Moving into the 'shift age'

Futurist David Houle explains to students and faculty how the popularity of cell phones demonstrates the growth of technology and communication in the new ‘shift age’. Photo courtesy of Judy Longshaw of University RelationsBy Catherine Zende
zendec@mytjnow.com

We are living in a whole new age, according to futurist David Houle. The futurist visited Winthrop to discuss his idea of the “shift age” and all the technological and social changes that come with a new decade, century and millenium.

Houle coined the term “shift age” to reflect the changes people have experienced and will continue to experience in the future. “The whole world, most aspects of everybody’s life, is going to go through a shift,” Houle said.

Houle’s book The Shift Age discusses the transition from the Information Age of the late 20th century to the new age known as the shift age. 

“We are about 1 percent through the new millennium. The last time that was said it was the year 1012,” Houle said. For perspective, that was the beginning of the Middle Ages.

For Houle, the shift age represents “an impressive point in history.” Houle explained thhat the previous ages (Industrial Age and Information Age) differ from the new century because the current age is about rapid change and growth.

The “shift age” is characterized by the rapid change that is occuring. “If you accept the obvious premise that the speed of change today is ten times faster than it was in 1012, then all of the change that we [humanity] have experienced in the last 1,000 years will be the amount of change we will experience in the next 100 [years],” Houle said.

Houle addressed this change with the audience he believes will be most affected—college-age individuals. 

He addressed the crowd of students in Dina’s Place by emphasizing the ‘millennial’ generation’s unique situation in the world. “You are maturing and being graduated at a time of incalculable, immeasurable change,” Houle said. “Future historians are going to look back and say this was one of the most transformative times in history. It’s a fabulous time to be alive.”

Houle cited three important forces for the shift age: a “flow to global”, a “flow to the individual” and “accelerated connectedness.” 

The “flow to global” concept deals with global interdependence. “We are in the global stage of human evolution,” Houle said. 

According to Houle, this global trend means that the nation-state political system is not always capable of solving global issues.

On a more personal scale, the shift age means a “flow to the individual” that creates more choice for people. “We as individuals have more power than individuals have ever had in human history,” Houle said.

But “accelerated connectedness,” according to Houle, is the single most important force in the shift age and one of the most important forces in human history. Houle explained the concept of “accelerated connectedness” by using cell phones as examples. 

He gave the example that the difference between calling someone who is 10 feet away and someone who is 10,000 miles away amounts to around two extra seconds, thereby connecting people all around the world in a matter of seconds. 

Houle also stressed that the transformation decade (and the new century) are about protecting Earth. “It is the Earth century,” Houle said.

After discussing the trends and changes that will create significant change in the new millenium, Houle concluded the lecture with a quote from Miguel de Unamuno: “We should try to be the parents of our future, rather than the offspring of our past.”

For more information about David Houle and the “shift age,” Houle suggests emailing him at david@davidhoule.com or following him on Twitter @evolutionshift.