The way we navigate through complexity

Abstract

The paper presents the question how we navigate through complex environments in contemporary culture, make decisions in times when knowledge, concepts and meaning are constantly "updated". The underlying concept contemporary, with the literal translation "with time" underlines the argument that environments (abstract and concrete) are changing and constantly moving. The argument about knowledge acquisition in a contemporary flow is presented in comparison between a Google Search and how collectors of contemporary art make decisions about the inscriptions of art objects into collections. The linearity of a Google Search from words without syntax to the decision of entering the complex universe of discourses is applied in this paper to describe how actors navigate a complex network of knowledge and information in contemporary culture.