The Next 10-Years

The September 3, 2010 issue of The Chronicle Review ask numerous experts what the defining idea over the coming decade could or will be - - this is what they came up with:

• The End of Human Specialness - - The role of each human shifts from being a "special" entity to being a component of an emerging global computer. A new sort of "nerd" religion based around a core belief that a global brain is not only emerging but will replace humanity.
• The Internet Will Set You Free - - Over the next decade, closed cultures will find it increasingly difficult to keep their members from seeing and contacting people who live in more open societies.
• Abandoning Disciplines - - Breaking down disciplines with the goal of solving multidisciplinary problems with multidisciplinary discussions, debates, approaches, and solutions.
• Humility, Chutzpah, and the Future of Democracy - - "Humility" means knowing I must listen to others - - specially to those who seem most alien to me - - in order to understand and feel at home in a diverse world. "Chutzpah" means knowing my own voice and having the courage to speak it - - with respect for others and in confidence that my voice counts.
• Revalorizing the Trades - - Jobs, jobs, jobs. We need a sweeping revalorization of the trades. In a world of either the college educated and professional ellites or not - - we need something in between, like the guilds of old.
• A New Cosmopolitanism - - We need to regain our self-confidence, our dignity, as cosmopolites - - all young children must be taught that they are inheritors of the best in human thought.
• The Maddening Crowd - - The tension between the individual and the collective will result in handwringing about the value of expertise and that elusive element, genius. What good is a professional restaurant reviewer when the crowd can provide wider (if not necessarily deeper) coverage?
• Equity for Women (Still) - - The deeper question is whether we really believe men and women are equal.
• Declining Infrastructure, Declining Civilization - - We are collectively $2.2 trillion in the hole. Potholes know no politics; they will continue to develop as surely as rain turns to ice in winter. Infrastructure is a fancy contemporary term for what used to be known as public works. The change in terminology may have helped distract the voting public from seeing it as their collective obligation and a civic responsibility.
• Elemental Accounting - - Companies and governments alike could benefit from such "elemental accounting." Knowing what material and energy is going in and what is needed to retrieve the material can help companies look for new business opportunities for the retrieved material while helping regulators keep track of pollutants and enforce quality standards.
• Soul Science - - It became clear that the fundamental questions in the sciences overlap with questions in the arts and humanities, enabling collaborations between like-minded individuals in their respective fields.
• Putting Ideas to Work - - What about giving the government the right on granting patents (or copyrights), but then to purchase those patents at a fair price and place them in the public domain?
• Enough Already! - - The challenge of the next decade is to enlarge our minds and expand our souls, to be more mindful of the common needs of all humans and all creatures. Humans are the ultimate invasive species with an appalling record of exploitation and destruction. We cannot yearn for more and more and more in rising spirals of ruthless acquisition and expect to succeed.