Future Minds: How the Digital Age Is Changing Our Minds, Why This Matters, and What We Can Do About It

Description

We are on the cusp of a revolution. Mobile phones, computers and iPods are commonplace in hundreds of millions of households worldwide, influencing how we think and shaping how we interact. In the future, smart machines will compete with clever people for employment and even human affection. We are shifting to a world where knowledge will be automated and people will be rewarded instead as conceptual and creative thinkers. Hence being able to think and act in ways that machines cannot will become vital. Ideas are the currency of this new economy and curiosity and imagination are among the key raw materials. But what happens to the rigour of our thinking in a world where we never really sit still or completely switch off? What are some of the unexpected consequences of digital information on the 100 billion cells and quadrillion connections inside our brains? Future Minds illustrates how to maximise the potential of digital technology and minimise its greatest downside, addressing the future of thinking and how we can ensure that we unleash the extraordinary potential of the human mind. In this absorbing new book, discover all about: the sex life of ideas; the rise of the screenager; generations, gender and geography; delving deep inside your head; how to clear a blocked brain; why clever people make dumb mistakes; why we are so afraid of doing nothing; what we can do to reclaim our brains.

Richard Watson is an author, speaker and consultant who helps individuals and organizations to think ahead, with a particular emphasis on scenario planning. He is the founder of nowandnext.com, a website that documents global trends, and is co-founder of Strategy Insight, a scenario planning consultancy. His clients have included, among others, IBM, McDonald's, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Virgin, Department of Education, Public Libraries NSW, Ikea, Toyota, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Richard also writes for a number of business publications worldwide, including Fast Company (US), Future Orientation(Denmark), and Retail Banking Review (Australia). Richard was born in the UK and divides his time, rather unsuccessfully, between London and Sydney. Apart from two future minds (aged 8 and 10), his other interests include old cars, old wine, and fixing things in sheds.

A great case for how to think, not what to think in these fast moving and complex times. Watson's message is clear - our innate imagination and human ability to think deeply about life and issues are the best assets we have to deliver us safely to the future. Full of wonderfully inspired quotations, sage predictions and abundance of source material this is a "how to" that is a definitely a "must have." - Ellen Sideri, Founder & CEO, ESP Trendlab, New York "A reflective and insightful look into how the next generation will think, feel and shape our society" Baroness Susan Greenfield, CBE author of ID: The Quest for Meaning in the 21st Century