Materials in Timeline

Why this lens matters

Materials ground a world in ecology, extraction, scarcity, craft and dependence.

Follow-ups

1. Where do they come from?
2. Who controls access to them?
3. What becomes scarce, toxic, sacred or expensive?
4. What substitutions exist, and who uses them?
5. What ecological consequences follow?

Perspective shift

How would a maker or repairer describe this differently from an ordinary user?

Perturbation

What changes when the key material becomes scarce, banned or contaminated?

Example

Use this while working on the historical development and generational change: choose one concrete detail and ask how materials changes what it means.