Yet there is something that seems to be missing. Some higher purpose. Some meaning to it all. And it’s nagging away at you. It’s filling you up with an empty hole. But you can’t seem to access this hole. You can’t figure out its nature or what it wants. It’s almost as if the boundaries of this big hole are guarded by a daemon that begs you to keep chasing. More, more, more! Better, bigger, faster! Chase everything! Somewhere down the line, there’s going to be a big payoff, it promises you. But the daemon gives you no reason. No clues. It just asks you to trust it. Chase that life away. Until death. With a blindfold on.

But what if you could kill this hypothetical daemon and take its blindfold off from your face? What if you could access that big empty hole and start seeing your life for what it really is? I believe you can. And to do that, you need to upgrade your mental software with new information that lets you see things from a new perspective.

So here you are. A human being. Top of the food chain. A product of billions of years of evolution. And there’s one important reason why you haven’t been wiped out from the planet’s gene pool yet: evolution has meticulously programmed you to avoid death at all costs. But evolution has no big plan. It’s just a process. And somewhere during this process, something bizarre happened: consciousness. Or to be more precise, human consciousness. It’s so sophisticated that it allows us to think beyond the physical reality that’s in front of us. And this ability alone is probably more responsible for our taking over of the food chain than any other. Because with it, we can conjure up concepts such as “the past” and “the future”. We can plan far further ahead than any other animal. We can even learn from the past, not just via the slow process of evolution, but by transferring what we learn to the next generation via language.

But this sophisticated consciousness comes with a price – or a luxury, depending on how you see it. We are the only species that has the ability to reflect on our own inevitable death. No other animal can do that. Do you see how bizarre that is? Billions of years of evolution, programming us to avoid death at all costs, and all of a sudden, we are fully aware that we are going to die anyway and no amount of jogging or vegan food will save us.

So how does the brain choose which instincts to listen to? There’s only one answer: conflict. A deep, inner conflict within our minds – that of being programmed to avoid death, yet being aware that you’re a rotten corpse waiting to happen. And this conflict must be solved. Otherwise we wouldn’t get out of bed. We wouldn’t go to work, pick up the kids, paint, sing, talk, drink coffee, play, gossip, love, hate, dance. And the only way to solve this conflict? Immortality. The meaning of life is, paradoxically, to end life. Not by death, but by immortality – by embarking on so-called immortality projects. These projects can take all kinds of shapes. What they all have in common is that they are a means of contributing to something bigger than yourself and that you can be remembered for what you’ve contributed. It’s a way of leaving a trace. Providing for your family, creating art, contributing to the welfare state, building a nation, founding a company, launching a magazine, having a successful career, and so on. These are all immortality projects.

The problem is that the character of our immortality projects changes over time. And every now and then, when the world is going through a paradigm shift, the foundations for our immortality become shaky. And we’re going through a paradigm shift in this very moment.

In the medieval period, you were basically immortal out of the box. You had a strong spiritual belonging via the church, as priests made sure your relationship with God was fine and dandy, so that you could live happily for ever in heaven after your time on earth. You also had a strong societal belonging, as you were born into a caste. Even if you were born as a peasant living in lousy conditions, you at least had a purpose, a clear role in society and communion with your fellow peasants. And as long as you fulfilled your societal and spiritual roles, you’d be hanging out with Jesus in eternity.

But with the help of the printing press – undermining the information monopoly of the church – Luther came along and killed the church and proposed the revolutionary idea that we stand alone facing God. This, in essence, paved the way for the concept of individualism. And shortly afterwards, merchants realised that by making more money than you actually need, you could amass and invest capital to the extent that you’d be richer than the king, meaning that the feudal system with castes and a king appointed by God was made up. The system could be gamed! As long as you work hard, you can become whatever you want! Capitalism is born, destroys the feudal system and finally produces the individual. You’re born as a blank sheet of paper, your life is yours to create, you’re free!

But freedom comes with a price, too. Because it demands we create or choose our own immortality projects. And a stable society needs a consensus on immortality. With God and the castes out of the way, a replacement was needed and times were turbulent until it was found. In Sweden we created Folkhemmet. In the US they created the American Dream. And whoever controls the flow of information controls the consensus of immortality. Pre-internet, if you controlled television and radio broadcasts, the newspapers, and so on, you controlled the nature of immortality. Fancier house, faster car, bigger paycheque!

