Future Salon with Doug Engelbart: Large-Scale Collective IQ: Facilitating its Evolution

Doug Engelbart was the most inspiriring speaker at the AC2004 conference. He is a true visionary and a real role model.

When he was young he set the principle for his life:

Let me design a professional goal which will maximize the contribution my career can have to mankind!

Weeks later his lifetime goal emerged:

As much as possible, to boost mankind's collective capability for coping with complex, urgent problems.

50 years later this goal is still driving him. Makes me think: Ahm, what was that again that is driving my life? 

He compares us (the world) to a bus with little compartments (different countries). The bus is traveling over a bumpy road it is dark and the headlights are not working very good so the collective visibility into the future is not very good. From the compartments people are trying to steer the little bus. The problem is, that the bus is going at an ever faster pace (Accelerating Change). How he is asking can we collectively bring this bus back under control. (By the way he is looking for a cartoonist to illustrate that vision. Get in contact with the Bootstrap Institute if you want to do such a project.)

What we need is to augment our own collective capabilities. We need to develop a CollectiveIQ as he calls it a CODIAC system - Concurring Developing, Integrating and Applying Knowledge. A dynamic knowledge repository.   

What fascinated me in his speech was how often he said "and then I saw" or "I had a vision and all in a sudden it became clear to me".

By looking at the world from his goal's perspective he was able continuously see possibilities that all others overlooked.

Once asked: "If it doesn't fill him with pride, that his invention the mouse is on every desktop?" He answered something like: "Not if I think of where we could be."

He was over his time already and when he asked "How much more time do I have?" Without a beat someone in the audience shouted: "Take the rest of the day."

Unfortunately that was not possible. But because I knew that would happen, I invited him to the Future Salon this month.

He has graciously accepted that offer. Therefore Next Future Salon on Friday the 19th of November with Doug Engelbart.

Theme: Large-Scale Collective IQ: Facilitating its Evolution.

SAP Labs is proud to be the sponsor of this event.
We will have light refreshments starting at 6pm the presentation will be from 7pm until 9pm.

To make sure we have enough space please RSVP by sending an email to mona [dot] bhardwaj [at] sap [dot] com.

SAP Labs North America
Building D
Room Southern Cross
3410 Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(Driving directions to building D via Highway 101)
(Driving directions to building D via Highway 280)

This one you shouldn't miss. As always free and open to the public.

Comments

[Pankaj Kumar]

Mark,

Were we supposed to get a confirmation email from Mona. I sent the email as you said but never got any response.

Pankaj

[Mark Finnern]

Hi Pankaj,

We don't send out confirmation emails. Your RSVP is a way for us to find out how big the interest is. Last time it was so packed, that people sat on the floor. If it is more we have to move into a bigger room. I'd rather pack southern cross because it usually leads to great interactions compared to rows and rows of chairs.

We will see, Mark.

[Alex Jacobson]

I'm in SF (NorthBeach). Anyone going from here? Don't have a car. Don't have another way of getting there. This looks really interesting.