Alan Kay and human universals vs. non-universals

When I was talking to Alan Kay about educational simulations a few weeks ago, he shared a model that I found helpful. Kay spoke about human universals vs. non-universals.

The universals are a list of characteristics of virtually all cultures, and certainly all children, share. These universals include:

• Social
• Language
• Culture
• Fantasies
• Stories
• Tools, Art, Technologies
• Goals, Plans ...
• Play & Games
• Fixed Rules, Flexible Strategies
• Case based learning
• Case based reasoning
• Superstition
• Religion/Magic
• Theater
• Simple, Short term fixes
• Quick Reactions To Patterns
• "The Other"
• Supernormal Responses
• Vendetta

He compared these to non-universals, which I would describe as non-intuitive perspectives but, once hard-earned, are seen as self-evident. There are examples of systems (the often invisible stuff connecting actions and results) written about here. These represent a "cultural technology," and include:

• Writing & Reading
• Deductive Abstract Math
• Model Based Science
• Thought, Thought, Thought
• Equal Rights
• Democracy
• Similarities over Differences
• Slow Deep Thinking
• Legal System over Vendetta
• Perspective Drawing
• Theory of Harmony
• Agriculture

His point was that movies and advertisements and other pop-culture tend to invoke (and pander to) the universals. Those are the easy things, the hardwired things. I am guessing all upcoming summer movies will borrow much from the first list. But in Alan Kay's perspective, education must develop conviction in the non-universals.

I think all of us designers have dipped into (sometimes heavily) the list of universals, and even included some as acceptable learning outcomes. And fairly or not, a lot of people associate games (even serious games) with the reinforcing this list of universals.

The trick may be to "pace than lead," to use the universals as a pathway to the non-universals. Students praise our design in the short term for the universals we reinforce. But they praise our content in the long term for the non-universals.

A lot of "revolutionary" thinkers about twenty years ago, like John Seely Brown, asked more of us to summon our hidden child, to challenge assumptions and unlearn our baggage. Given how many of the people in the workplace have defaulted to "winging it" (invariably with huge amount of fake/unearned confidence and even underlying threats) I may now implore more of us to nurture our hidden adult.