Daniel Pink and the ancients
Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 09:07AM Daniel Pink's "right brain skills" from A Whole New Mind are offered up as critical to success in the 21st Century. I couldn't agree more.
But I find it interesting that these aren't exactly revolutionary new human attributes and abilities, as I've been thinking about touring Jordan...
DESIGN
Wall carving in the 7th century castle of Adjun in northern Jordan.
STORY
Petroglyphs, Wadi Rum, southern Jordan.
SYMPHONY
Tomb carved into rock, Petra.
EMPATHY
Roman theater, Amman. (We are meant to empathize with characters from plays, yes?)
PLAY
Roman hippodrome (race track), Jerash.
MEANING
Temple of Aphrodite, Jerash.
Have these skills not been vital to successful people of all ages in successful civilizations? Perhaps it was just something we'd lost sight of in the Industrial Age?
Oh, I overheard a tour guide arguing some bit of historic speculation with a British tourist at one of the sites. She said she was offend by his premise. His defense:
But I heard this on the Discovery Channel!
Small, and shrinking world. I want to see it before there are McDonalds, Starbucks and KFCs on every corner of every country and tour guides learn all they know from cable television.
Sigh...
Reader Comments (4)
I assume everyone is really thinking "aha, here's some bsI can use on the suits" when they read AWNM.
Hi Tom,
Well, I guess one person’s legitimate concerns are another person’s BS. (Your comment was a bit cryptic, I’m afraid.)
Always fun to hear from you,
Doug
What I mean is "Oh, here's a book that argues for something I already believe, in a way that is more transient and shallow than I really think, but it might give me a fresh angle for making an argument aimed at, say, teachers or school board members."
Hi Tom,
And you say “shallow” like it’s a bad thing. I’d call the book accessible.
Thanks for the clarification.
Doug