There will not be time to get used to it

Back when things moved more slowly there were fewer of us, whoever you count as us. When there are two of us there is only one possible relationship. When there are four, and then twenty, the relationships grow exponentially and the relationships start relating to one another. When 7 billion of us, all moving at X kph, how many relationships, how fast? The world is not just faster. It is a different place. Every nanosecond.

An example: our diseases are not just growing immune to our toxins, they are morphing. What used to be acute conditions—cancer, heart disease—are now chronic—they may help kill us, but they take a longer—larger—toll. Consequently we are the first generation to face caring for dying people and for people who need, over decades, our help to breathe and move and shower and eat. Consequently our dis-eases are more complex than in years past. They are different.

I used to think we’d reach a time we’d say “Enough! Stop!” But I no longer think so. Rather we will create ever more quickly (because we love to create and we love speed) complexity and meta complexity. There will not be time to get used to it. Until we get used to it.

:- Doug.

Published in: Conversations | on October 9th, 2013 | No Comments »

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