Tool 6: Observation

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Posted by Justin Long ⋅ August 1, 2008 ⋅

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Tool No. 6: Observation

Being aware, comprehending what is seen, and appreciating its value

The first step in building swarm intelligence is to build the swarm’s “eyes.” This means enabling members to record and share what they discover about their environment, in order to build up a map. The observation character trait includes three key features: awareness, comprehension, and analysis.

First, a swarm must be aware: it must become vigilant in observing what is around it. It pays strict attention to the environment: the physical space in which it finds itself (maps, roads, landmarks, important sites, and geophysical characteristics) as well as the historical, cultural, and linguistic features of the people inhabiting those regions. It builds its ability to see things, to become aware of them, and to gain first-hand knowledge of an area by being in it and examining it.

Further, a swarm must be able to comprehend what it is aware of. It must build its ability to understand: to grasp the nature and significance, the meaning, of what it sees. It observes over time and notes patterns and explores the trends that are developing.

Finally, an observant swarm appreciates what it sees and comprehends. It has a sufficient understanding to assign a value: to rate something for its worth. Further, a swarm can come to prize certain things it sees: to see that some things are of significant value either because of their relationship to the plausible promise. The swarm can even come to treasure these things: to take steps to safeguard and care for them.

A swarm can help the growth of the observation trait by facilitating the creation and publication of maps which different members of the swarm can access and change. These maps can include the physical space (roads, landmarks, important sites) as well as demographic and social trends, historical patterns, and religious and social markers. Once a swarm begins building maps, it’s also important to facilitate the “merging” of these maps. Different members of a swamr will see different things; once the maps are merged everyone will have a larger and more comprehensive view than what they would have on their own.

One significant challenge with mapping is that maps only chart where we have been. They tell us nothing of unexplored places or futures that we are headed into. Further, sometimes the places mapped change. Be careful not to get locked into a map: always monitor for changes.

If [penguins] have no leader then how do they know where to go? … The answer is that no single penguin knows where to go but collectively together they know where to go. In other words, no single penguin may know the whole route—perhaps only fragments—but if you add all these fragments together then the group as a whole knows the route.

“Thought Leader: Why penguins have no commanding officer”, Ken Thompson, Inside Knowledge, March 2007

Case Studies
• Wikimapia.org…: over 3 million places around the world identified by name and searchable.
• Disease Mapping

Journal it
• How can you compile a record in a form that can be shared (in most cases, this will be electronic; in some cases, it will be paper)?
• What are key indicators (e.g. resources, dangers, promise-fulfilling possibilities) that can be obtained by everyone for an entire region?