Collective Intelligence
What does the theoretical concept, collective intelligence, mean?
Wikipedia's definition of collective intelligence is: shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making.
Web 2.0 foundations such as facebook, instagram, twitter, wikipedia, blogs are an opportunity for communities to have virtual social interaction. I have involved myself in collective intelligence by sharing my reflective process on this blog post therefore, participating within BAPP's learning community. As I continue to type, I wish to communicate my ideas on this topic and instigate others to respond with their ideas and opinions. For those that are reading this right now, you in this moment are contributing to our collective intelligence. The more you overthink exactly what collective intelligence is and get to grips with it, you realise just how often it occurs in your everyday life. For instance, this could be commenting on a colleague's instagram post, sharing an article on facebook that interests you, stating a counter-argument to a politician's twitter post or writing a blog to publish your own viewpoint on a topic like Kolb's learning cycles.
The way you reflect on collective intelligence and how you actively participate is linked to whether you reflect-in-action or reflect-on-action. As a dancer myself, it is generalised that we are good at reflection-in-action. Artists reflect and respond immediately, and react 'hands-on'. For example, one day the stage floor had an especially slippery surface. Before the evening show, we were engaging in our daily ballet warm-up class. During a pirouette (turning) exercise, my back foot slipped and I slid to the floor and instantly put my hands and knees on the floor. I then carried on dancing to the music until I finished the exercise. In the moment, I did not think, my tacit knowledge overcame my conscious mind. In Tharp's The Creative Habit (2006), she accurately claims that "muscle memory is one of the most valuable forms of memory, especially to a performer. It's the notion that after diligent practice and repetition of certain physical movements, your body will remember those moves years, even decades, after you cease doing them." Indeed, after dancing for 15yrs and training ballet vocationally for 6yrs, the neurone signals from my brain to my muscles must be so strong to prevent me from injuring myself when I fell over. This makes me wonder, is it the mind that controls my muscle memory? Can muscles themselves have a memory of their own? Tharp believes in connecting to your non-verbal self, which in many aspects is the core of my practice. The ability to create a bond with the audience without spoken language requires athleticism, artistry and being in touch with non-verbal communication.
Mime is a key factor of performance. According to the Cambridge dictionary, mime is: the act of using movements of your hands and body, and expressions of your face, without speech, to communicate emotions and actions or to tell a story. Unfortunately, mime is not possible with Web 2.0 or even Web 1.0. Emojis are the closest feature of the virtual world. With online interaction and collective intelligence, you are able to reflect-on-action. Similarly to Kolb's learning cycle, you can observe and reflect upon an experience you shared online. However, on stage and in real life, reflecting-in-action is created through humans making physical connections. Through dancing, mime, acting, monologues, ballads. The audience and performers are continually reacting in real time to their surroundings, making it a live experience. Does Web 2.0 destroy the simplicity of living in the moment? Do you ever feel mindful and aware of what you are doing online? Do some actions occur subconsciously? Do you control your phone, or does your phone control you?
Cambridge Dictionary (2019) definition of mime. Retrieved 28th October 2019 from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mime
Tharp, T and Reiter, M. (2006) The Creative Habit: learn it and use it for life. Rockefeller center. Simon and Schuster paperbacks.
Wikipedia's definition of collective intelligence is: shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making.
Web 2.0 foundations such as facebook, instagram, twitter, wikipedia, blogs are an opportunity for communities to have virtual social interaction. I have involved myself in collective intelligence by sharing my reflective process on this blog post therefore, participating within BAPP's learning community. As I continue to type, I wish to communicate my ideas on this topic and instigate others to respond with their ideas and opinions. For those that are reading this right now, you in this moment are contributing to our collective intelligence. The more you overthink exactly what collective intelligence is and get to grips with it, you realise just how often it occurs in your everyday life. For instance, this could be commenting on a colleague's instagram post, sharing an article on facebook that interests you, stating a counter-argument to a politician's twitter post or writing a blog to publish your own viewpoint on a topic like Kolb's learning cycles.
