Thomas Dixon writes well. His prose is engaging, and he includes enough personal anecdote to enliven his serious topic. His main thesis is that the world increasingly faces complex problems that are non-linear in nature. Our neolithic brains, while they evolved to enable us to thrive in a diverse range of environments, are hitting their capacity in dealing with rising complexity. There are 2 sides of the equation. There is a rising need for ingenuity, and there is the supply of ingenuity, which rises more slowly. We tend to focus on trying to increase our supply of ingenuity, for example our vast investment in higher education, technology, and specialised expertise. We don't often think of imposing constraints, to prevent the problems from getting too complex. See [[Subtract]]. His arguments would support a degrowth thesis. [[Degrowth]] --- Another important point he makes is against optimists who think that every natural resource can be replaced or substituted by something more abundant. But what they miss is that this requires far more ingenuity than their society can supply. --- He identifies empathy and cooperation as critical skills to nurture in the battle to close the ingenuity gap. He comes across as a humane observer, even though I don't always agree with him from a Hospicing Modernity perspective - [[Reference Notes/Hospicing Modernity]] --- He seems to suggest that [[Metanoia]] is necessary. > One fundamental change that could slow things down gets far too little attention: change in our values and in our perception of ourselves. He identifies "awe" as a critical experience to restore our connection to nature. > But we really need to think less about what we want, and to remember instead our place in the broader scheme of things; to feel occasionally some awe before nature; and to reintroduce some real humility and prudence into our collective consciousness. --- He also uses the power of metaphor. He sees in the pyramids of the Luxor in Las Vegas, a symbol of man's attempt to control complexity.