What is change? A different way of doing things? A different way of thinking? How about a different way of living? The dictionary gives more than 30 different definitions of the word. We all tend to agree that the only constant in our lives is change. This is usually viewed as good especially in the popular media which celebrates and endorses change. For something that plays such an important role in our lives, there is a fair amount of confusion regarding change.
Change can be viewed as physical growth. Over the course of a lifetime, the human body undergoes myriad changes. An old man walking slowly down the street (perhaps with the help of a cane) was once a strapping young lad who could undertake great physical exertions without considering it a big deal. Similarly an old lady quietly sitting in a corner was once a vivacious beauty with the confidence to hold her own in any company. These are physical changes that all of us will undergo as we age. These are however definitely not the most important changes that occur during our lifetimes.
Alternatively, change can be viewed as difference in forms of living. Modern lifestyles are very different from those of a generation ago. The lifestyles of our children will in turn be very different from our own. Most of these lifestyle changes occur because of the exponential nature of technological change. Until industrialization, technology changed in a fairly predictable, linear fashion. The rate of change was such that lifestyles changed over the course of centuries. Industrialization was a major discontinuity in this regard. The rate of change of technology became exponential regardless of the kind of technology and regardless of political and economic conditions. The nature of an exponential graph is such that it starts slowly and rapidly builds up and this is exactly what we are seeing today. Computing is a prime example whereby computing devices have become smaller and more powerful at an exponential rate. There is also no indication that this trend is going to change to the extent that even mainstream media is now starting to talk about Singularity - the idea that these changes will become so massive that we will have no basis of comparison in the past. As I have mentioned above, these changes in turn engender changes in the way we live and behave. I am talking about radical changes here. The kind of changes that are simply unimaginable to most of us today. The video below is an attempt to look at what our lifestyles may be like in just a few short years from now. And this vision is almost certainly not bold enough to reflect what we will (probably) actually encounter.
Change can also be viewed as a different way of thinking. This is the most important change of all. One of the great effects of technological (specially communications) advances has been that we are now exposed to different lifestyles, philosophies and ways of thinking. This has done two things. It has made us aware that our particular way of thinking or particular philosophy is not the only one. There are other, valid alternatives. The other effect is that this exposure has enriched our own thinking. Why are major metropolitan areas called cosmopolitan? It is because their inhabitants are exposed to these alternate points of view. This mixing of different viewpoints results in the evolution of everyone's thinking. It results in change and that in turn results in growth in understanding and maturity. These are the marks of a growth in wisdom.
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