Spaceship Earth

An expanded perspective on benefiting from each other through shared learning…

The Overview Effect 

When looking at the Earth from space, astronauts have reported experiencing a state of awe and overwhelming emotion. 

They describe the feeling as a heightened sense of identification with humankind, and a stronger connection to our planet as a whole.

The Blue Marble. (Also see Earthrise). 

From this unique perspective – witnessing first-hand the Earth against the vast, dark backdrop of the universe – they see humans as part of one organic system. A system which is both beautiful and fragile. 

Experiencing this Overview Effect can create powerful shifts in the way one thinks about the Earth and life.

We are really all in this together. Our fate is bound up with everyone on the planet, even the people that we may think are very different from us. 

We may have different religions or politics but ultimately, we are connected. Totally connected. And not only with people, but with life. 

Every single one of us is not merely a passive observer, but an active participant in the community of life. And we can all contribute towards its betterment. 

We Are All Crew

Canadian educator and philosopher Marshall McLuhan noted more than 50 years ago:

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth, we are all crew. 

He, and R. Buckminster Fuller, who popularised the phrase “Spaceship Earth” to describe our planet, felt that all human beings, like the crew of a large ship, have to work together harmoniously in order to keep the planet functioning properly. 

That each individual's actions are important in sustaining our biosphere. And therefore, that we’re all responsible for keeping the “ship”, and each other, safe and running well. 

While that may originally have been intended as more of an environmentally-focused message, I think the same concept applies to many other areas, like education. 

Just like how the senior crew members on a ship would show the newcomers the ropes (and pick up new tricks from the fresh crew), so too should we all share our knowledge and experience with each other. 

By contributing useful information to our community, we collectively build and improve our knowledge. This cooperation leads to an interconnectedness, and together, we all benefit. 

The Collective Mind

When people share, build upon, and iterate on each other's knowledge, the result is greater than what an individual can do alone. 

The collective mind has fewer blind spots. 

Especially, when each person has an area of main focus that overlaps with others. 

As a literal example of blind spots, let’s say there is a small military unit, a squad of four soldiers, out on patrol. 

A single soldier would not be able to scan the terrain 360 degrees around them at all times. But with four, each person can cover one main quadrant each.  

One person could comfortably scan 120-150 degrees (a 90 degree quadrant plus plenty of overlap for safety). And together, they would have complete coverage.

Each person would cover their quadrant, plus some overlap with the adjacent quadrants. (Yellow indicates one person’s view, and the darker sections indicate overlap). 

Similarly, by sharing our knowledge with each other, we can cover our blind spots. One person might share a tool or a technique, another may improve it with new functionality or performance enhancements. Someone else might add a bit of Python magic to automate certain aspects of the workflow. And so on. 

Each of us has something to contribute – often by taking advantage of cross-pollination – and can therefore help build up our collective Sphere Of Knowledge. 

The Survival Of Information 

Sharing information is not only useful, but ultimately crucial. 

The reason why you and I have not eaten poisonous berries is because our distant ancestors made sure we wouldn't. They passed on that information all the way down to our generation. And those who didn’t get the memo along the way, well, they’re unfortunately a quiet part of history. 

I’m not saying anything in Visual Effects is life or death, by any means, yet there is often a sad finality to unshared information. (It may be why many take on an Immortality Project as a way to preserve and pass on information for benefiting others). 

To help promote useful information, I filter through a lot of VFX websites/blogs/channels, and stay up to date with developments. I post articles and guides on my website and share them with the community. And each week, I go on LinkedIn and try to connect with people who may have something interesting to share, and who might benefit from something that I share. 

You can, too. It’s important to remember that the VFX community is small, and that we all have to build each other up. So, if you have something to share which could be helpful to others, please do. 

If you're able to; be of service to your fellow crew members on Spaceship Earth. 

I hope you found this article useful. For more like this, see Advice.