David Valentine, University of Minnesota - Stories As Technologies

David Valentine, University of Minnesota - Stories As Technologies

David is an anthropologist.  He is studying the new space movement.  One of the questions he asks is "Why is the audience so small?"  He feels like we don't tell the right stories.  If we want to be successful we'll need to tell the right stories.

From an anthropological stand point stories have three key aspects.  1) Stories aren't just narratives  they are claims about the world works.  2) Stories are variable.  3) Stories are real.  They shape the material world.

The New Space uses the history of the western world settled the New World.  David says we ignore the displacement of native people and feels that is a mistake.

One of the fundamental aspects to life is exchange.  Capitalism and Socialism are two different stories about exchange.  David feels that that space may allow new types of exchange.  By using stories based on the based may tend to blind us to the future possibilities.

He challenged us to tell stories more attractive to the general population.


The full agenda for Space Access 2013 agenda.