Agnostic and militant agnostic. An agnostic is someone who functions by a skeptical mindset, and either doubts whether there is a God or says that he/she doesn’t know if there is a God. A militant agnostic claims he/she doesn’t know if there is a God and that no one can know there is a God. [Added 12-03-07.]
Concrete media systems. The broad range of physical products that we use for communication – and not necessarily just as sources of entertainment. Concrete media includes all kinds of things from action figures to zines: books, DVDs, CDs, cards, posters, toys, games, programs, trading cards, brochures, dioramas, jewelry, bumper stickers, etc. These are artifacts of culture. [Added 12-03-07.]
Culturology / culturologist. There are several technical uses of the term culturology (see wikipedia for details), but it is not a term commonly used. So, I like it! It is not the same as cultural anthropology (too small an academic discipline), or cultural studies (too hip and I’m just not cool enuff for that, am I?). What I mean by culturology is the study of languages, paradigms (deepest level information process styles), and the complex cultural systems that flow from them as the integration point for investigation, observation, analysis, and interpretation. If culture is the most complex things we humans produce, then it makes sense to me that culturology is the most natural way to pursue the big picture of what is happening in our world. Cultural systems basically incorporate themes from all other academic disciplines, so we could think of a culturologist as a sort of three-dimensional cartographer of the entire human spirit. [Added 12-03-07.]
Futurist. Technical term for someone who uses at least these three skills in strategic foresight: (1) Differentiation of cultural trends into fads (low impact, generally two years or less), short-term trends (medium impact, generally up to about 25 years), and long-term drivers of change (high impact, generally 50 years or more). (2) Non-linear extrapolation of trends (using a mind-mapping style process to generate data for discerning patterns and integration points surrounding a particular issue or question). (3) Scenario writing (creating storylines that capture the emotional context and consequences of what the differentiation and extrapolation data show about plausible futures). For a basic introduction to the field of strategic foresight and studies of the future, see The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz. Christian futurists add another skill: (4) Assist disciples in discerning among what are merely plausible futures [note the plural], and choosing and pursuing the most preferable Kingdom future [singular]. Many other kinds of Christian leaders are either self-titled futurists or so called by others. However, it is probable that they function in a more general role as an innovator, prophet, entrepreneur, semiotician, symbologist, cultural analyst, social change agent, or such like – not a futurist in this technical sense. [Added 12-05-07.]
Hidden Curriculum. Set of covert assumptions, meanings, and messages carried in a program, product, or presentation. Every action, every product has an agenda – even if it is not meant to be a negative or corrosive one. So, when someone buys or buys into any of these items, they swallow the hidden curriculum of why that thing exists. This has unintentional consequences, even when we take some intentional steps to minimize the influence of these messages. Perhaps it means we absorb the assumptions of a paradigm, and that hinders our movement toward health. Or perhaps we absorb the style of someone else, and mimic them so much that we lose our own unique persona. See also simulacra.[Added 12-05-07.]
Intercultural. Process of integrating perspectives from other cultures that fill in the gaps of our own. In comparison with the fullness of biblical culture (what God desires every person in every place and time to be and to do), every culture has gaps (biblical cultural omissions, or what I have termed “spiritual osteoporosis”) and excesses (non-biblical cultural syncretisms, or what I have termed “spiritual bone spurs”). If multicultural is about engaging respectfully with people of other backgrounds, and learning to appreciate their culture, then being intercultural is an even more active process of seeing where what those other cultures enjoy is something I need to draw into my own life – or to have scraped off – to help me be more complete, holistic, and healthy. The process of conforming to the image of Christ and developing Christlike character is essentially an intercultural process. It does not happen in a vacuum, without the presence of other people. When we can embrace “the other” and learn from our differences (not simply appreciate the differences), then we integrate in more of what it means to follow Christ. The social outworking of individual Christlikeness is “Kingdom Culture,” which also requires an intercultural integration process, if we are to expand our concepts and culture to become increasingly more biblical – filling in the gaps and removing the excesses. [Added 12-05-07.]
