The Upside of Down

I've been reading Thomas Homer-Dixon's excellent 2006 book "The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilisation." Not exactly a cheery topic, but what is remarkable and hopeful is how prescient his observations were 10 years ago.

He identifies the convergence of global stresses as if it's a running commentary of 2016, predicting much of the strangeness that has been rolling out all year. What strikes me, though, is how my perspective has changed from assuming that we're ill-equipped to overcome some of these stresses, to feeling that the political and socio-economic environment is never better for exploiting the opportunities in front of us.

In other words, we've been too comfortable. I see entrepreneurial, innovative people tackling some of these issues head-on through collaboration outside the normal channels. There will be much disruption ahead.