I WROTE MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY at age 68. In the last chapter I gathered up the courage in 1996 to make some predictions about the future. I thus included an 18 page essay entitled “HUMANITY”S BIRDBRAIN HERITAGE” where I presented my observations of the human condition in the last decade of the 20th century; Some of the consequences of this condition; Some possible remedies; And a vision of what is possible in the distant future.
[The title refers to the bigotry, prejudice, and outright misinformation that typically passes from parents to offspring.]
SOME EXCERPTS FOLLOW
“It is technology that has caused so much destruction of our traditional societies, but it is that same technology that will give us all an opportunity to create even better social structures in the 21st Century.”
“First we must LET GO OF FORMER NOTIONS and MATERIALISTIC VALUES. Once we reach the CRITICAL MASS OF AWARENESS, Inspired leaders may emerge to rescue from the existing quagmire and lead us onward towards humanities true destiny.”
“The new age will have room for all of us; the animals, the birds, the meditators, and the bird-brain types of humans who choose not to change. All will have their rolls to play. Those possessed of evil and of the devil will be drowned out by the “Good”, and they will not flourish. Looking forward [from 1996], all of our institutions will be subject to the forces of change brought about by the enormous advances in electronic technology. All of us will be affected, but many of our citizens will not be able to make the rapid adjustments required.”
“Many unpredictable problems should thus be expected for societies and individuals in the years ahead.”
The internet was barely limping along by 1996 and the smart-phone was yet to appear.
Now, twenty years later, our world is indeed in a momentous state of flux. Here in the year 2016, it is much more difficult to predict changes in the next Twenty years [or even next week]. Just two examples of flawed Opinion Poleswrongly predicted the Brexit vote and the Trump/Clinton election.
… We have entered a new age. …
The rate of change is now accelerating exponentially.