"Artifacts contain embedded intelligence and values.
Great artifacts instantly change perspectives and behavior."
-- Jerry McNellis
An artifact, which is generally a human-made tangible object, but may also be a sensory experience, carries meaning beyond its original form. Artifacts stimulate connections, prompt memories and, potentially, change behavior. We surround ourselves with artifacts -- photos of family and friends, refrigerator magnets from vacations, t-shirts from concerts or other special events, trophies, religious icons and some jewelry items such as wedding rings. Any item which means more to us than its actual physical form has become an artifact ... a metaphor for something else.
As much as we surround ourselves with artifacts, we may not use them as powerfully and consciously as we might ... especially in connection to changing behavior. Buckminster Fuller called his inventions tangible artifacts. Fuller was interested in changing the world and said that rather than trying to confront an attitude, you should create an artifact that would instantly neutralize previous
behavior. Some examples of artifacts that have changed behavior include:
** Digital Clock: For centuries, people lived their lives by approximate time. In the days of sun dials, the cast shadow defined the time to the approximate hour. When we began to use clocks with hour and minute-hands, we narrowed the approximation to quarter hours ... it’s a quarter till twelve or it’s half-past two. Digital clocks further narrowed the approximation to the minute. Now it’s
11:47 or 2:33 and we seldom round off to the hour or mention the approximate time.
** Message Waiting: The beep-beep-beep sound that occurs when we pick up the phone tells us someone has left a message and prompts us to call our voice mail service.
** Online Banking: The ability to pay bills, check account balances and do transfers dramatically changes the way we handle our finances.
However, these are "inventions" that have changed behavior. What about those day-to-day artifacts that we deliberately choose in order to affect our behavior?
The day planners or pdas that we choose to use to better manage our time. Wrist bands or colored ribbons that show our support for special causes. Special quotes we put on the refrigerator to motivate and uplift our spirits.
Recently I decided I wanted to explore how we use artifacts to consciously change our behaviors. To remind myself to ask for stories about this and to talk to people about how they use artifacts, I decided I needed an artifact about artifacts. Several years ago, I was part of a group of women who created talking sticks so I hung mine in a prominent place in my office.
The act of choosing and hanging my artifact prompted me to write this column so that I could ask you how you use artifacts and encourage you to share a specific example of an artifact you have used to change behavior. I would very much like to hear your thoughts and examples, including whether or not the artifacts were successful or not. Please tell us about your artifacts in the comments section below. I'll collect them and share them back in two weeks.
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