Jonbar Hinges: Points of Divergence
“A boy walked down a county path, unaware of the desperate struggle raging invisibly around him - a struggle
to decide the destiny of the world!”The Legion of Time, by Jack Williamson (1952)
John Barr is a fictional character in Jack Williamson’s novel The Legion of Time. As a small boy, John Barr picks up either a magnet or a pebble, leading to a major turning point in the development of the novel’s narrative - choosing the magnet will lead to a utopian civilization, while choosing the pebble will lead to a world of tyranny and obscurity.
The moment in which John Barr makes a choice led to the creation of the Jonbar Hinge in science fiction. It refers to a crucial moment of divergence that determines different historical outcomes.
John Barr is a fictional character in Jack Williamson’s novel The Legion of Time. As a small boy, John Barr picks up either a magnet or a pebble, leading to a major turning point in the development of the novel’s narrative - choosing the magnet will lead to a utopian civilization, while choosing the pebble will lead to a world of tyranny and obscurity.
The moment in which John Barr makes a choice led to the creation of the Jonbar Hinge in science fiction. It refers to a crucial moment of divergence that determines different historical outcomes.
Inspired by this and borrowing from design fiction frameworks, this workshop invited students at the Royal College of Art (MA IED) to
reflect on a current issue and imagine possible points of divergence. Following this, they focused on a divergent path and time-travelled to its future, to bring a narrative to describe it and discuss.
This was an online workshop on Miro and Zoom and its goal was to give students the opportunity to start thinking about their own MA projects. For this reason, the narratives won't be shared here. But you can follow students' work on IED's instagram @rcaied. More information about the course can be found on IED's RCA webpage.
Below are screenshots of the Miro boards.
This was an online workshop on Miro and Zoom and its goal was to give students the opportunity to start thinking about their own MA projects. For this reason, the narratives won't be shared here. But you can follow students' work on IED's instagram @rcaied. More information about the course can be found on IED's RCA webpage.
Below are screenshots of the Miro boards.
