‘Reach for the stars’… but do it for something worthwhile.

Homo Sapiens are a very ambitious, determined and strong-minded species. We rule the world: we created weapons (of mass destruction), we started wars, famines, poverty… we invented the aeroplane, nuclear power, Primark, the television, and Superman. We’ve been to the moon, we know a lot about dinosaurs, cavemen, the ancient Egyptians; it would seem that nothing apart from natural disasters can threaten our existence but man himself. As we develop, particularly in Western culture, we push ourselves on the treadmill that is driven by success. This is measured by a high quality consumer lifestyle rather than a high moral code. There is a train of thought that follows if you want something bad enough, ‘go and get it’- because you can have it. Anything is possible. This survival of the fittest/ quickest/ smartest/ prettiest theory is attractive because it enables more people to achieve their dreams. Supposedly, if you want to be a millionaire – you can ‘make it happen’ – if you ‘reach for the stars’ you will be rewarded if you deserve it. But where does this leave those who don’t and can’t get there? What about those people who have tried but failed – why do their attempts not merit success?  This in reality is an intensely cruel way of thinking and does nothing but elevate those already on track for the top (or their idea of achieving something) and demoralize and punish those at the metaphorical bottom.

There is a new order, the class system that used to rule the world is disappearing and in its place a freedom for anyone to be in the driving seat and at the forefront of commerce and industry is possible. But what are we achieving by allowing ‘anybody’ to be a ‘somebody’? A bunch of talentless z-listers who want a piece of the action – Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, X-factor, Britain’s got Talent are the ugly factories churning out these people. It’s a cop out and essentially the people who do ‘reach for the stars’ and get what they want are the minority… (Thank God). The celebrity culture we have fostered over the last 100 years will, I hope, be a source of shame and embarrassment in the future.

The only thing in the world that humans can look to in order to feel humbled and in awe of or something other than us is nature. Humans have looked to nature throughout history in an effort to understand a greater force – the only entity other than ‘us’ capable of destruction on such a penetrable level. We are totally fixated with nature programs, we travel far and wide to see nature’s great events and now that global warming and climate change threaten our future, a surge in effort has come about to protect our world. As the human being becomes more and more sophisticated, powerful and destructive perhaps we should look to the design of nature to inspire us, or to remind us, that we are not in control of everything. Nature shrinks as rainforests are obliterated, clouds are injected with chemicals to change the weather forecast and ski slopes are erected in the Dubai Desert. It is now that nature emerges in the world of the poet as an idea, or as Schiller once said ‘We can expect that the nation which has gone the farthest towards unnatural would have to be touched most strongly by the phenomenon of the naïve.’  As urbanisation, industrialisation, global development and Cultural Revolution continue to dominate we turn to nature to situate ourselves and remind our kind that we are not really in charge here.

Dancepants convert kinetic energy from running or dancing into electricity for your MP3 player.

Design is one of the most valuable tools mankind has at its fingertips. Whilst design has enabled us to irreversibly damage our Universe through CO2 emissions and toxic waste – design will also be our savior in rescuing it. Great design doesn’t just need to be a means of expressing ourselves. We need inventors and designers who will change our current state. In The Times Magazine today there was an article on those doing just that: the man developing breeding programmes to conserve species – Andrew Grey, the man changing plants into charcoal to take CO2 out of the atmosphere – Chris Turney. These scientists are the people who should be remembered forever. They are saving the ‘common man’ for little financial gain; what has Kerry Katona done for anyone? Zilch.

Uniqlo's HeatTech Clothing Creates Heat From Your Sweat

When I read about what the glitterati ‘superforce’ have: how many houses, jets, watches and wardrobes they own it makes me feel nauseous. Whoever could need so much stuff?  We can all only wear one outfit at a time, one watch, live in one house, and drive one car. If you believe in the mantra ‘anything is possible’, then lets hope that those who can, make it matter.

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