Think: G.K. Chesterton was a brilliant English author and philosopher. There is a wonderful idea attributed to him and it is known as “Chesterton’s Fence.” The basic idea is this: If you come across a fence (or, really, anything) that you feel is dumb, stupid or unnecessary, you are NOT allowed to get rid of it until you understand the original reason why it was put in place. I strongly encourage you to read this post, Chesterton’s Fence: A Lesson in Second-Order Thinking, because it will make you a better thinker for the simple reason that we must all consider the second and even third-order implications of our decisions. Failure to do so results in, well, failure.
Think Smarter: Last Wednesday, I was in Gulf Shores, Alabama speaking to the Farm Credit Bank of Texas and on Thursday I was in Omaha speaking to the Nebraska’s Bankers Association. Whether you’re a farmer or a banker to farmers, here’s something you may want to think about: In the near future, pesticide usage could be cut by up to 90 percent.
Think Different: It was only a matter of time but the Marine Corps is now experimenting with employing robots and artificial intelligence on the battlefield.
Think Bigger: Gene therapy is a trend that will likely grow bigger in the near future. A young girl in the UK has recently had her hearing restored as a result of advances in the technology.
Think Visually: This article, “The Defensive Arrogance of “TL/DR” (TL/DR stands for “too long; didn’t read) was quite informative. I found the phrase “the rise of the dopamine culture” to be provocative as well as the accompanying visual which I have posted below. I realize we live in a world where “short-term” thinking is often rewarded but if you want to survive in the long-run, it may behoove you to begin thinking and acting differently.
Think Again: In order to think better, it is imperative that we look for information that runs counter to our expectations. To this point, I am generally bullish on the opportunities surrounding both precision agriculture and autonomous tractors, but this news that the recent solar storms (which caused the stunningly beautiful Northern Lights across much of the country last week) also caused serious problems for some tractors has me rethinking my assessment.
Heart-Centered Thinking: In case you missed it last week, here was a special message from myself regarding my intentions to step away from my work as a corporate futurist at the end of the year.
Afterthought: “Don’t feel you must offer opinions on topics and subjects about which you know little.” Jack Uldrich
P.S. Did you miss last week’s newsletter? Check it out here.
