Human Adaptation and the Ingenuity Gap

I have been working for many years on the problem of adaptation: how societies or organisms, species, or systems of various kinds adapt to complex and rapid change. In this paper, I will outline my theories and my thinking about adaptation as summarized in the book, The Ingenuity Gap. I will also highlight five aspects of education for the future: education for complexity and what that means; education for reconnection to the micro and macro scales around us; education that increases our respect for experiential knowledge; education that will encourage a recognition of our connectivity through time, from the present into the future; and finally, education to broaden our conception of values. I’ll touch on each one of these points in my presentation today.