The world is becoming a very regimented and ordered place. O.K. maybe not the entire world, but at least the American workplace is. At least from my perspective, an increasing number of jobs are so regulated that they eliminate the need for the worker to make any decisions whatsoever. In part, I blame computers. Don’t get me wrong, I love computers, but they’re now complex and cheap enough to automate a lot of the things that used to require thought and judgment.
Some examples: In high-school and during college summer breaks I used to flip burgers. Over the years I worked for just about all the major chains and they were all basically the same. All had reduced the art of cooking into the science of food processing. The precise time to cook meat, toast buns, was measured out and tracked by machines. Even ketchup and mayonnaise came in special dispensers that would meter out the exact amount. You can bet that the day it becomes cost-effective to have computers cook the food, they will. That will be the day a lot of people lose their jobs.
I’m told that many telephone customer service jobs have a little window on the screen that suggests what the rep should say. This is has been standard with telemarketers for years.
Maybe I’m exaggerating, but it’s already happened in the manufacturing sector. Robots have been phasing out factory workers for the past thirty years. Any number of books explain how the country has gone from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy. Most also suggest that we are transitioning to an idea-based economy. As a country we have mastered creating goods and providing services already. The only area where there’s room for improvement is the realm of the conceptual.
What this means for you, and more importantly, your kids is that creativity is more important than ever. If you want them to grow up and get a prosperous job– one that won’t be replaced by a machine in their lifetime– they’ll need to be able to formulate creative solutions to problems… to be creative.
Admittedly, being creative won’t guarantee success, just like brains and a college education don’t guarantee it now. I’ve known an awful lot of intelligent, educated people wrestling with poverty. On the other hand, I don’t know any rich people that are uneducated or below-average intelligence, meaning that smarts and schooling count for something.
There’s not a career that doesn’t benefit from creativity. Wouldn’t it be nice to have politicians offer some creative solutions instead of the same tired options? What if someone found a cure for cancer? A safer kind of anti-freeze? Science actually takes a lot of creativity. The guy who figured out how to combine a camera and a mobile telephone will never have to worry about finding a job. Not because he made millions on the deal, but because he’s demonstrated that he has important skills… and creativity.
You want your kids to succeed and be happy. I want them to succeed and be happy. Admittedly you want them to do well because you love them. I want them to do well because they’ll earn more money, pay more taxes, and be better able to support the system which I plan to burden with myself in my old age. Thirty-five years from now it’s your kids taxes that will be paying my medical bills… and maybe yours too.
So let’s do everything we can to help them be creative.
Popularity: 5% [?]
