Suddenly, we are talking about the fact that trees, through their roots, are exchanging information, nutrients; perhaps wisdom to enable the growth of forests.
Suddenly, we are being confronted by the discovery that became possible because we can now detect particle entanglement as a context of exchanging information at speeds that could exceed the speed of light.
Suddenly, we are able, through the Webb Telescope, to see things that are happening at times that are fantastically longer, and longer than anything we ever thought about as being possible to consider.
Suddenly, we are being confronted with a global population that has doubled within the lifetime of our senior citizens.
Suddenly, we are confronted to global pandemics, which are arising out of uncontrolled research and development in countries that never have had very sophisticated research facilities and rigorous control.
Suddenly, we have created digital tools that are able to translate any language to any other language in real time, so that all eight billion of us can talk to each other using nearly instantaneous translation.
Suddenly, we can “see” into the very core of a living creature and work in the genetic universe where control of us can be manipulated for good or evil, for fun, and maybe for war.
Suddenly, we are confronted with communication systems that can reach millions of people all over the earth, and which can present new truths and terrible lies that can influence and create deadly outcomes and wonderful celebrations.
Suddenly, we are aware of the consequences of global climate change, which will raise temperatures several degrees, causing massive floods, violent storms, drought, and deadly heat.
Suddenly, massive numbers of people are on the move from where they were born to other countries that must decide whether to accept them or turn them away.
Suddenly, there are over 3,000 billionaires on earth, 56,100,000 millionaires, and 8,000,000,000 people. Millions of scientists, millions of doctors, millions of nurses, teachers, artists, dancers, politicians, policemen, men and women, coders, designers, lawyers, truck drivers, chefs, writers, poets…
Suddenly, the idea of government has changed in so many areas of the world, making governance and the idea of caring for a nation and creating cultures not the goals that governments strive to achieve. Where governance once focused on long-term issues that are bigger and more complex than most governments can understand or control, they seem to be reactive to seemingly abstract positions of belief.
Suddenly, listening to ideas is becoming more attractive to the new generations than reading about ideas. The visual world is so intense and so overlaid with so many issues that listening has become the quiet place the ideas can be understood.
Suddenly, we are able to see the melting of the ice in the arctic and the Antarctic in real time.
Suddenly, the temperature of the atmosphere is steadily, erratically increasing, causing huge fires in the mountain areas and droughts in the plains.
Suddenly, people like you and me are forced to leave where they work and live, and walk hundreds of miles to places that are also drying up in a desperate desire to survive.
Suddenly, there are more than 2 billion people around the world playing Massive Multiplayer Games right now, and all the time. That is one quarter of the people on earth. And most people are oblivious that this is happening, and that it is creating ways for people to use the technology and communication tools to participate with other people. The implications for this will be very important to how we move forward over the next period of our lives. Many of the games are “war” type games, but many of the games are about building worlds. This cultural shift is happening everywhere.
Suddenly there are three kinds of people in the world: people who tell the truth, people who tell lies, and people who don’t know the difference and don’t know, or want to know whether what they are doing is the right thing to do. It is causing the most anxious and dangerous social climate of our time because of the massive communication tools that are tuned into by most of the people, most of the time.
Suddenly, you might integrate these insights into the next few minutes of your day… or not.