Unlearning Ignorance Deconstructing ignorance patterns in socio-technological systems
(2026)

This transversal design research frames ignorance patterns in socio-technological systems as symptoms susceptible to unlearning. Situated within the Anthropocene as conceptual context, it investigates how these patterns are reproduced within socio-technological systems and how this reproduction can be challenged through experimental design approaches. Grounded in a life-centered design approach and a synthesis of agnotology, science and technological studies, systems theory, and critical design research, ignorance patterns are identified through literature research and expert interviews.
They are analyzed using DIPS (Deconstruction Ignorance Patterns in socio-technological Systems) – a framework developed iteratively through this work. Applied to two contrasting patterns – linguistic ignorance and the ignorance of more-than-human entities – DIPS identifies speculative spaces for their deconstr uction: transparency,
reflexivity, and deliberation. This research proposes careful ignorance – the deliberate, ethical design of not-knowing – as a transformative strategy for co-designing a livable future for all forms of live.