Some time ago I posted a piece on The Anthropology of Twitter. I am more and more convinced that the micro-channels of communication that connect so many people in so many directions today will have a profound impact on the course of cultural evolution going forward. For the most part that impact will be positive, I think, but only time will tell.
Why do I say positive impact? Because humans are culture-using animals, and communication is how we learn, share, compete, resolve, and evolve. We are tool building/using animals, and those tools are inscribed with the cultural values that produce them.
Time and again, regardless of the contexts in which we are placed (wholly natural contexts such as the Western Plains prior to railroads; or conversely, wholly unnatural contexts such as corporate cube-farms), humans seek out other humans to connect with, communicate with, be a part of. Water cooler conversations. Office Gossip. Hallway Small talk. The coffee room backbiting. Office romances...
Enter Coworking
Yes coworking. This is now clear to us. Coworking satisfies an elemental human need to be around others. What is so different, and so fucking cool, is that those others are actually people that are of similar mind, are creative and energetic, and are pleasant to be around. Unlike Stilton and Colby back at the office. They've been lobotomized.
This reminds me of Nigel Nicholson's comment, in his book Managing the Human Animal, when he suggests that you can take humans out of the Stone Age but you can't take the Stone Age out of humans.
A corollary of that might be: You can take humans out of culture but you can't take culture out of humans. That is, you can try to repress natural cultural instincts and behaviors, but they're not really ever going to go away.
Ah Coworking...In coworking spaces around the world, natural cultural instincts are free to run their course. No wonder they are so fucking awesome!
The Butcher
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