies to problems such as poverty in Africa, too. And if you say, more funding is not what's needed, better use of funding is - I say, ?!, whatever the better use is may be better leveraged by better funding, we need funds to research the best use of funds, and who says all Toronto, say, has to offer is funds? Let’s tackle the problem of inefficiently mobilizing engagement from the people of the developed world in our response to world problems, starting with Toronto. As part of solving world problems through the system of evoke, I unapologetic-ally request that you send me to the summit.