Engineering in a World of Gerontocracies

One of the better news documentaries currently on television is HBO's Vice.  They consistently do the best at covering the "wicked" problems - the wildly difficult or impossible problems that don't have clear solutions or pathways.

This week covered (again) climate change in terms of rising levels.  Watch the entire episode.  One of my takeaways was the demographics of the attendees at the various "denier" conferences and conventions. On average, the attendee groups are male, pale, and stale in their thinking and appearance. This is just one example of a huge problem that engineers and technologist face this century.  From investing in our crumbling infrastructure to the hard economic choices of climate change - a world governed by gerontocracies is all about placating the voting elderly with the levels of income support and health care they have been promised.  Placating involves two paths: (1.) not investing in those systems that have future benefits in terms of social, environment, and economic goods, or (2.) taxing an ever-shrinking pool of workers (and therefor enervating the economy).  Both paths have rather ugly outcomes - both involve paying for the past and dis-investing in the future.

In the World of Gerontocracies - - male, pale, and stale is the new ruling class.  This is not good news for engineering.