In the medieval period, you had one immortality project: to serve God. With individualism and capitalism, we were promised the freedom to choose how we leave a trace, how we become immortal. But we didn’t dare choose for ourselves. Instead, we turned on the television and let somebody else decide it for us.

And that’s precisely what the daemon is. It’s the inner voice, created out of what you’ve been fed about how to live your life, that keeps you away from that big empty hole within you. And that big empty hole is the conflict of death. And it’s desperately yearning for you to fill it with immortality projects. Not somebody else’s immortality projects but your own.

So screw that diploma if somebody else made you feel you need it. Screw that job if somebody else gives you affirmation for having it. Screw that promotion if you need to suck up to a middle manager. Screw that salary increase. Screw that fancy apartment. Screw all of it. Until you’re certain that your immortality projects are your own and nobody else’s. And if your true immortality projects demand a diploma, go get it. If they result in you getting a job, have it. If they push you up the ladder, enjoy it. And take that salary and buy that fancy apartment if that makes you happy. Because now you are fulfilled. And you’ll love you for it.

Credits
Words by Dr. Ashkan Fardost

Art credits
Death (1914) by Teodors Üders

And this is not sci-fi or something that’s happening in a dark and lonesome laboratory somewhere.
IBM’s Watson is actually installed in hospitals and is diagnosing cancer – sometimes even better than human doctors. And all of this is just the beginning.
Ultimately, when knowledge is for free, only your ideas are worth paying for. So what can we do?
Well, the value of knowledge – or, actually, the value of working with knowledge – is shrinking.
But on the other hand, the value of coming up with great ideas and creating new things is increasing rapidly. Therefore, we need to supercharge our brains and become hyper-creative idea makers, and learn how to execute and build those ideas. We still need knowledge, though, because without it, it’s impossible to be creative. But we need to build on top of that knowledge, with a hyper-creative mind-set.

So, how do you actually supercharge your brain and become a hyper-creative idea maker? It’s pretty simple, actually: if you start to play with and learn the right tools, the ideas will start to come. You don’t revolutionise the art of painting by thinking or reading about painting. you do it by picking up a brush and actually painting. The same goes for the art of technology.

What if I told you [Puts on Morpheus from The Matrix sunglasses.] that there is an equivalent of the paintbrush for technology, with which you can turn almost any idea into reality, with very little money and with no prior skills in electronics or programming?

There’s no red pill vs blue pill in this story, but there is something else, and it costs about SEK 170 at Kjell & Company. It’s called the Arduino: a tiny computer with which you can build amazing things. you can attach GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and a myriad of sensors. Want to detect dust, pollen or pollution in the air or water? There’s a sensor for that. Do you want to interact with it by touch? There’s a sensor for that, too. And I’ll say it again: you need no prior skills in electronics or programming to get started. It’s so easy to learn, you’ll be up and running within weeks. Now imagine what you could build with something like this.

Sebastian Alegria from Chile built an earthquake- detection device with it when he was 14 years old. The device has its own Twitter account – (@alarmasismos) – and announces earthquakes to all of its followers. Much better and cheaper than the million-dollar system that the Chilean government was building.

Botanicalls is another product built with an Arduino, originally created by New york-based students. It’s a device that sits in your plant pot and monitors water and sunlight levels. And it has its own Twitter account for your plant, so when it’s thirsty, for example, it will tweet to let you know.

Dana Ramler, an industrial-design student from Canada who is now based in Spain, used an Arduino to build the Bio Circuit – wearable electronic clothing that monitors your heart rate, which in turn determines what kind of music you’ll hear through a speaker built into the collar.

Meanwhile, ArduSat is an open-source and crowdfunded satellite, also built using an Arduino, which was launched into space in 2013 from Japan. Today, ArduSat sells a “launch pack” to schools, so that they can start their own space programme (I wish I were still at elementary school). Talk about changing the world and making it a cooler place.
And these are just a few of the thousands of amazing projects out there that have been built using an Arduino.
We live in a time where you can turn any idea into reality, with little or no money. And the direction in which technology is taking us has made your ideas more valuable than ever.

So, go on, pick up the brush and start painting. We dare you to step into the unknown. Because only then will your mind get hyper-charged and start throwing great ideas at you. And we dare you to turn one of those ideas into reality and make the world a better place.

