Efficient Diverse Beavers See Time Differently

And we're back...

It has been a while since the last issue, but hey, life happens. And so does change—and the last two months have been change on overdrive. A lot to keep up with for someone who makes a living studying and navigating change.

But it’s time to get back in the saddle and dive into it—the good, the bad, and the strange.

A new issue and a new volume

This is the first issue of The Mudge Report, Vol. 2. I’m changing up the format a bit, introducing a few new sections, and streamlining others. In this issue, I’m introducing Wildcard Pick, where I present a different wildcard possibility that could have a significant impact on the future. I’ll also be inviting more guest posts, so if you’re interested, let me know.

SIGNALS

Glimpses of possible futures across three time horizons

Horizon 1 [H1]: Now | Horizon 2 [H2]: 5-10 yrs | Horizon 3 [H3]: 10+ yrs

So many signals—where do I begin? Let’s start with a teaser.

Coming this spring, you’ll have access to all of my signals in a public library I’m creating. You’ll find everything from obscure deep dives to the most relevant and pressing trends. Stay tuned.

A dam good idea [H3]: While terms like "diversity" and "efficiency" may cause anxiety for some, beavers cannot understand human language and could care less. If they see a problem, they are eager to fix it. The Latin Times reports Beaver Colony Does Humans a Huge Solid, Completes Dam Project Held Up by Government Bureaucracy: 'Beavers Always Know Best'. "The beavers not only solved a drainage problem, but also saved authorities an estimated $1.23 million." Now I know who to hire for my farm improvements.

I can see clearly now...[H2]: Getting older can take its toll, especially on our eyes. Many of us result to using "readers" to see things up close that we used to have no issues with. This leads to the well known "I can't find my glasses" syndrome. Brighter Side News reports on eye drops that could allow some to ditch the glasses. This of course could lead to the lesser known "I can't find my eyedrops" syndrome. But hey, one problem at a time.

1 in 10 [H1]: This may come as a shock to some, but not everyone is the same. I know we all like to put things in boxes we find familiar or aligned with our values, but that's now how the world works. More and more people are breaking out of the cisnorm box and identifying as LGBTQ+ - Nearly One in 10 U.S. Adults Identifies as L.G.B.T.Q., Survey Finds according to the NYT. Is it something in the water? Nope. It is “largely driven by the many decades of gradual increasing societal acceptance,” according to Dr. Mitchell R. Lunn quoted in the article. And that makes sense. As we better understand social change, we know that social acceptance is a powerful force that allows us to change (or hold strong) to perceptions.

Time keeps on slipping [H3]: There are a lot of recent physics reports that have us rethinking time. Scientific American reports In the Quantum Realm, Time’s Arrow Might Fly in Two Directions and Brighter Side News reports Time is an illusion resulting from quantum entanglement. And if you really want to dive deep - check out The Order of Time by Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli. As we reevaluate our relationship with time, might we find new ways of perception? We are limited to a large extent by the way our brains work, but as we experiment with bio and tech neural enhancements, could we also be able to better perceive the quantum realities? Now if we can just stop changing our clocks every 6 months.

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads [H2]: OK, we still need roads, and roads need repair. But construction traffic is a pain and unsafe. This innovation reported by New Atlas Portable bridge unlocks road construction without traffic diversions shows promise to reduce traffic and improve worker safety.

WILDCARD - Fusion at Scale

While there are a lot of recent reports and promises around generating fusion energy at a cost efficient scale, it is still far from a certainty. And the ability to scale to rising global energy demands may be a ways off. However, like all wildcards, this has the potential to transform civilization within a generation in ways we can barely speculate. It could be as transformative to civilization as agriculture.

COMMENT BELOW

What are some of the direct and indirect impacts of fusion at a global scale? I would love to hear your thoughts.

MAKING SENSE

The world may seem like a complexity sht-storm right now, but hey, I think I have figured it out. After months of studying global political change, I came across this old meme and I think it sums it up quite nicely.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Books

This issue I am referencing Feb. reading pics from leadership coach Hank Wethington. I have not read these yet but they are now on my short list. (OK, to be fair I think my short list is about 30 books right now, but that's not new).

Speaking of short lists, on my desk right now is the amazing Andy Hines most recent book, Imagining After Capitalism. I highly recommend this book. I have studied and worked with Andy and have been eager for this to come out. It may seem "unimaginable" for many to rethink capitalism, but this book will open your imagination to some very compelling ideas.

What to Watch

While I was very sick this winter, I spent some time catching up on my short video list and finally got to catch the Netflix live action Cowboy Bebop. The visual style, writing, and acting of this show kept me sane, even during a fever. And it feels a bit feverish (in a good way). This is now one of my favorite shows. John Cho as Spike Spengler is so good! If you like good visual sci-fi, I highly recommend it.

THE FINAL WORD

Want More?

Great! Please subscribe and stay tuned. I am always on the look out for interesting topics, recommendations, events, and discussions. Reach out to me if you want to be part of the conversation. You can also read my blog on Medium and contact me on LinkedIn or my website. Meanwhile, keep creating better futures!

Cheers!