I am reading a great book by Daniel Pink called A Whole New Mind; Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future .
If you have ever been discouraged about why the world seemed to cater to more structured, linear, fact oriented people...
or struggled with those horrid multiple choice questions when the answer was neither a,b,c, or d...
or wondered why those damned government offices couldn't at least paint their walls a pretty color...
or have ever had a promotion or job opportunity go to someone else because you appeared to be too artsy and therefore supposedly less organized...
or wondered why a number two pencil was superior to a purple crayon...
...if even one of these thing apply to you, take heart!
According to Pink the world is changing. At least the North American part. We no longer are seeking excess, but are now craving meaning. Information no longer has the value it once had because thanks to the internet, everyone can get any fact they want with two clicks in Google. What was the valuable information age is now cheap, and those high paying info jobs are now shipped overseas.
So what is the new currency?
Art.
Ok, I am simplifying a bit, but I can't help it. Truly, the new valued commodity is big picture thinking, design oriented problem solving, and touch(story). All things generated from the right side of the brain. Even those horrible SAT's are outmoded.
It is like some sort of cosmic payback for all those folk that couldn't understand that creating beauty in the world had any value. Now that people are seeking meaning instead of wealth, the tables have turned, and the new highly coveted job skill is...
graphic design.
Yea, I was kind of surprised too, but it makes sense when you think of how much of our world is now demanding great design (except for those gov't offices).
Anyway, if you are curious, crack open Pink's book. It takes a good look at what this next age will be, and how the need for meaning has replaced the need for things.
Leave a comment