It is common knowledge that in the past facts have been disproven. The fact that the Earth was the center of the solar system was ‘known’ until it was ‘known’ that the Sun was the center of the solar system. It was ‘known’ that the Earth was flat until it was ‘known’ that the Earth was round. Through the past thousands of years as science has gotten more and more advanced, we have updated what is known as fact in our society.
Today, science and technology is constantly being advanced and improved upon. This means that what we know to be fact is constantly changing as well. Partially this is due to the accessibility to global knowledge, allowing exchange of information almost everywhere almost instantly, and partially it is due to the same theory that biological evolution is built on. Biology advances itself by building on the ‘best’ aspects of past generations, the same thing we do by building on technological and scientific advancements of past generations.
Moore’s Law, though initially related to the development of computer chips, is reflective of overall technological development. The law, looked at generally, implies that technological advancement occurs at an exponential rate. This of course relates to scientific discovery, as science has access to improved technology that allows for improved experimentation and such.
This has led to an increased rate of discovery and updated facts. This means that facts have a half-life, that is to say, facts are not permanent and essentially ‘die’ over time as new theories and realities replace existing knowledge.
“Okay, we get it!” you are thinking, “But what does it have to do with this blog?” Good question.
As facts would change over decades or centuries, and in isolated areas of the globe, it was less necessary for people to focus on lifelong learning. A farmer would learn their craft from mentors and experience and have little change over the years in how they worked. Now, however, I know a farmer who grew up hand-milking cows in a barn who now runs a large building, silver and disinfected, in which machines can scan a cow and know everything about it. It means that a computer can optimize the milking of hundreds of cows (or more) knowing which ones are pregnant or are sick or belong to any other factor group that affects how it should be milked. Similarly, which cow gets fed which type of food with which additives and which amount is all decided on an individual level for each cow based on algorithms of a computer.
All this happened in one lifetime, and this farmer will likely experience even more changes to his craft in his decades to come.
In every business, in every field of expertise, to remain an expert one must constantly keep themselves up to date. Ultimately this means one must accept that they are never completely up to date and must consider themselves always to be on a journey of learning. A daunting concept for many to embrace!
If we accept the fact that things are in a constant state of change, we can also understand that this truth is also applicable to our own being. Each day, each experience changes us in the way we think and act and feel. This change in behaviour and personality and values bleeds into our relationships, our work, and every other aspect of our lives, making it one of the most important aspects of changing facts that we must understand and approach with an open mind.
Biological evolution is much slower than what we are currently experiencing in the scientific and technological communities. This means developing an open mind and a lifelong learning mindset is the responsibility of each individual in an active manner. Only this way can we ensure we are up to date on the hard skills and knowledge of our chosen field of work, as well as the soft skills of interpersonal skills and the intrapersonal knowledge of our own selves.
As we all have so much time to ourselves in the current worldwide quarantine, I urge you to take some time to reflect on your own mindset. Are you open to change? Really? Are you up to date in your field? What about in understanding yourself and how you work and live with others around you? What can you do to make the best of both situations, to become better?
Challenge yourself.
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