A Subprime Story

May 5, 2009 Leave a comment

I’m trying to negotiate the relationship between simplicity and complexity, and I find this video a perfect example of what can happen when this negotiation is successful. The subprime crisis has been sold to us as the byproduct of a highly complex financial system, but it wasn’t just that, was it? We also know that it had something to do with what turned out to be high-stakes gambling sold to us as banking, but it wasn’t just that either, or was it? This piece gets us closer to the answer, and I wonder what we can do to bring such capable storytelling and visual imagery to the work of social change and the development of more skilled organizations. It’s only 2.5 minutes, check it out!

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  • Curtis says:

    So once again I fear I might be a little tangential, but watching this piece reminds me of the amazing series Planet Earth that I’ve been watching with Em (and Annabel). If you have not seen it, it is a must! There is some incredible aerial footage of animals in the wild, interacting with their environments, and displaying fascinating patterns of behavior that become obvious from a bird’s eye view. I come away, quite literally, with a new perspective that gives me a greater sense of animal intelligence, our connections to other species, and to the larger systems of which we are all apart. I am all in favor of such visual imagery to drive home the points we are making about networks/complex systems and to help people see (more simply) and work with the whole!

  • Melinda says:

    Wow. This is outstanding. Speechless. Convicted. Ive got o find a way to use this in my training, teaching, civic, ministry work. Love it! Thanks G! Who produced this? Would love to see what other stuff they have.

  • Gibran says:

    Curtis, I am really appreciating the “tangential” – a step away from the linear approach! And yes, I’ve caught glimpses of Planet Earth and I can see the connection that you are drawing, this bird’s eye view can help to clarify so much.

  • Gibran says:

    So happy you liked it! I think it’s a group called “beeple” from a curated video site called nizmlab.com

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