Wisdom backed up in spoken stories, not just digital collections, ahead of an apocalypse

Narration by author:

There are no reliable digital backups in an apocalypse.

Spread the stories far and wide in the event of disaster.

Storytelling and story listening: two endangered skills.

Story Interlude

It felt smaller on the inside. The windowless meeting room stood in stark contrast to the bright hotel grounds of manicured lawns, water features, and a turtle. The interior illumination, however, emanated from the wisdom of the assembled multi-stakeholder sages. Purposefully convened for a wide-ranging discussion on achieving shared outcomes, knowledge and wisdom focused the spotlight on current realities and possible future aspirations.

The documented record of the meeting would include written meeting minutes (in English), doodles on paper flip charts, and participant's personal notes. The assigned note takers summarized decisions taken and itemized action items. Perhaps someone surreptitiously audio recorded conversations.

Years later, where might we say the backstories, pearls of wisdom, and keen observations spoken live on? We do not have a digital archive of these knowledge assets. Participants may remember fragments. Those fragments may be passed on to others. Much of the knowledge, we surmise, is forgotten.

Observations on Knowledge Sharing

Listen deeply to wise sages and insightful novices. Imagine the words, images, impressions forming vital stories. Mix and mash knowledge into reformed stories for future sharing with other listeners. Assemble diverse groups of people where the centered stories and wisdom embed in multiple minds and hearts. These stories can live even in an apocalypse should the hardware and databases go dark. The brightness of wisdom spreads through the network of storytellers.

Knowledge transfer as a label insinuates a mechanistic, transactional, and robotic environment. Knowledge sharing perhaps nuances the desired meaning of humane knowledge longevity.

Well-formed knowledge sharing includes both: codified documentation (digital or analog) and oral story.

A typical oral history project entails audio or video recording an elder's stories. Permission from the elder is required. If the response to the request is a "no," other options include facilitating dialogue with younger members of the community who might embrace the role of the next-generation listener and storyteller.

The premise of "lots of copies keeps stuff safe" (LOCKSS) resonates as a valuable principle in the current moment of shuttering government databases and websites without warning.

The apocalypse may includes zombies. The apocalypse will include one or more of the following: governmental disruption, regional or global war, climate chaos leading to significant deaths, floods, fires, economic systems failure, food shortage, or alien invasion. The future will likely include multiple, overlapping, compounding factors contributing to a regional or global state of intense chaos and potential loss of knowledge.¹

Use Cases

These descriptions suggest possible scenarios in which well-formed knowledge sharing habits center people and their information needs. Aspects from more than one of the scenarios may fit your current or potential future context.

• International nongovernmental organization (NGO). Multiple NGOs, lead by Global South partners, and including Global North participants, intentionally engage in "how might we..." conversations on a given issue area (e.g., climate change, food security, women's rights, etc.). In the course of exploring, embedding with local populations, asking questions, and researching (Indigenous, local, as well as typically Global North academic methods), knowledge is written as well as shared through oral-centered practices. The project stewards replicate digital data stores in multiple, secure repositories. Participants share their wisdom in oral, storytelling form with older and younger generations. These stories are then passed along to a third and fourth ring of participants and community members. When the funding abruptly ceases or an epidemic prevents the core participants from gathering in-person or remotely, the work of backing up the wisdom is well underway.
• Higher education. Three academic institutions collaborating on a project collect data, analyze the information, and produce written outputs. These digital artifacts are backed up across multiple repositories open to other researchers, journalists, and interested citizens. Long-term access is paramount, even if funding abruptly ceases and the order is given to destroy the research outputs: some of the repositories will remain accessible. Along with the principal investigators, several junior researchers engage in learning, understanding, and asking questions. These junior researchers act as an additional layer of wisdom keepers through both the spoken exchanges and digital artifacts. Those researchers who teach in a formal academic classroom setting also engage in knowledge exchange with students, creating yet another layer of knowledge sharers.
• Philanthropic foundation. A Program Officer at a foundation partners with several local nonprofits on a specific community issue (e.g., workforce development, affordable child care, food deserts, mental health support access, etc.). These nonprofits and their program participants honestly dialogue on the pain points of the system and systemic failures of the ecosystem. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other knowledge-gathering activities produce written documentation. Writers generate summaries, reports, and calls-to-action published across multiple communication channels. Additionally, the digital assets are backed up across multiple, redundant systems in the case of disastrous failure of the main repository. The community members and nonprofit staff participants continue as knowledge sharers in the course of their daily activities in the community. They tell stories to a neighbor, coworker, city official, reporter, or child.

Outro and Resources

For exit music, consider one of the songs AI suggested on the theme of respecting the wisdom of elders.² While listening to the track, preferably out on a walk on a dirt path near trees or open space, consider how the habits and systems of your work-life support well-formed knowledge sharing ahead of an apocalypse. Yes, ensure digital backups. Also, engage emotionally, intellectually, and holistically with people-first knowledge sharing distinct from a digital interface. Consider how storytelling is integral to the communication practices and how those stories organically and relationally spread through a community. The community is a key backup.