Your question about technology forcing a new kind of cultural evolution is a great one. It points to the fact that we are living in a time when by conventional definition we are exceeding our carrying capacity in unprecedented ways.

If a new kind of cultural evolution will be forced by the new convergence, the components of that convergence will likely include not just new tech, new process, new information and/or greater spiritual awareness. It will likely also include a heaping dose of ecological disaster as well. And from here it looks like all of these elements are on the immediate horizon.

But I don’t want to sound like a doomsayer. I agree with you that such a transformation is not only possible but inevitable. Following the teachings of the Aikido masters, our challenge is to learn to take adversity and to transform or sublimate it’s energy into creative and productive growth.

I have great expectations for the potential results that will be possible through social technologies. A lot of people are still thinking about how to use social media to monetize, and I understand that. But there’s so much more going on. I think that being able to connect to the world is changing us in a way that’s never been possible before in human history. I think that barriers can be broken, and assumptions and stereotypes and prejudices can be questioned, and general empathy towards other humans is possible now that we are able to peek into other people’s realities and see what they see. I don’t expect there to be a complete eradication of hate or war, but I hope there to be more peace and love.

I think as we continue to develop solutions to give people basic needs (water, food, shelter, economic potential to thrive/support a family), the types of global conversations that are being had will shift to a higher level. We have a long way to go, but I’m trying to do my small part on this blog, by suggesting new ways of looking at and thinking about things.

You brought up tragedy of the commons, which just made me think of something…… as I’ve been doing research to help build this metathinking theory, and as I look at these ‘classic’ texts and papers that we consider foundational for understanding human behavior and motivation, I’m realizing that we may need to abandon much of what we “know” as we move forward. The environment we live in today is fundamentally different than when those things were written, and we can’t study today’s reality through an old paradigm or framework that doesn’t apply anymore.

hmm… i wonder what that would mean for understanding the meaning of “knowledge” anymore… (a great read on this question is the book The Postmodern Condition, by Jean-Francois Lyotard).

sure, humans are humans, and we have our basic drives… but i wonder if technology is forcing a kind of cultural evolution?

I suggest that we are, in fact, talking about a change in consciousness. As you explore this further I suggest you consider looking through very well established doorways to consciousness, in tools such as Buddha’s Five Mindfulness Meditations.

I love this! I laughed out loud at the slides:

How does this mesh with traditional business thinking?

It doesn’t

I’m definitely going to use this as a reference in some upcoming post. I like your blog too.

I’ll look forward to you next posts…..

http://www.slideshare.net/leighhimel/greenman-marketing?src=embed