What is the core value of cultural and academic institutions?

These institutions provide a sense of continuity, connecting individuals to a larger set of people and ideas. They acknowledge that we exist within a broader context and can help shape it positively, countering the trend of increasing individualism.

How did Kevin Slavin become an expert in so many fields?

Despite studying sculpture, Slavin developed expertise by being deeply interested and capable of engaging with brilliant people across various disciplines. He learned to connect individuals and draw out their best work, a skill honed through his peripatetic career.

What is the art of getting brilliant people to surprise themselves?

It involves valuing others' contributions, understanding their distinct skill sets, and fostering an environment where they can explore ideas beyond their usual thinking. It's about enabling breakthroughs by connecting diverse talents.

What was the success of Area Code, Kevin Slavin's first company?

Area Code succeeded by adopting a game design approach rather than development, picking up emerging technologies and exploring their potential for games. Their accidental success came from being experts at launching into unknown, rapidly scaling digital spaces like iOS and Facebook.

What are the limitations of current VR games?

Many VR games are still created by developers thinking in traditional console modes. The truly groundbreaking narrative and interaction paradigms for VR, which embrace its unique materiality, have yet to fully emerge.

What is the Media Lab seeking when hiring new faculty?

The Media Lab actively seeks 'misfits' – individuals who represent emerging disciplines and are equidistant from existing fields. They look for people with unique perspectives that don't fit neatly into current academic structures.

How does the Media Lab's environment differ from The Shed's?

The Media Lab focuses on information and often hires individuals with art/design backgrounds to integrate into scientific/engineering environments. The Shed, conversely, is a cultural institution where Slavin's role is to bring science and engineering into that context.

What makes The Shed's architecture and programming unusual?

The Shed features a unique combination of large-scale performance and exhibition spaces, and a building that physically moves. This flexibility allows programming to start with an artist or idea, rather than a predefined format, enabling new forms of expression.

What are the 'risky' initiatives at The Shed?

Initiatives include commissioning scientists for museum work, eliminating paper tickets in favor of phones, and prioritizing live digital broadcasts over traditional broadcasting. They aim to create meaningful, synchronized cultural experiences for the 21st century.

Why is providing 'synchronizing signals' important for cultural institutions?

In an era of technological fragmentation, cultural institutions can offer shared experiences and collective attention. These synchronized moments, like gathering to watch an event, are powerful and largely unexploited, fostering a sense of connection.

What does Kevin Slavin hope to be working towards in 10 years?

He hopes to continue working on novel projects where he has no idea what he'll be doing the next day, exercising the 'muscle' of learning and adapting to new challenges. The surprise and continuous learning are key, maintaining a sense of youthfulness.

Key Moments

There's an Art to Getting Brilliant People to Surprise Themselves - Kevin Slavin of The Shed

Y Combinator

Science & Technology4 min read63 min video

Dec 6, 2017|4,518 views|63|10

YC Y Combinator Kevin Slavin Craig Cannon The Shed Cooper Union MIT Media Lab Art Technology NY NYC MIT

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Kevin Slavin discusses education, culture, technology, and building The Shed, a new cultural center.

Key Insights

Rethinking higher education models due to financial instability and the need for adaptability.

Cultural and academic institutions provide a vital sense of continuity and connection to broader ideas and people.

The Shed aims to foster authentic risk-taking and new forms of expression by breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries.

The future of cultural experiences lies in live, synchronized digital broadcasts, creating shared moments of attention.

Success often comes from meeting emergent technologies and ideas with flexibility and a focus on design and concept.

The value of an individual lies in their ability to connect disparate fields and draw out the best from collaborators.

THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The current higher education model is facing significant challenges, with many universities at risk of bankruptcy. This suggests a need for fundamental change, as traditional structures may no longer be suitable. Unlike cities, which evolve with population changes, universities can be resistant to change due to established tenured faculty. While tenure serves the vital purpose of protecting free thought, its byproduct can be a preservation of older ideas and methods, potentially hindering progress. Both academic and cultural institutions share a core function: providing a sense of continuity and connection to a larger context of people and ideas, reminding individuals that they are part of a broader community.

