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On The Participatory Approach to Exploration

February 26th, 2009   By Matt   Filed Under Big Idea Space, Industry Space  

There has been some discussion online recently about the application of the participatory tool set to the exploration of space.  This is something that I am very supportive of, having seen first hand in the Centennial Challenges program the kinds of unexpected ideas that can come from giving the public a chance to contribute in parallel with traditional development efforts.  The participatory approach creates a wild card effect that helps to ensure that no stone is left unturned.

In thinking about the online discussion of the role for participatory technologies, I am reminded of something that Mike Bailey, a professor at UCSD Supercomputer Center, told us about learning to produce 3D visualization tools based on OpenGL.  He said that we were learning to become “Engineering Batman” in the sense that we were learning to produce and utilize the things that would be on our Batman utility belts as engineers.

I see the participatory approach as another one of these tools that us “Batman engineers” should know how to best utilize and keep on our utility belts.  Like all tools, there are scenarios when they are right for the job and ones when they are not.  Think of things like computers, hand held calculators, and 3D visualization; they don’t add value unless you take the time to learn how to apply them correctly.  Participatory technologies are no different, but since they necessarily involve putting large numbers of human brains in the loop, I would like to think there is great potential here.  After all, we have seen what mass scalability did in the IT world (i.e. web servers), and now we are finding ways to allow large numbers of people to contribute through these rather than just being passive recipients of information.

We may discover new uses as the participatory tool set is more broadly adopted, but the place where I see immediate benefits is at the innovation stage.  This is the phase of any project where you need to develop as many potential solutions, variations and approach vectors as possible before you start narrowing down and focusing on the most promising of them.  This is something that the participatory approach has done well.  There is an inherent value to the input of outsiders at the early stages of problem solving because they are not necessarily bound by the same assumptions that the experts might be, but by the same token, these inputs are still evaluated by subject matter experts, ideally resulting in unbound creativity refined to a very specific purpose.

I hope that others will keep participatory tool set on their utility belts, as there are a great many collateral benefits such as enhanced public awareness, transparency and social relevance that can go along with them.

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