Anticipating the future is a tricky business. I mean just a quick scan of today’s news reveals the possibility for lab-grown meat; crafting beating human hearts out of new skin cells; fighting off depression with a “brain pacemaker;” and cars that can travel 261 miles-per-gallon.
Although, I’m a fan of exponential growth, it is irresponsible to assume all technological advances will unfold in an exponential fashion and that we will soon be eating lab-grown meat; growing our own replacement hearts; implanting brain chips; and traveling coast-to-coast on a single tank of gas. It is equally foolish, however, to assume that some of these breakthroughs won’t occur.
The reason I continue to emphasize unlearning as a critical skill for the future is because we must remain open to the possibility that the “unexpected” can happen. Over-anticipating the future is one danger. The other danger is anticipating events that are no longer likely to happen–and the one thing you can almost be guaranteed that isn’t going to happen is that the future will resemble today.
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