We dare you to be a superhero.

Arduino Plays Timberman from Valentin Heun on Vimeo.

Credits:

Words by Dr Ashkan Fardost

1 A Lilypad Arduino, Designed for Wearable Technology, as with Dana Ramler´s Bio Circuit Clothing (Photograph By Leah Buechley)

2 Arduino Uno (Photograph By Nick Hubbard)

3 The Ardusat (© ARDUSAT)

Today’s Stockholm is home to many of the digital innovations that are making urban life more manageable. New ground is being broken and development is being pushed forward in areas as diverse as medicine, science, advertising, film and technology, to name just a few. We like to call these innovators the New Rebels. By putting their creativity, intelligence, passion and energy into finding new areas to develop in their chosen fields, this new generation is changing the way we live, unapologetically following their hearts, playing by their own rules and living their dreams. We gathered together seven of these New Rebels working in the digital industry to find out more about what they do and why they do it.

Name: Maria Nilsson

Job: production manager, Splay

Dr. Martens 1461 Wigan

Why did you choose to work in your industry instead of doing something else?

“Coming from working on traditional TV productions like [the style-advice show] Trinny & Susannah, I was intrigued by the idea of working with new media channels, since linear television is getting more outdated. Splay is giving me the opportunity to work with premium content on digital platforms that reach a younger audience.”

What motivates you in your work?

“To meet people from many different places and backgrounds, to be a part of digital development and to have the opportunity to have a holistic perspective, yet still be able to focus on the details, is what motivates me.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“Fax machines!”

Name: Elina Nilsson

Job: producer, B-Reel Creative

Dr. Martens 1460 Mono

Why did you choose to work in your industry instead of doing something else?

“Everything started with me watching my big brother tinkering with our first computer. I was too young to try – at least my mother said – but as soon as I was home alone the exploration of the machine started. It was love at first sight. Later, my interest in photography appeared, and when I was 13 years old, I planned my own exhibition. Pretty quickly I realised that I was more interested in the entire creative process rather than the photography itself. I had the opportunity to study at Hyper Island, where I developed my skills even further. Next up was B-Reel, which is a perfect match for me, as we are always driven to find boundary-pushing ideas.”

What motivates you in your work?

“I love to be surrounded by great talents and together find solutions to combine the world of storytelling and technology. It really doesn’t matter what it is – a game, a website, a huge light installation or a brand platform. I love to make things happen.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“Can I answer with a GIF?”

Name: Dr Ashkan Fardost

Job: I don’t have a job title…

Dr. Martens Pilloy

“…I have a mission – to communicate how the ever-faster advancements of science and technology affect our lives now and in the future. My mission requires me to be different things each day.”

Why did you choose to work in your industry instead of doing something else?

“Some days I’m a global speaker, at events such as TEDx and awesome places like Hyper Island. Other days I’m a science reporter on Swedish Television, SVT. I also help companies to reap the benefits and navigate the challenges of new technologies. The freedom to be something different every day is why I chose to not pursue the traditional path in life.”

What motivates you in your work?

“Science and technology bring inspiration, hope and empowerment. Today, for example, anyone with a computer can take a world-class university course, create beautiful music, start a business or send a crowdfunded satellite to space – yes, Google it.

“Anyone can turn any idea into reality with little or no money. Advancements in medicine are taking us closer to cures than ever before. Contrary to the apocalyptic world we live in according to mainstream media, the world is actually becoming a better place, a lot of it thanks to science and technology.

“Having the opportunity to inspire and empower audiences, and convincing them that they have the power to do anything, change anything, with the help of technology, is the most motivating force that I know of.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“I don’t wait around until I get picked by person or company. I don’t hope to be discovered by someone. I don’t wait for permission to do something. With the help of technology and hard work, I can become whatever I want and achieve whatever I dream of. So far so good.

“Living with this mind-set is largely thanks to the books and lectures by Seth Godin. Especially his book The Icarus Deception.”

Name: Hoa Ly

Job: co-founder of Shim; PhD in psychology

Dr. Martens 8053 Wigan

Why did you choose to work in your field instead of doing something else?

“I think psychology, the study of people’s minds and behaviour, is the most fascinating and powerful knowledge there is. However, presently, there’s no scalable way to help people apply psychological knowledge in their everyday life. I want to change that. That’s why I have chosen to work with Shim.”

