TRANSFORMING OUR BRAINS, BODIES, RELATIONSHIPS & EXPERIENCE OF THE WORLD BY THE SIMPLE ACT OF LOOKING UP.
The Art & Science of Looking Up report confirms the multitude of physical, psychological and social benefits to simply looking up and out; one of the most basic things we can do yet it has profound effects on cognitive development, creativity, productivity, relationships, and our sense of identity and belonging.
This report brings together the research and work of Dr Fiona Kerr and the Look Up framework and invitation. Neural and systems complexity expert Dr Fiona Kerr’s research supports and explains that looking up is good for our brains, our view of the world and each other. This report includes a literature review of cutting edge, multi-disciplinary sources from around the world and explores seven key subject areas: eye gaze and engagement, abstraction and neurogenesis, lighting up our brains, solving complex problems, lived experience and memory, connection and connectedness, amplification and contagion.
When we look up and out we enter the state of abstraction or ‘daydreaming’ conducive for creative concepts, complex problem solving, new insights and Aha! moments. Our brain puts information together in new ways to find solutions - whilst also improving our capacity to maintain a focused state of mind with less effort – so we actually get better at thinking.
The Art & Science of Looking Up is an invitation to live life with a deeper connection to our surroundings and each other. It is a gentle nudge and reminder for everyone: to be present and engage with the world around them and the people they share it with.
Simply LOOK UP and out more often, and enjoy all the life-changing benefits that brings.
ABOUT THE ART & SCIENCE OF LOOKING UP REPORT
The report was commissioned by Glider Global for the Outdoor Media Association and its members. It has been created in collaboration as a collective conversation and represents an ongoing commitment to engage in public dialogue, reflecting and contributing to public life and how we live together, now and into the future.
DR FIONA KERR
Fiona is the founder of the NeuroTech Institute, an independent body working at the intersection of neuroscience, emerging technology and ethical practice. It offers a truly multi-disciplinary approach to investigating how humans shape each other, how technology shapes us and thus how we should shape technology.
Her own diverse qualifications include cognitive neuroscience, complex systems engineering, anthropology and psychology built up over forty years, with almost thirty years in industry. She advises and works with organisations ranging from US Defense to Cirque du Soleil, with projects including how soldiers interact with autonomous systems in decision making, how to design multimodal gadgets which have a positive cognitive impact, and why face-to-face interaction with a nurse makes a patient heal better.
Fiona is passionate about people understanding the wonders of human connection, cognition and neurogenesis, and how we then leverage the transformative power of technology to build quality, moral partnerships between humans and AI. And also when we shouldn’t. She is an international speaker, appears regularly on media and works across five countries with companies, research bodies and governments such as Finland’s steering committee to design their future AI program.
Fiona also holds positions as the Neural and Systems Complexity Specialist at the University of Adelaide, and Research Fellow with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
GLIDER GLOBAL
Glider is a research and conceptual agency, working in the area of human futures, transformation and new form experience design. Glider brings people together and creates compelling experiences that move them to think, feel, be and do in new and fuller ways.
As a transdisciplinary studio, Glider partners with research institutes, cities, governments, industries, NGOs, foundations and the wider public, and seeks out innovative new ways to spark meaningful conversations about what it is to be alive, and all the fullness of what it means to Be Human.
All Glider's projects start and end with people and are underpinned by human-centred research, conversation theory and dialogue architecture. Glider focuses on the most important human issues shaping our society and the future – from placemaking, public life, civil empathy, social inclusion and human rights to philanthropy, ethics, sustainability and international relations.
Glider is endlessly curious about people, life and complexity and motivated to create moments that open people up and invite them to explore and better understand our shared human experience, so that we might live well together.
OUTDOOR MEDIA ASSOCIATION
The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) is the national peak industry body that represents 85 per cent of Australia's outdoor media. The OMA’s members have united to bring the Look Up invitation to people all around Australia.
Outdoor media exists where life happens – the places we live, work, socialise and spend our time, reaching over 90 per cent of the population.
Amplifying the Look Up message represents the ongoing commitment of the OMA and its members to engage in public dialogue, reflecting and contributing to important conversations. Members of the OMA adhere to a Code of Ethics and abide by the regulatory frameworks in which they operate. As an industry they are committed to pushing the envelope; starting a conversation, helping shift behaviour, and inspiring people.