Interlogical. Complex thinking process that draws from a wider range of data connection methods than is typical. In my musings on information processing styles, I have identified four main approaches so far. Analysis involves dividing the whole into parts, details, and/or categories for the purpose of in-depth study. Synthesis involves taking parts and trying to piece them back together and project what the original may have looked like before it was divided, or looking at a series of items as a dataset and discern meaningful patterns among them, or splicing together ideas from disparate fields and creating something new from them. Symbiosis involves bringing together different ideas or individuals or items into relationship with one another; sometimes that ends up in a productive relationship, othertimes, it becomes parasitic. Paradox involves keeping individual things in dynamic tension with one another, even though it appears they do not go together. Irony is a form of paradox, but involves two things that do appear together, although they should not. Thinking interlogically is similar to thinking interdisciplinarily. Being interdisciplinary refers to what combination of content you think about, while being interlogical refers to what combination of data relationships you use to process that content. Polymaths tend to think interlogically and interdisciplinarily. [Added 11-30-07.]
Meta-cognition. Awareness of what you are thinking, while you are thinking it. Think of meta-cognition as a sort of mental MRI, where you have multiple streams of internal thought processes coinciding – or colliding – around some particular subject, such that you end up with a three-dimensional perspective on it. [Added 11-30-07.]
Polymath. Person who has not only wide-ranging interests and significant areas of expertise in multiple fields. Polymaths typically synthesize their knowledge and frequently come up with fresh, intriguing perspectives on subjects old and new. Often, the older they get, and the larger the databanks of multi-disciplines they can draw from, the more unusual the insights they can integrate. More than just dabblers in various academic disciplines, they grow into paradoxical and interdisciplinary philosophers who sometimes become acknowledged as “paradigm shifters” – making such original contributions in their field(s) of interest that the discipline is forever changed. (And you just thought it was ADHD!) Interested in more on polymaths and paradigm shifters? See my blog page on Interpolators, and check out Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. [Added 11-30-07.]
Primary source. Something that is an original work, produced by one’s own observations, analysis, and interpretations. This does not mean the originator did not have any outside influences. It emphasizes that he/she/they did their own substantive studies, synthesized their own original theories based on the data gathered, and are not merely adding a little something of their thoughts to the work done by someone else. [Added 12-03-07.]
Secondary source. Analysis, commentary, essays, modifications, or other products that are based on someone else’s primary work and/or primary sources. [Added 12-03-07.]
Simulacra. A copy of a copy of a copy (and so on), such that at some point, the original is lost and no one can tell what the original was meant to be like. When we merely copy someone else, we lose our own originality. However, if we seek to conform to someone else, we integrate the principles by which they live and keep our own creativity. And that is the difference between mimic and memic – a mimic is basically a ”cultural clone,” whereas a meme is a “cultural virus” that spreads and adapts. Bonus information: In the movie The Matrix, the hollowed-out book Neo hides his hacked programs in is Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard, and we see a chapter title page for “On Nihilism” across from the hollowed-out side. [Added 12-05-07.]
Definitions forthcoming:
Apologetics.
Authentic Hope and Wholeness.
Authority / Authoritarianism.
Chaos Theory.
Charismetrics.
Colonialism/Colonization. To attempt to control the surrounding culture that you have entered. The opposite of syncretism.
Complexity / Complexification Theory.
Compositing.
Contextualization.
Counterculturalization.
Counterculture.
Critical Values.
Cross-Cultural.
Deconstruction / Reconstruction.
Discernment.
Emerge / Emerging / Emergent.
Entrustment.
Externalize.
Glocal / Globalocal.
Governance.
Guiding Theological Principles.
Holistic.
Homogenous Unit Principle.
Indigenous.
Information Processing Modes.
Interdisciplinary.
Interpolator.
Interpretive Framework.
Intervention-Interception-Prevention.
Kingdom Culture.
Learning Styles. [Abstract / Concrete. Global / Analytic.]
Methodological Model.
Missionalmetrics.
Missions / Missional.
Multicultural.
Objectification.
Observe-Analyze-Interpret.
Operating Systems / Operational Systems.
Paradigm. [Traditional, Pragmatic, Holistic Paradigms]
Parallax.
Parallel Culture.
Pedagogy. Teaching style that focuses on what the teacher perceives as real needs of students.
Philosophist.
Power.
Psychological Androgyny.
Reliability.
Semantic Domains.
Subculture.
Sustainability.
Symmetry.
Syncretism. To be controlled by the surrounding culture that you have entered. The opposite of colonialism/colonization.
Systematic Theology / Systems Theology.
Systems.
Taxonomy.
Toxicity.
Trajectory.
Validity.