THE POWER OF CONNECTION AND COLLABORATION

The speaker emphasizes that personal capabilities and knowledge are not solely derived from individual effort but are deeply embedded through relationships and connections with others. This is exemplified by his own multifaceted career, crossing various industries and disciplines. He highlights his ability to work with brilliant people from diverse fields, often stemming from a background in sculpture, to achieve complex projects. This skill involves understanding and valuing the contributions of others, enabling him to draw out their best work and facilitate surprising innovations.

THE ART OF FACILITATING BRILLIANCE

A key talent identified is the ability to foster an environment where brilliant individuals surprise themselves. This involves more than just managing; it's about genuinely valuing others' expertise. The speaker explains that he often brings the initial spark of an idea, which then grows through collaboration. He connects this to eight years in advertising, where he learned the art of storytelling and demonstrating value from different perspectives. This detached storytelling ability is crucial for securing funding and buy-in from those who can support ambitious projects.

NAVIGATING TECHNOLOGICAL SHIFTS AND INNOVATION

The discussion touches on the rapid evolution of technology and the challenges of adapting educational and creative practices to it. The speaker draws parallels between the slow evolution of cinematic language and the current state of VR, suggesting that true innovation requires breaking free from conventional modes of thought. Success with past ventures like Area Code came from embracing new technologies and ideas as they emerged, rather than adhering to established industry models. This agile approach allowed them to become experts in launching into unknown, scalable spaces.

THE MEDIA LAB AS A HUB FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

The transition to the Media Lab was driven by a desire to explore new frontiers and identify disciplines that don't yet exist. The lab actively seeks 'misfits' who can bridge existing fields. While initially focused on games and play, the speaker's interests evolved towards microbiology and the concept of cities as complex, biological systems. This pivot reflects a deeper exploration of fundamental ideas, such as understanding cities not just as hardware and users, but as living organisms with their own 'gut biomes' and interconnectedness, a theme rooted in early Situationist ideas about reimagining urban environments.

THE SHED: A NEW CULTURAL INSTITUTION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The Shed represents a groundbreaking opportunity to build a large-scale cultural center from the ground up, designed to foster new forms of artistic expression. Its unique architecture, including a moving structure, and its combination of large exhibition and performance spaces, allow it to adapt to artists' visions rather than dictating them. Risks are embraced through programming that challenges conventional ideas and by commissioning scientists to express their work through art. Initiatives like paperless ticketing and leveraging unprecedented bandwidth aim to create more engaging and globally accessible experiences, focusing on providing synchronized cultural moments for a contemporary audience.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Products

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Books

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Navigating Interdisciplinary Work and Innovation

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Value the unique contributions of each brilliant person.

Focus on drawing out people's best work and enabling them to surprise themselves.

Bring the beginning of an idea and help it snowball by finding the right collaborators.

Effectively communicate the value of a project to funders.

Embrace the uncertainty and novelty of new projects; don't be afraid to learn daily.

Understand that building cultural institutions requires a blend of art, design, science, and engineering.

Prioritize creating synchronizing signals for audiences, fostering shared attention.

Leverage high bandwidth for live digital broadcasts as a core ethos.

Avoid This

Don't try to be the sole expert; embrace working between disciplines.

Don't solely optimize for existing industries; explore new technological frontiers.

Don't mistake research for immediate industry application; what's new to you might not be new globally.

Don't limit yourself to a single format; start with an artist or idea and let it generate new forms.

Don't assume traditional divisions between exhibition and performance spaces are immutable.

Don't rely on legacy infrastructure or outdated broadcasting methods.

Don't just archive content; focus on the power of live, synchronized experiences.

