Age and Perspective

In the novel Assegai by Wilbur Smith, a group of men are tracking a bull elephant that is running away from them now aware of their presence. The elephant can walk faster than the men can run and unless he stops, the elephant will out pace them and arrive in a place the men cannot follow. The old man in the group warns of this probable future. The young native Loikot has a different perspective.

'Do not listen to him, M'bogo,' Loikot advised. 'It is the habit of old men to be gloomy. They can smell shit in the perfume of the kigelia[1] flower.’

I’m going to have to remind myself of this parable. Is what I see as a probable future colored too darkly by my aged perspective?

However, this parable has a deeper meaning. The fruit that comes from the flower is poisonous to humans.

Does living in the present and enjoying the beauty of the moment, the fleeting instant of the now, leave you blind to its poisonous fruits?

---

[1] Kigelia Africana is also know as the sausage tree. The sausage tree boasts long, open sprays of large, wrinkled, maroon or dark red trumpet-shaped flowers that are velvety on the inside and that virtually overflow with nectar. The unique fruits look like giant sausages! http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/kigeliaafric.htm

A Perspective on the Future

Innovation technologies in all their forms, but especially those labeled web 2.0, are mashing up with existing industries, technologies and businesses at an accelerating rate causing disruptive innovations. The structural changes resulting will cause a lot of dislocation.

Many of our systems have become complex, in the mathematical sense. In complex systems there is no correlation between stimulus and response. Like the sand in the hourglass, we will not know when one grain of sand will cause a landslide. For many systems, the future will be unpredictable.

Because of the previous comments on systems, systems themselves become an integral part of the future. And, those that will be able to perceive broader perspectives of the systems and know how to work with systems will survive better than those that don't

Because our perceptions are being modified by the technologies we develop and use, the most perceptive individuals and organizations will thrive. They will be among the first to realize that altered perceptions will lead to opportunities and threats.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

What if human consciousness isn't the end-all and be-all of Darwinism? What if we are all just pawns in corn's clever strategy game, the ultimate prize of which is world domination? Michael Pollan asks us to see things from a plant's-eye view -- to consider the possibility that nature isn't opposed to culture, that biochemistry rivals intellect as a survival tool. By merely shifting our perspective, he argues, we can heal the Earth. Who's the more sophisticated species now?