My husband Ron wrote this summary of A Whole New Mind for his blog e-piphanies. I am republishing sections of it here for your consideration. It has broad implications for how we teach our children. Please leave comments if you have anything to add.
In 2005, former White House speechwriter Daniel H. Pink published a thoughtful and informed commentary on how R-Directed (right brain) Thinking is superseding L-Directed (left brain) Thinking as we make the transition from the Information Age and enter the Conceptual Age. In this new age, high tech is no longer enough. Well-developed high-tech capabilities will have to be supplemented by high-concept and high-touch abilities. I just got around to reading this book and am glad I did!
In, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Pink contends that in much of the Western World, the demand for L-Directed emphasis is diminished due to three causes: Abundance, Asia, and Automation.
Abundance - Our left brains have given us an abundance of things and that has lessened their significance. So, we look for those things that stand out. What makes things stand out is often a function of their design, a right brain directed activity. We want not only utility but significance in our stuff. We have a desire for beauty and transcendence.
Asia - People in other parts of the world are capable of performing left brain directed work at a fraction of the cost. That usually elevates their quality of life but reduces the demand for similar positions here. "One in four IT jobs will be offshored by 2010," says Pink. He suggests that we think of this as an opportunity to develop a new set of aptitudes, "using R-Directed abilities such as forging relationships rather than executing transactions, tackling novel challenges instead of solving routine problems, and synthesizing the big picture rather than analyzing a single component."
Automation - Many heavily left brain directed professions and pursuits can now be done by machines. However, machines have not yet been able to accomplish what our right brains do. So, software can now write software that was formerly written by human programmers, leaving them free to devote more attentioin to creativity, tacit knowledge, and the big picture. Much of medical diagnosis can be guided by computers that process the binary logic of decision trees used by physicians, moving this profession more toward empathy, narrative medicine, and holistic care. And,, inexpensive information and advice services are reshaping the practice of law, giving attorneys more incentive to develop their skills in "counseling, mediation, courtroom storytelling, and other services that depend on R-Directed Thinking."
Pink writes, "in the Conceptual Age, we will need to complement our L-Directed reasoning by mastering six essential R-Directed aptitudes. Together these six high-concept, high-touch senses can help develop the whole new mind this new era demands."
1. Not just function but also DESIGN.
2. Not just argument but also STORY.
3. Not just focus but also SYMPHONY.
4. Not just logic but also EMPATHY.
5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY.
6. Not just accumulation but also MEANING.
At the end of his discussion of each of these senses, the author offers a portfolio of excellent exercises and resources for the reader's further exploration.
