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David Brooks' 'The Cognitive Age'

ronr327

Posts: 614
 Joined: 2003-02-15

I came upon a line of thinking about ten years ago.[See above (and below, at the bottom of this site)].

The following is a passage from a David Brooks New York Times Op-Ed ‘The Cognitive Age’ which appeared May 2, 2008:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02brooks.html?ei=5087&em=&en=1628bc39165590dc&ex=1209960000&pagewanted=print

Quote:
“The chief force reshaping manufacturing is technological change (hastened by competition with other companies in Canada, Germany or down the street). . . . The central process driving this is not globalization. It’s the skills revolution. We’re moving into a more demanding cognitive age. In order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information. This is happening in localized and globalized sectors, and it would be happening even if you tore up every free trade deal ever inked. . . . . The globalization paradigm emphasizes the fact that information can now travel 15,000 miles in an instant. But the most important part of information’s journey is the last few inches — the space between a person’s eyes or ears and the various regions of the brain. Does the individual have the capacity to understand the information? Does he or she have the training to exploit it? Are there cultural assumptions that distort the way it is perceived? . . . The globalization paradigm leads people to see economic development as a form of foreign policy, as a grand competition between nations and civilizations. . . . . But the cognitive age paradigm emphasizes psychology, culture and pedagogy — the specific processes that foster learning. It emphasizes that different societies are being stressed in similar ways by increased demands on human capital. If you understand that you are living at the beginning of a cognitive age, you’re focusing on the real source of prosperity and understand that your anxiety is not being caused by a foreigner.”

The Cognitive Age

IN OTHER WORDS: A world that prospers by the educated creativity of its people.

Its taken ten years, but people are getting there. I saw a Charlie Rose interview last night with Fareed Zakaria on his new book: 'The Post-American World' which seems to enfold the same consciousness.

I have never taken to my particular formulation of the idea. But calling it the Cognitive Age doesn't quite hack it for me either. . . A little too remote. How about a world that prospers by Cognitive Creativity, (or the Cognitive Creativity of its people.)?

A world that prospers no longer by the strength of our backs and sweat of our brow, but by the Cognitive Creativity of its people.

Kind of like it!

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Submitted on Sat, 2008-05-03 23:45