Seeds of Renaissance design system · Diagrams

Diagram examples

Finished figures in the house style, to copy. Each is shown in light and dark, at 400px as in a feed, and printed in black and white; then in use, on a page of a paper and in a web article. How to make one, and the rules: the diagrams guide.

Chart data is illustrative, made up for the style. Do not quote it.

The wisdom gap · From polycrisis to metacrisis · Lines: one series in red · Ranked bars: one bar in red · Before and after: two dots per row · In a page · The Wisdom paper

The wisdom gap

A conceptual curve. The key area in the red tint, labelled in red; two weights of line; solid arrowheads. Rules: Drawing style, Type.

Light. Click for full size.
Dark.
Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
At 400px, as in a feed
Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
At 400px, dark
Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Printed in black and white

From polycrisis to metacrisis

A framework. Layers as panels in the red tint, sized to their text, with even padding; brackets for groups. Rules: Drawing style.

Light. Click for full size.
Dark.
From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
At 400px, as in a feed
From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
At 400px, dark
From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
Printed in black and white

Lines: one series in red

Change over time. The series the title is about in red, the rest grey, names at the line ends, an event as a pale band. Rules: Charts with data.

Light. Click for full size.
Dark.
Gatherings have grown fastest since the pandemicAttendance by kind of event, indexed (2015 = 100) · illustrative dataPandemic050100150200201520172019202120232025Talks 128Courses 104Retreats 79Gatherings 189Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, as in a feed
Gatherings have grown fastest since the pandemicAttendance by kind of event, indexed (2015 = 100) · illustrative dataPandemic050100150200201520172019202120232025Talks 128Courses 104Retreats 79Gatherings 189Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, dark
Gatherings have grown fastest since the pandemicAttendance by kind of event, indexed (2015 = 100) · illustrative dataPandemic050100150200201520172019202120232025Talks 128Courses 104Retreats 79Gatherings 189Source: illustrative data, for the design system
Printed in black and white

Ranked bars: one bar in red

Comparison. Bars in the tint, the one that matters in red, values at the tips. Rules: Charts with data.

Light. Click for full size.
Dark.
People want more time, not more moneyWhat people would most like more of, % choosing each · illustrative data010203040506070Time with the people I love64Time in nature52Meaningful work47Quiet and reflection39Learning33Community28Money21Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, as in a feed
People want more time, not more moneyWhat people would most like more of, % choosing each · illustrative data010203040506070Time with the people I love64Time in nature52Meaningful work47Quiet and reflection39Learning33Community28Money21Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, dark
People want more time, not more moneyWhat people would most like more of, % choosing each · illustrative data010203040506070Time with the people I love64Time in nature52Meaningful work47Quiet and reflection39Learning33Community28Money21Source: illustrative data, for the design system
Printed in black and white

Before and after: two dots per row

Change between two dates. Older in grey, newer in red, joined by the tint; a small key. Rules: Charts with data.

Light. Click for full size.
Dark.
Trust fell in every institutionShare who trust each a great deal or quite a lot, %, 2015 and 2025 · illustrative data20152025020406080Big tech27News media24Government22Courts41Science62Local community58Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, as in a feed
Trust fell in every institutionShare who trust each a great deal or quite a lot, %, 2015 and 2025 · illustrative data20152025020406080Big tech27News media24Government22Courts41Science62Local community58Source: illustrative data, for the design system
At 400px, dark
Trust fell in every institutionShare who trust each a great deal or quite a lot, %, 2015 and 2025 · illustrative data20152025020406080Big tech27News media24Government22Courts41Science62Local community58Source: illustrative data, for the design system
Printed in black and white

In a page

Beside running text: Bricolage for the text, Apfel in the figure. In a page the figure has no white box; it takes the page's ground. The caption gives the number and a sentence, not the title again.

A page of the paper (A4, figure as a plate)

4Wisdom and Wanting What’s Good

Addressing the wisdom gap

Amid the decline of modern industrialised society, we are obliged to trace the shape of wisdom in negative space. Manifold crises, the threat of systemic collapse, and a general inability to change direction suggest a profound lack of collective capacity to choose action for the greater good. At the same time, with societal complexity escalating faster than our capacity to manage it, our technologically enabled power to inflict catastrophic harm upon ourselves, each other and our world likewise continues to grow: a disconnect known as ‘the wisdom gap.’7

Wisdom gapThe Wisdom GapOur power grows faster than our capacity to use it wellTimeTechnological power“Wisdom”: our capacity to use it well
Fig. 1A rapidly growing gap between society’s technological and social complexity and our “wisdom”, our capacity to manage that complexity well. The curves show a direction, not measured trajectories.8

It’s uncontroversial to associate wisdom with rational understanding: with the capacity to grasp what’s going on in a given context, and apply knowledge and analysis to interpret events and guide action. The complexity of our times plainly overwhelms understanding, and it’s tempting to suggest that this shortfall alone explains our ‘wisdom gap’. Still, most would intuitively agree that there’s more to wisdom than analytical skill.

A web article

White paper No. 6 · Wisdom and Wanting What’s Good

Addressing the wisdom gap

Amid the decline of modern industrialised society, we are obliged to trace the shape of wisdom in negative space. Manifold crises, the threat of systemic collapse, and a general inability to change direction suggest a profound lack of collective capacity to choose action for the greater good. At the same time, with societal complexity escalating faster than our capacity to manage it, our technologically enabled power to inflict catastrophic harm upon ourselves, each other and our world likewise continues to grow: a disconnect known as ‘the wisdom gap.’

From polycrisis to metacrisisThree layers of crisis, from what we see to its rootsSurface layerManifest crisesEscalating, interacting global crisessuch as the climate crisis and tech x-riskIntermediate layerMeta-systemic dysfunctionsCollective action problemsExponential tech and the wisdom gapDegradation of sense-making systemsRoot layerFoundational ideologies (cultural paradigms)and deep human tendenciesDeep ideological featuresCore aspects of humanityPolycrisisMetacrisis
Fig. 2 The crises we see sit on deeper dysfunctions, which sit on ideas and tendencies we rarely examine. Working on the surface alone does not reach the root.

It’s uncontroversial to associate wisdom with rational understanding: with the capacity to grasp what’s going on in a given context, and apply knowledge and analysis to interpret events and guide action. The complexity of our times plainly overwhelms understanding, and it’s tempting to suggest that this shortfall alone explains our ‘wisdom gap’. Still, most would intuitively agree that there’s more to wisdom than analytical skill.

The Wisdom paper

The figures as published in Wisdom and Wanting What’s Good (white paper No. 6), signed with the paper's line in the slot. Built in 2rbook (wisdom/assets/build-*.py).

The Wisdom Gap
Fig. 1 · The Wisdom Gap
Three Dimensions of Wisdom
Three Dimensions of Wisdom