AFTERMOST: "DO NOT FOLD, SPINDLE OR MUTILATE THE FUTURE" in Human Futures - April 2020 Issue

Tyler Mongan, Managing Editor and CEO, HAKU Global

In 1937 IBM was processing 5 -10 million punch cards everyday. I recall my grandmother telling stories of life in the 1940’s, working with this “advanced” form of technology. These stiff pieces of paper, with the presence or absence of holes, were an essential part of digital data processing. If you grew up during this era you would be familiar with the famous line engraved on the cards, “Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate”, reminding you that these cards needed proper handling to ensure for future use.

In the 1980’s punch cards faded away and magnetic disk storage became the new norm. For my grandmother this new technology was part of a futuristic world that she would never understand, but for me these magnetic floppy disks were the gateway to exploring the future of technology. 40 years later the future I was dreaming of as a child… with smartphones, emails, computer applications, live video streaming and conference calls and instantaneous data transfer….is in reality much more than I could have imagined in the 1980’s.

I wonder what futures the next generation will imagine?

March 1, 2020 was World Future Day. Nations and cultures celebrate many days throughout the year, but Future Day might be the only day dedicated to thinking and dialoguing about how the future is transforming us and how we can create a more positive future. As I reflect back on my education, I realize there was no formal training on how to think about the future, rather the future was something you just dealt with as it emerged. On the other hand, I spent many hours studying and memorizing the past. I wonder how that affected my ability to imagine the future as a child?

Maybe we need more than just one day dedicated to public discourse about the future. Within the current context of uncertainty, complexity and exponential change, the future demands more attention. But when we look to the future, it does not seem so bright. Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2020, which was started in 2001, reports a growing inequality and distrust in the future. People fear being left behind, losing jobs, and being led into the future by unethical leadership. For most people the future seems folded, spindled or mutilated…an unusable punch card…and nothing can be done to fix it.

Neuroscience research reminded us that the brain sees the world not as it is, but as we are. Within a growing narrative of fear and helplessness, the next generation, 1.8 billion highly connected and digital sauvy young people, might feel like the future is something that is being folded, spindled or mutilated. If we ask the question, “what futures will the next generation imagine?” within a context of fear and helplessness, we continue to retreat back to the same narrative.

Instead, what if we first shift the context and also ask the question in a new way, “what futures is the next generation not able to imagine?” This might provide the insights and actions required to create more equal and trusted futures and shift the global narrative in a more positive direction.