Dear Colleagues,

Too much screen time leads to distractions and diverts us from the things we need to be paying attention to in our world today.  In fact, I wonder whether those who developed the screens and the technology that goes with them understand the broader context for using it.   I favor using technology to support a holistic, well-motivated, positive-energy project on our planet for everyone on Earth. Geographic coordinates of knowledge will be recorded around the planet Earth using Geographic Information Systems.   Everything imaginable in terms of knowledge events can be navigated to. In fact, this concept is known as the Unidiversity Research Explorers Cycle, or a live experiment that considers passive and active research from everyone, everything, everywhere on earth. It is a way to adaptively strive towards a desired future condition as people understand the world around them. They can provide information, data, and cumulative knowledge about the world and its characteristics, especially through people-scoping.   People scoping is the process of using all your knowledge, ideas, suggestions, and creativity to share them with everyone else. This is especially true when you integrate people scoping with active and passive research. There are two types of research: active research, which is one planned by a scientist or someone who has a study to perform on planet Earth. Passive is a study anyone can initiate if they notice a pattern or have a hypothesis about a phenomenon on our planet.  Understanding change is another important concept, known as change detection among experts in the field.   Everyone is going to contribute in the future and have Billions of knowledge points to study.    Moreover, people are beginning to use screens in a more natural way, as they involve activity and exercise for those who want them.    

The We-Me explorers cycle makes us all holistically included, accepted, and inspired to act in our world.   It allows all of us to be connected towards a desired future.   This concept enables us to work together and meet as many new people as you desire.   Meeting new people is another dimension of learning, as we can learn from their life paths, experiences, and explorations.   People can allocate energy to their homes, communities, or regions, or go abroad to learn about different cultures.   Learning more about your local community and regions helps you serve as a guide of sorts to people who come from afar.   Likewise, when you visit other regions on planet Earth, you may interact with a guide as well.   I am thoroughly impressed with all the technology that has been developed over time, but let’s put it to use in a research-oriented way so we can have infinite adventure potential throughout our lives.  Moreover, along with 8 billion people, we will be able to actively and passively solve problems on our planet by identifying, noticing, hypothesizing, and engaging in change detection.   By understanding our world better, we can plan more effectively and mitigate problems before they even appear.   This concept is favored over reactionary methods.   

Those that prefer to use screens may do so as well.   For example, just a moment ago I noticed emaciated children and infants from the Gaza Strip area as I was scrolling through Facebook.   If we use these children as indicator species of what’s going on in our region, we know we should highly relatively prioritize help to this region as soon as possible.  

I write to you today with a vision for harnessing the profound potential of our interconnected world, steering away from the passive consumption of technology towards a paradigm of active, collective contribution. We stand at a critical juncture where the very tools designed for communication and knowledge exchange often breed distraction and disengagement. My belief is that we can reimagine these technologies as catalysts for a truly global, holistically motivated project dedicated to the well-being and advancement of all life on Earth.

Imagine a living, adaptive framework – what I term the “Unidiversity Research Explorers Cycle” or the “We-Me Explorers Cycle.” This is more than just a platform; it’s a dynamic, global experiment designed to continuously evolve our understanding of the planet and ourselves. Central to this concept is the establishment of a spatially referenced, navigable tapestry of knowledge across Earth. Through sophisticated Geographic Information Systems, every significant discovery, cultural insight, or critical observation would be monumented, creating an accessible, ever-expanding atlas of human and natural phenomena.

This global knowledge network would be powered by what I call “people scoping” – a radical re-envisioning of collective intelligence. It’s an inclusive process where every individual’s unique knowledge, ideas, suggestions, and creative insights are not only valued but actively integrated into the shared intellectual commons. This personal contribution becomes incredibly potent when synergized with both active and passive research methodologies. Active research, traditionally driven by scientists and dedicated studies, gains unparalleled breadth. Passive research, initiated by anyone noticing a pattern or hypothesizing a phenomenon, democratizes discovery, transforming every citizen into a potential explorer.

A core strength of this cycle lies in its capacity for “change detection” – the ability to proactively identify shifts and anomalies across our world. By integrating billions of individual “knowledge points” – observations, data, and cumulative insights – we can monitor planetary health, societal trends, and emerging challenges in real-time. This dynamic system enables us to move beyond reactive measures, empowering us to anticipate and mitigate problems before they escalate. It promotes a natural, engaged interaction with screens, transforming them from sources of passive entertainment into powerful instruments for active participation and intellectual exploration.

The “We-Me Explorers Cycle” fosters a profound sense of inclusion and shared purpose. It inspires connection, encouraging individuals to meet and learn from diverse life paths and experiences, whether within their local communities, across regions, or through international exchanges. This fosters a reciprocal learning environment, where one can act as a guide to newcomers in their local environment or engage with guides when exploring distant lands.

I am immensely impressed by the technological advancements of our era. However, their true value will be realized when we collectively pivot them towards a grander objective: boundless research and exploration, leading to infinite adventure potential throughout our lives. With 8 billion people actively and passively engaged, we possess the collective capacity to solve the most complex problems on our planet – identifying, observing, hypothesizing, and responding to change with unprecedented agility.

Consider, for example, the heart-wrenching images of emaciated children from regions like the Gaza Strip that occasionally surface on our screens. Within the “Unidiversity Research Explorers Cycle,” such critical observations, contextualized by countless other data points, would not be mere fleeting impressions. They would serve as immediate, powerful “indicator species,” signaling urgent humanitarian needs. This system would dynamically prioritize and coordinate global responses, enabling us to channel aid and resources precisely where they are most desperately required, bypassing slow, reactionary methods in favor of proactive, informed action.

This is a call to align our technological prowess with our collective human potential – to build a future where every screen interaction contributes to a more knowledgeable, empathetic, holistic, sustainable, and resilient world.

Sincerely,

Richard Thomas Simmons