What motivates you in your work?

“Building and creating something meaningful and relevant for a lot of people.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“While everyone else in the tech world is working on building tools and services for optimising people’s lives, me and my team are working on building a service for people’s minds. That’s what makes me a digital rebel.”

Name: Martina Elm

Job: co-founder and CEO, Confetti

Dr. Martens 1B60

Why did you choose to work in your industry instead of doing something else?

“I didn’t really choose to work in this industry, I ended up here by accident.

“Three and a half years ago, I didn’t have a smartphone and I had never owned a computer. I was working as a chef, and one of my best friends, Jonatan, was in the midst of doing his first start-up with two other partners. One night, Jonatan and I met to prepare a DJ set, and I randomly met one of the other founders, who I guess thought I had something. I got offered a job interview for a community manager role. I don’t know what happened, but I managed to land the job!

“After that, I completely fell in love with the start-up scene and I’ve been in it ever since. I love technology and what it enables me to do, as well
as the openness and inclusiveness of the tech community.”

What motivates you in your work?

“Learning new things and having fun motivates me, as well as creating great products and experiences.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“I do what I want, not what people expect from me.”

Name: Anton Holmquist

Job title: tech entrepreneur at Dreams

Dr. Martens Adrian

Why did you choose to work in your industry instead of doing something else?

“The choice came naturally for me, since there are really not that many things that interest me. Since I was a kid I have always been interested in technology, and programming in particular, so doing something else seemed far-fetched.

“When I’m by the computer I get that almost manic urge to create something. It’s so much fun!
It’s all about problem solving and finding good solutions. I really enjoy the industry and all the great people I get to work with, so I can’t imagine leaving
it anytime soon.”

What motivates you in your work?

“First of all, it’s very rewarding to see a project grow, bit by bit every day, until it becomes something usable. Often it’s not until shortly before launch that a project actually looks decent. That vision keeps me motivated throughout the process.

“Second, I love the idea of creating something that other people would want to use. Just finding out that there is some traction to what you are doing is an amazing feeling.

“Also, learning is a big motivator. There are so many things to know, and working with people with different knowledge and experience from mine is
very developing.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“My naivety. I’m not afraid to try new things or jump into fields, not knowing what awaits there. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail, learn and then try something else. It’s not that bad.”

Name: Abraham Asefaw

Job: founder-director, The Pop Up Agency

Dr. Martens 8761

Why did you choose to work in your field instead of doing something else?

“I studied law and politics, and the only reason I’m in the creative industry today is thanks to my younger brother. He told me I should give it a try since I had been doing projects in my free time and I clearly enjoyed it. I gave it a shot and did it for a while, and it went well. From there I decided to study on an Interactive Art Director course at Hyper Island and it was an amazing experience. Things kind of fell into place after that. It was a long journey. I did a lot of things to get to where I am today.”

What motivates you in your work?

“This is not a 9-to-5 job for me, it’s a lifestyle. I keep learning things and challenging myself by working with so many talented people. I am sticking to my passion, and connecting with my passion, on a daily basis. I keep re-evaluating myself and asking is it still interesting? Am I still passionate about it? This is important on all levels, not just in terms of this industry. We are all complex individuals and the key to staying motivated is holding on to our passion.”

The thing that makes you a New Rebel is…

“I don’t box myself in. I came into the game late and from a different perspective, and I knew jack shit.
My various experiences have made me who I am and that is reflected in the way I approach what I do in this industry.”

Credits:

Words by Tsemaye Opubor

Photography by Felix Swensson

Styling by Josef Forselius

Special thanks to Dr. Martens

Dr. Martens store, Katarina Bangata 15 Stockholm

Fashion credits:

1 Leather jacket from Stand, t-shirt by Commes Des Garçons, leather trousers with patching by Rodebjer

2 Top by Altewai Saome, faux fur by Stand and trousers from Rodebjer

3 Jacket stylist’s own, sweater from H&M, knit from BACK and trousers model’s own

4 Faux fur from BLK DNM, tie from Pierre Cardin, trousers models own and sweater from Helmut Lang.

5 Skirt from BACK and cape from H&M

6 All clothes from H&M, vintage hat

7 Trousers from Gant, leather jacket from Blk Denim and sweater from Monki