Thinking of Thinking for Thinking's Sake

For a “new millennium,” the world is sure a bloody mess, these days, proving once again that newer is not always better. Even really smart people get disappointed, aggravated, and yeah, even PISSED OFF at the rampant ignorance and stupidity.

What to do about it? If world affairs continue on the current trajectory, what is the rational motivation for creating a posthuman future? If this is the way that groups, corporations, and countries behave, why bother EXTENDING this version of civilization?

Clearly, how we think about the present and future will substantively shape it; but what have we learned about thinking itself, so far? If you ask me, Edward Feigenbaum sums it up best in this roundtable discussion. We need a scientific discipline of thinking itself, of the same nature as physics or chemistry. Take a brief glimpse backward to better inform the way forward with Robert Kuhn’s excellent series Closer to Truth, online at ResearchChannel - Thinking Out the Last Millennium.

Don’t stop at this single program, though, the entire series is both entertaining and informative.