Last week, I made a case for optimism. I stand behind every word, but I realize some may find my case too soft. Today’s writing illustrates why optimism isn’t just wishful thinking.
Here’s the foundation: this is the most capable moment in human history. We have more tools, more knowledge, and more leverage than any generation before us. Sure, the scale and complexity of our problems match it – but that’s precisely why it’s an incredible time to be alive. We’re standing on the edge of dissolution and reinvention.
The systems and institutions that got us here won’t get us to 2050. That’s the story of our time.
So here’s the list. A nice encyclopedia of upside for when that downer in us (or our circle) says we’re screwed. Six reasons to be bullish on our future, complete with some caveats to keep us tethered to reality – because blind optimism doesn’t count.
Nutrition, remote work, mental health awareness – norms can shift in months, not decades. Our cultural plasticity is a hidden superpower. This flexibility shows up again and again in history, reminding us that culture isn’t fixed, it bends faster than we often assume.
What to watch for: Not all shifts are positive. Polarization and conspiracy theories can spread just as fast as positive norms – and in a fragmented information environment, it’s hard to dictate which way the current flows.
We now have tools – from open-source platforms to mass collaboration projects (think Wikipedia) to AI-assisted research – that let us harness intelligence from anywhere. Problems once left to experts can be tackled by networks of people worldwide. And because crises are now global by nature, this kind of distributed brainpower is exactly what’s needed.
What to watch for: The same platforms that democratize intelligence can also democratize delusion. Crowd wisdom only works when the crowd has good information to begin with.
Ten years ago, “feedback loops” and “systems thinking” were niche. Today, podcasts, newsletters, and online communities teach people to see complexity. More people are learning to trace issues back to root causes rather than reacting to surface symptoms – a fundamental shift in our ability to solve problems.
What to watch for: Complexity talk can get performative and wonky. Preaching “systems” only takes you so far – the magic is (of course) in the solutions that cut through them.
For decades, our greatest minds (and technologies) have operated in silos. Disciplines are now blending in ways that spark real breakthroughs: from regenerative agriculture to behavioral economics. When we blur the boundaries, we unlock entirely new lenses for approaching entrenched problems.
What to watch for: Intersections are fertile, but fragile – silos are still the default. Not all cross-pollination creates breakthroughs; some just creates complexity for complexity's sake.
Renewables are now the cheapest energy in history. AI is moving from fun toy to utility. Carbon removal has a path to scale. Unlike past eras, the tools we need actually exist. Adoption curves show that when solutions thread the needle of cost and convenience, change can snowball rapidly.
What to watch for: Tools only matter if politics, capital, and public trust line up behind them.
Podcasters, YouTubers, and TikTokers can pull big issues into mainstream culture. Not academics – creators. That’s how values can shift fast. Culture has always been downstream of stories, and today, the reach of individual storytellers is measured in millions.
What to watch for: More content also means more noise. Storytelling can orient us – but it can also overwhelm and confuse.
zoom out
It’s easy to forget where we sit in the timeline.
I’m not a “quit whining, it’s the best time to be alive” kind of guy — while statistically true, it’s lazy. It writes off real, existential problems by benchmarking against yesterday’s woes. But it is worth zooming out.
We started in caves. Then fire. Then crops. Then machines. Then computers that fit in our pockets. Each leap gave us leverage, but each leap also carried costs.
The beauty is: collapse and opportunity are the same door. Every civilizational leap has come when old systems cracked. The agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and the digital revolution — each opened because people were forced to rethink how they lived. We’re in one of those moments again.
That should be exciting – because it means we get to decide. We just need to think less about the next election cycle, and more about what this era asks of us as individuals and communities. About whether we can finally make human existence at scale work.
I refuse to believe we can’t. You shouldn’t either.
If not us, who?
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