Unlearning 101

The Test of a First Rate Mind

Two of my favorite writers and thinkers have recently released books. Clay Shirky has written a book entitled Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age in which he persuasively argues, among other things, that the Internet is making us smarter because it is allowing society to produce such knowledge accelerators as Wikipedia at virtually no cost.

On the other hand, Nicholas Carr has just released his book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, in which he outlines his thesis for why the Internet is making us dumber. (In a nutshell, Carr convincingly argues that the Internet distracts us and makes prolonged thought more difficult. In the process, the Internet is literally rewiring our brain.)

Over the weekend, the two men outlined their respective arguments in the Wall Street Journal. (Shirky’s argument can be read here and Carr’s here.)

So who is right? Many people will be swayed by various arguments and place themselves firmly on one side of the debate or the other. In my humble opinion, however, both men are right. The world isn’t black or white, it is black and white as well as various shades of gray—all at the same time.

This can be a difficult concept to grasp but as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “The test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

If you don’t believe this is true, just look at the optical illusion to the right. Does it say “true” or “false” or does it say both at the same time? Once you unlearn certainty and instead learn to embrace ambiguity, you will be one step closer to embracing the future.

Unlearning Empty Space

Artists can help revitalize urban spaces but first city planners and developers must unlearn some of their ideas about what retail spaces can be used for. To the right is a picture of an abandoned Blockbuster video store. Pictures like this are only going to become more common as people unlearn their reliance on DVDs and begin downloading and streaming movies directly from the Internet and into their homes.

The big question is: What happens with all of this empty retail space? Sure, a few stores will be replaced by neighborhood restaurants and new retailers but, for the foreseeable future, many will remain vacant. The result: urban blight

One strategy is to allow artists access to these spaces at a discounted rate. For example, a local community theatre group could use an old Blockbuster to perform new and innovative shows. Another option could be for local artists to use the spaces to show their latest paintings, sculptures, other pieces of art or even to teach classes.

The space is going to be physically empty. The best way to fill it is with the human creativity that resides within the human mind.

Rising Life Expectancies Require Unlearning

My focus on unlearning has been borne from my work as a professional futurist. As I explain in this video, the future is changing so fast that as a people and society we must constantly change our worldview. To this end, the Wharton School of Business recently published an formative and insightful article entitled So You Want to Live to 100? More of Us Will, and Here is What Life Might Look Like.

Among the key findings:

1. Governments will need to impose radical changes in public policy.
2. Older workers will increasingly be managed by younger supervisors.
3. There will be a growth in jobs that require only 15, 20 or 25 hours of work a week.
4. The 21st century may be a “century of redistribution of work” in which individuals will will combine work, education, leisure and child-rearing (and parent care) in varying amounts at different times in their lives.

In each case, the change will require unlearning. My question to you is this: Are you and your organization ready?

Related Posts

The Future of Aging
The Future of Aging is About to Get Easier

Unlearning Procrastination

There are five frogs sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many frogs are left sitting on the log? 

The answer is five.   

 Why? Because there is a big difference between deciding to do something and actually doing it. 

This is a particularly important point to recall on the day after Thanksgivings -- the official start of the Holiday Season. Undoubtedly, millions of American's over-indulged on food and drink yesterday and millions more will continue to do so over the next few weeks. (I would add that millions more will also continue to do so over the course of their lifetime ... but America's growing obesity problem is another story altogether.) 

Come January 1st, many people will "resolve" to lose the weight they have gained over the Holidays. Rather than engage in this annual -- and largely ineffective -- ritual, I'd like to suggest an alternative: "No Weight Gain December." Rather than promise to lose excess weight in a month's time, you should simply commit to not gaining any weight in December. 

The plan has three distinct advantages. First, you can begin today; second, not gaining weight is a more realistic goal in the sense that it doesn't require any dramatic change in your current behavior; and, three, if you are successful, it might provide the necessary inspiration and motivation come January should you resolve to begin losing weight.

The News Industry Must Unlearn -- Now!

This past summer, on my other blog , I posted this article: To Survive the Future, the Publishing Industry Must Unlearn the Past . Today, I came across this excellent post on the "future of news" from David Martin. I strongly encourage you to read it and here are two excellent quotes from the article which I hope will whet your appetite:

"Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma? At the top." -- Gary Hamel

"When it becomes necessary to develop a new perception of things, a new internal model of reality, the problem is never to get new ideas in, the problem is to get old ideas out. Every mind is filled with old furniture. It is familiar. It is comfortable. We hate to throw it out." -- Dee Hock

Unlearning the Escalator

Unlearning is simple. Sometimes, as this hilarious video demonstrates, it is as easy as walking. Other times, however, it requires a little more creativity. For a wonderful example of how society might want to unlearn our heavy reliance on the escalator, I invite you to watch this short video:

The Importance of Unlearning: A Matter of Life or Death?

I have often said that unlearning can be a matter of life or death (here, here and here) and I mean it. To add to my growing body of evidence, I submit this article from the Wall Street Journal. The article reports that hospitals can  dramatically lower the number of infections which strike patients by following a simple five-step checklist.

