The Gonzo Futurist Manifesto
Via www.warrenellis.com. Download the complete PDF here, written by Justin Picard.
Way too much good stuff to quote, but here’s a couple:
Extolling the strengths and virtues of the power weirdo, (Bruce Sterling) urged the audience to avoid the spring-loaded bear-trap of mediocrity:
‘You don’t get there by acculturating. Don’t become a well-rounded person. Well rounded people are smooth and dull. Become a thoroughly spiky person. Grow spikes from every angle. Stick in their throats like a pufer fish’ (Sterling, 1991)
With an idiosyncratic outlook and skill set, the power weirdo — and its subset, the gonzo futurist — is particularly well-placed to deal with a turbulent decade.
I’m currently reading Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, so this was timely and somewhat personally insightful. Why? Because I have long avoided clothing (or other items) with labels, brands, identities – including ones that I have designed myself – and I’ve never understood why. Of course, it’s nothing compared to Cayce’s problem in Pattern Recognition, i.e. severe psychological trauma. (But let’s face it, that Michelin Man is creepy!)
Though Cayce’s ‘base’ of domain-specific knowledge is both wide and deep… she has no way of knowing how she knows. She’s aware of an ‘inner radar,’ but, as something separate from her conscious mind, has no idea how it works. Though Cayce leverages her capacities as a source of income, her role of sensitve-slash-coolhunter is more bodily disposition than career. …Cayce’s dispositon allows her ‘to ride the wave of the moment, to make her situation what it is, a thing to live through, be embedded in, and feel out’. Sounds a bit gonzo, doesn’t it?
And here’s the conclusive statement:
…it’s best to enter this stage of the loop with a comprehensive set of ‘strong opinions, weakly held.’ Be prepared to abandon beliefs as new information surfaces. Intransigence is the enemy. Don’t dig in. The war on cargo cults urges you to question received wisdoms, challenge groupthink, and uproot legacy futures wherever you find them. Avoid hubris. You don’t have all the answers, but you can bring better questions.