The way you reflect on collective intelligence and how you actively participate is linked to whether you reflect-in-action or reflect-on-action. As a dancer myself, it is generalised that we are good at reflection-in-action. Artists reflect and respond immediately, and react 'hands-on'. For example, one day the stage floor had an especially slippery surface. Before the evening show, we were engaging in our daily ballet warm-up class. During a pirouette (turning) exercise, my back foot slipped and I slid to the floor and instantly put my hands and knees on the floor. I then carried on dancing to the music until I finished the exercise. In the moment, I did not think, my tacit knowledge overcame my conscious mind. In Tharp's The Creative Habit (2006), she accurately claims that "muscle memory is one of the most valuable forms of memory, especially to a performer. It's the notion that after diligent practice and repetition of certain physical movements, your body will remember those moves years, even decades, after you cease doing them." Indeed, after dancing for 15yrs and training ballet vocationally for 6yrs, the neurone signals from my brain to my muscles must be so strong to prevent me from injuring myself when I fell over. This makes me wonder, is it the mind that controls my muscle memory? Can muscles themselves have a memory of their own? Tharp believes in connecting to your non-verbal self, which in many aspects is the core of my practice. The ability to create a bond with the audience without spoken language requires athleticism, artistry and being in touch with non-verbal communication.
Mime is a key factor of performance. According to the Cambridge dictionary, mime is: the act of using movements of your hands and body, and expressions of your face, without speech, to communicate emotions and actions or to tell a story. Unfortunately, mime is not possible with Web 2.0 or even Web 1.0. Emojis are the closest feature of the virtual world. With online interaction and collective intelligence, you are able to reflect-on-action. Similarly to Kolb's learning cycle, you can observe and reflect upon an experience you shared online. However, on stage and in real life, reflecting-in-action is created through humans making physical connections. Through dancing, mime, acting, monologues, ballads. The audience and performers are continually reacting in real time to their surroundings, making it a live experience. Does Web 2.0 destroy the simplicity of living in the moment? Do you ever feel mindful and aware of what you are doing online? Do some actions occur subconsciously? Do you control your phone, or does your phone control you?
Cambridge Dictionary (2019) definition of mime. Retrieved 28th October 2019 from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mime
Tharp, T and Reiter, M. (2006) The Creative Habit: learn it and use it for life. Rockefeller center. Simon and Schuster paperbacks.
I absolutely feel sometimes that I can have some FOMO for the real world when online. Like when you're at a gig and you see everyone with their phones out, rather than enjoying the music and living in the moment! But it can be such a vital tool in the entertainment industry too, can't it?
ReplyDeleteCheck out my blog here about how it seems like a level playing field but ethics being skewed means it isn't- https://thomascovebapp.blogspot.com
Hi Thomas. Of course social networking and web 2.0 is essential to part of our industry, and the way we communicate is different to how it was 20yrs ago. I refer to how my practice interacts with Web 2.0 in a different blog post. When I am at a gig, I film the first 10 seconds of my favourite song or the chorus, and then put my phone away and enjoy it for what it is! The entertainment industry needs social media, but as long as we don't exploit it where it loses artistic authenticity, such as a member of the audience and filming the whole ballet on their iphone (yes I have witnessed that from the stage!).
DeleteHi Serina. A really great post! The impact of web 2.0 on the arts is certainly substantial. I do get the impression we all live behind a wall and that the digital age has robbed us of mindful experiences. It's interesting to think about how this contrasts from performing which is as you mentioned, a process of reflecting in action which requires present moment awareness. Something which as a society we are distancing ourselves from. On the plus side, the access to ideas and ease of online participation in communities is very beneficial. I am currently reading 'The Creative Habit' but I haven't yet reached the part about Tacit Knowledge. After reading your thoughts on it I am looking forward to getting there!
ReplyDelete