The matter is not inconsequential because unnecessary infections kill an estimated 80,000 patients every year! Given this astounding number, a person might rightfully think that doctors and nurses would be doing everything in their power to follow the simple checklist.

Well, you would be wrong. Again, according to the article, three years after the publication of the checklist its use remains limited. All the while thousands of patients are unnecessarily dying!

Why? One answer is because nurses don't believe it is "their job" to "police" doctors who are not following the checklist. The other problem is that doctors don't like being "second-guessed" by nurses because "it will make [them] look like [they] don't know something."

The nurses who don't believe it is their "job" need to unlearn their job description and redefine it so that the patients well-being (and not their own well-being) becomes the centerpiece of their job definition. And the doctors who don't like being second-guessed need to understand two things: First, it is OK to admit that you don't know everything (in fact this is the first step down the path of unlearning); and, second, they need to realize that unlearning requires them to check their ego.

Related Posts

Never Let Your Ego Keep You From Unlearning

Change or Die

Unlearn or Die

Unlearn or Die Even More Unnecessarily

Unlearning 101L Lesson #1: You Don't Know What You Don't Know

To Be Persuasive, Unlearn

Writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mark Bowden has an excellent commentary entitled "The lost art of influence." At one point he writes, "Being persuasive is hard, because it demands you consider that you might be wrong. To refute opposing points of view capably (and winningly) you must first really hear opposing points of view."

Admitting that you might be wrong and really listening -- the two traits (or skills) are also integral components of unlearning. Therefore, I'd argue, that if you want to enhance your skills of persuasion it would also behoove you to enhance your unlearning skills. 

Of course, I'm open to your ideas and I promise I'll really listen if you disagree with me.

Related Posts 

How Can Businesses (and People) Unlearn?

Unlearning Cable TV

The World is Changing, Unlearn

Take a Course in Unlearning

Learning to Unlearn

Unlearning Cable TV

Fellow author and change agent, Seth Godin, has an excellent post today entitled "The problem with cable news thinking" in which he outlines 12 ways cable television amplifies the worst elements of emotional reaction. After reviewing the list, it appears to me that all are things the cable industry would do well to unlearn; but 5, in particular, are also things that manyof us should seek to unlearn in other aspects of our lives:

1. Unwillingness to reverse course and change one's mind

2. Defense of the status quo encouraged by an audience self-selected to be uniform

3. Confusing opinion with the truth

4. Revising facts to fit a point of view

5. Unwillingness to review past mistakes in light of history and use those to do better next time

Related Posts

The World is Changing: Unlearn!

Unlearning Statistics

Unlearning Information

To Unlearn: Try Reading the Newspaper Backwards

In my 2008 book, Jump the Curve: 50 Essential Strategies to Help Your Company Stay Ahead of Emerging Technologies, one strategy I encourage people to employ from time to time is that of reading the newspaper backwards. Why? Because it can help you more clearly see where the future is headed. This, in turn, will reinforce why unlearning is so important to your survival.

Yesterday, for example, as I was returning from Dallas where I delivered a keynote presentation on the future of travel and tourism to the Texas Travel Industry Association, I began by reading the marketing section of the Wall Street Journal from back-to-front. Here’s what I noticed. On Page 8, it was revealed that Sarah Palin’s new book won’t be released in an E-book until after Christmas. This is noteworthy for the simple fact that it wouldn’t have been noteworthy as recently as last year. In other words, E-books have now become so popular that when a new book isn’t released in electronic format at the same time as the print version it qualifies as news. It’s clear from this development that e-book sales will only continue to rise at the expense of traditional hardcover books and that the publishing industry must unlearn some of its current assumptions.

On Page B7 there was a similar story, only this one related to the advertising industry: Web Ad Sales in Britain Overtake TV. On Page B6, it was announced that Lemmis Lighting is releasing a 20-year lightbulb. (Imagine this: In the future your kid or grandchild might not be able to change a lightbulb because it is something they only have to do once every two decades!) The broader implication is that both marketers and professionals in the lighting business will soon need to unlearn how they do business.

And then on Page B5 there were two articles of note. First, there was a small article announcing that Princeton University was testing Amazon Kindle’s DX e-book as part of a national pilot program; and, second, there was a larger article explaining that the airline industry is finally getting serious about employing RFID tags to track baggage. Both news stories reinforce the growing prevalence of e-books and RFID technology.

My friends, the future is here. To learn more about it all you need to do is read the back of the newspaper! If you do, I think you'll better understand why we must all continue to unlearn.

P.S. If you keep reading the 9/30/09 edition of the WSJ, on Page 3, there is article explaining why biobutanol might soon replace ethanol as America’s biofuel of choice. (It'd be wonderful if Congress could unlearn its infatuation with ethanol.)

Related Posts by America’s Chief Unlearning Officer, Jack Uldrich

A Future of Black Swans
The Future Requires Unlearning
Sur-Prize: The Future Can Be 10% Better