The overal vitality of the civic sector and its balance and integration with the government and business sector is being questioned by the American people. New forms of collaborative, active learning are needed to revitalize national organs for self-governance, public opinion, and prosperity. Priority exploration should be accorded to individuals and groups typically perceived to be creating lives, driven by their own real needs for innovation and therefore engaged in frontier learning at or beyond the boundaries of currently established communities from any context. When universal access is missing, the levels of engagement and synergistic linkages associated with the creativity of difference break down. This may be the single most missing and misunderstood factor in achieving a smarter, more integrated learning process.
Difference is the thing.
When difference appears from the center of nowhere, it creates the contrast needed to find the center of everywhere. Difference is the driver of creativity. How we explore is as important as what we explore. Old modes alone create a blind spot to the different ways possible. By involving all sources of relevant difference in the design process the separation between design and implementation would be overcome.