Comments

I couldn't find the (possibly) WSJ article Tom mentions. So, if anybody else finds what he was reading, please drop the link into the comments. Thanks!

Posted by cathy mosca at October 15, 2009 10:17 AM

Thought provoking. One in seven US adult are illiterate. The next generation of US citizens will be less literate than the one before it. Could it be that the 10% rate of unemployment is a new floor for sustainable employment, at least until we wake up to our new reality and begin to train/educate for it? And with respect to Crackberries, do we have any evidence of increased productivity or simply increased insomnia, higher stress and a significant increase in SSRI prescriptions to show for it?

Posted by David Porter at October 15, 2009 12:43 PM

In other words, "Make (hard) things now. If not now when?"

Posted by zorro at October 15, 2009 1:38 PM

Basically we have proved Maslow wrong! The removal of the need (generally not totally) of physical security and greater fulfilment should have us well on our way to self actualisation by now.

Although society has started to move on from the material goods emphasis towards a “value” emphasis (emotional connection to brands, more interesting experience, cool apps etc), we have just substituted one consumer desire for another.

Soon we will view the glut in “value” the same way we view the glut in material goods.

It’s not taking us any further forward.

Human beings have so much potential that is not realised.

Need to save your soul? – there’s an app for that.

ps - I don't have a blackberry - I am a free man!

Posted by PaulH at October 16, 2009 4:02 AM

Nice, PaulH!

Posted by tom peters at October 16, 2009 7:35 AM

I had the DiVinci Robotic Prostatectomy just over two years ago, no side effects for me.

Posted by Jim at October 16, 2009 7:56 AM

Great post, Tom. Thanks you. It seems to be all about purpose and meaning. In our search for purpose we find meaning. But that does not mean that meaning was not present all the time or that purpose was not being actualized simultaneously. The universe was indeed expanding over time but it was technology, our building things, that enabled us to see what actually had been occuring over some 13.5 to 14 billion years. I posit that we are indeed moving foward but perhaps it will take many eons before the movement is realized. It seems important for us to seek out both our individual and collective purposes honestly and this will bring meaning to life. But building, making stuff, is important for self-discovery and creativity, if not for sustainability alone. Globalization has been a major disaster! People need something to do with their hands and minds. Outsourcing takes no creativity, no problem-solving skills at all, and the masses of people need to work. We have even outsourced war. Greed and power, whether with nation states or global corporations are great motivators. Let's hope we can reverse courses a bit.

Posted by Judith Ellis at October 16, 2009 10:38 AM

"high tech" that lets us "record 'Caraoke' singalongs to the car radio and post them straight to their Facebook page.""

I bet the people who have this feature get very excited when airline personel ask if they need thier glasses wiped.
Maybe you'd be really impressed with airline workers that offer to wipe your ...
Think about it -

Posted by zorro at October 17, 2009 10:42 PM

Why is it alway so easy to blame everyone but ourselves for the economy, meaningless products, robot operations and so on. I think that what Bob Dylan was getting at with these lyrics.

Who Killed Davey Moore?
Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not i," says the referee,
"don't point your finger at me.
I could've stopped it in the eighth
An' maybe kept him from his fate,
But the crowd would've booed, i'm sure,
At not gettin' their money's worth.
It's too bad he had to go,
But there was a pressure on me too, you know.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not us," says the angry crowd,
Whose screams filled the arena loud.
"it's too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight.
We didn't mean for him t' meet his death,
We just meant to see some sweat,
There ain't nothing wrong in that.
It wasn't us that made him fall.
No, you can't blame us at all."

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not me," says his manager,
Puffing on a big cigar.
"it's hard to say, it's hard to tell,
I always thought that he was well.
It's too bad for his wife an' kids he's dead,
But if he was sick, he should've said.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."
[ Bob Dylan Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not me," says the gambling man,
With his ticket stub still in his hand.
"it wasn't me that knocked him down,
My hands never touched him none.
I didn't commit no ugly sin,
Anyway, i put money on him to win.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not me," says the boxing writer,
Pounding print on his old typewriter,
Sayin', "boxing ain't to blame,
There's just as much danger in a football game."
Sayin', "fist fighting is here to stay,
It's just the old american way.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"not me," says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist,
Who came here from cuba's door
Where boxing ain't allowed no more.
"i hit him, yes, it's true,
But that's what i am paid to do.
Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.'
It was destiny, it was god's will."

Who killed davey moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?
[Edited for repetition]

Posted by zorro at October 18, 2009 5:20 PM