Tentatively stepping into the rabbit hole of ‘Unlectures’

For once in a lecture I found myself listening, thinking, going off on a tangent or two… as opposed to the regular lecture format of frantically writing down notes and facts I need to memorise. Of the ‘unlecture’, already I am a fan.

I’ve found myself living by the phrases “You live, you learn” and “Learn by doing”, so this introduction to Networked Media already has me on side, with the prominent idea that we learn by making: through creating we demonstrate our thinking, in other words, our creations are expressions of our ideas.

I’m intrigued by the concepts of forward thinking and speculation about the future of this young industry, a playful and trusted immersion in the subject, and the instrution to take that step, trust the process and surrender my assumptions.

I’m an anxious person. I worry, I overthink, I stress about the trivial details that I can’t change. This semester I’m taking the step and trusting the process, learning by doing and learning from mistakes. If I fall over in the rabbit hole so be it – what can be created from this mistake? Where can we find meaning in the so-called failures? A wise woman once said, “If you are not making mistakes, you’re not taking enough risks.”

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

The above quote is from author Neil Gaiman‘s Make Good Art, and it’s a sentiment I think appropriate for this class, and for speculating on the future. Let’s take the leap and make new mistakes.