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FreshSpectrum - Blog for Data People

Creative consultant Chris Lysy talks about data, culture, technology, and design. He also draws comics.

Rejecting the Null [graphic novel blog post]

Rejecting the Null [graphic novel blog post]

Being a change maker is hard. Consider today’s graphic novel post a quick theoretical action guide.

Rejecting the null.
You know how the world is always changing?
When I was your age my dad would take me ice fishing here at this time of year (in shorts now in front of water). Unfortunately, while change is constant, that doesn't mean that making change happen is in any way easy.
Just so I'm clear, the world is on fire. We all know that. But making real changes to the way we live is a real hassle. So we'll just do little things and pretend that's enough.
It's not because we lack ideas or imagination. Or that we lack the will to do the necessary work. We just vastly underestimate the power of the null.
The null is the way things are now. The status quo. The consequence of inaction. It is the universal control group. The ultimate comparison.
Fortunately, we know how to defeat the null. The alternative.
The alternative is the ultimate underdog. But with work (evidence, design, and evaluation) we can power up the alternative and even up the match.
And ultimately, we can built it up enough to reject the null. And subsequently bring the change.
And when we do finally reject the null, know this, it's not the end of the story.
Success just brings a new null, and new alternatives that need change maker support.