The Myth We Build Together
Imagine walking on a floor held up by thousands — 180,000 to be exact — of tiny plastic people. Each molded figure does the same thing: reaching up, they support the floor, making it strong enough to walk on.
All molded identically in shape and size, designed specifically for their task as “floor bearers,” these figurines work silently and obediently, keeping the floor level and bearing the pressure as real-life feet stride across them.
This floor actually exists. It’s an art piece by South Korean artist Do-ho Suh; you can view it here from a few perspectives.
This floor hit me as a striking metaphor for human life. By all agreeing to the same rules, we’re able to accomplish things in the world that could never be possible on our own. Holding up floors is a big job, but it has nothing on the other stuff we humans do together as organizations, societies, even as a species.
But Suh’s work hints at the price we pay for this conformity.
Looking at his floor made me question how much of life is built upon rules we may not even know we’re following. The way we interact with others, the things we do and buy, even the way we view…
