The arts develop our ability to operate nimbly and with confidence at the ever-shifting threshold between the known and unknown. In the process of creation we evaluate the present state and take action towards an ideal future state, over and over, constantly moving what-is towards what-could-be. Regardless of the work produced along the way, the skills that we hone through such practice enhance our ability to successfully navigate an uncertain future in a rapidly changing world.

The following is a presentation I put together for the 2014 Arctic Science conference (sponsored by the Arctic Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science) in Fairbanks. I plan to record a voiceover for this, but in the meantime, the basic ideas are communicated in the slides.