Common Questions

The traditional model of higher education may no longer be appropriate. Universities are often slow to change due to tenure and established structures, leading to financial instability with many institutions going bankrupt annually.

Topics

Mindset & Self-Improvement Technology & Innovation Business & Entrepreneurship Digital Transformation Creative Process Career Development Educational Reform Emerging Technologies Interdisciplinary Collaboration Institutional Innovation Future Of Culture

Mentioned in this video

Organizations

NYU

The speaker's alma mater, where they studied English, contrasted with the need for current specialized education.

MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art, mentioned as a place for exhibitions, contrasted with performance venues.

Cooper Union

An art, architecture, and engineering college where Kevin Slavin has been on the board.

The Shed

A cultural center in New York City where Kevin Slavin currently works, focusing on blending art, science, and engineering.

Santa Fe Institute

An institute where Jeffrey West conducts research on cities as complexity problems.

Situationists

Philosophers and artists from the 50s and 60s whose work influenced the early ideas behind Area Code.

Rockwell Group

A design studio involved in the architecture of The Shed.

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Mentioned as a performance venue, contrasted with exhibition spaces like MoMA.

Massive Attack

A band that performed live with filmmaker Adam Curtis, described as a risky but extraordinary show.

PBS

A public broadcasting service mentioned in the context of live TV broadcasting for events.

CNN

A news channel mentioned in the context of live TV broadcasting for events.

Software & Apps

J2ME

Mentioned as a difficult platform for developing games in the early days of mobile.

iOS

Mentioned as a platform that arrived later and was part of Area Code's success.

People

Neri Oxman

Someone Kevin Slavin was close with who runs the Material Ecology group at the Media Lab.

Adam Curtis

A filmmaker whose work was featured in a performance with Massive Attack at the Armory.

Jeffrey West

A researcher at the Santa Fe Institute whose work on cities as complexity problems was influential.

William Gibson

Author whose work 'Neuromancer' influenced the game 'Case and Molly'.

Chris Wolken

An artist collaborator on the urban metagenomics project.

Liz Diller

The architect behind The Shed and the High Line; considered a hero by the speaker.

finance

Bitcoin

Mentioned humorously as a potential use for The Shed's high bandwidth capacity.

Locations

High Line

A public park in New York City, where The Shed is located and designed by Liz Diller.

Lincoln Center

A benchmark for cultural center construction in NYC, last built 50+ years ago, serving as a point of comparison for The Shed.

Companies

Area Code

A company co-founded by Kevin Slavin and Frank Lance that pioneered location-based games.

Cisco

Mentioned in the context of a meeting about indoor positioning systems.

Nintendo Corporation

Mentioned as a company Kevin Slavin and Frank Lance had an idea for Pokemon with in 2004.

Facebook

Mentioned as a platform where Area Code had a successful game, 'Parking Wars'.

YouTube

Mentioned as a platform where the Shed's content would not be archived, emphasizing live broadcast.

Concepts

gut biome

A hobbyist interest of the speaker that became popular, leading to thoughts about cities having 'microbial' ecosystems.

CRISPR

Mentioned in the context of a large-scale artwork at MIT, highlighting the speaker's lack of direct expertise but ability to collaborate.

MacArthur Grants

Recognized grants received by friends of the speaker, highlighting their achievements.

urban metagenomics

A discipline that emerged from Kevin Slavin's project exploring cities as biological superorganisms.

Media

Parking Wars

A successful Facebook game developed by Area Code, about parking cars.

Hamilton

A musical used as an example for ticketing challenges in live performance venues.

Voyager

Space probes mentioned by NASA engineers when comparing the ambition of The Shed's architecture.

Books

Neuromancer

A work by William Gibson that inspired the game 'Case and Molly'.

Products

Obama phones

Referred to as basic smartphones available in the US.

F-22 fighter bomber

An example of a project the speaker had to rapidly learn about during their time in advertising.

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