A boy once destroyed a ball with his teeth rather than let others keep playing.
He gained nothing. Everyone lost.
Carlo Cipolla called this stupid behavior. It is becoming more common.
We are getting worse at thinking. The OECD has been measuring the decline since 2006 – in reasoning, literacy, numeracy – across 24 high-income countries. In teenagers and adults alike. We all love to believe ourselves intelligent. The proof on the ground tells a different story.
Comfort replaced effort. Distraction replaced presence. Entitlement replaced empathy. Together, they erode the capacities that make us effective, connected, human.
I believe there are specific patterns that can help us out of the rabbit hole we’re digging ourselves in. Grounded in science. I connected the pieces to a new picture of what we can still be. If we want to.
The Fence Climber is a book about what happened. About the people who still climb. And about what becomes possible when enough of us decide to pay attention again.
Coming 2027.
Latest from The Fence Climber
- What I did when I had nothing to do – a story about flying saucers
- Do you ever ask yourself the question why you see what you see?