Much of what you know today is already obsolete - you just don’t know it yet!
— Jim Carroll
Original 2021 statement: Much of what you know today is already obsolete - you just don’t know it yet
What Jim has written about this
From “Daily Inspiration: “Much of what you know today is already obsolete - you just don’t know it yet!”” (April 2022)
Knowledge isn’t just fleeting - it’s increasingly obsolete almost as soon as it is acquired.
That’s but one example -all professions, careers, and skills are impacted in similar ways. In construction, for example, new methods, new materials, and new priorities, such as eco-design and the increasing dominance of renewable energy technologies in the design process are changing the way buildings are built. In manufacturing, one client suggested that the typical machinist today almost needs to know how to do trigonometry in their heads. Car mechanics? They’re focused less on fixing actual car parts and more on diagnosing computer problems - and tomorrow, they’ll have to be battery technology specialists.
In a world of fast knowledge development, none of us will have the capability to know much of anything at all. The most important skill we will have will be the ability to go out to get the right knowledge for the right purpose at the right time - hence, just-in-time knowledge!
From “Daily Inspiration: “Consistency is only a virtue if the path is still relevant.”” (March 2026)
Here’s something you already know: doing the same old thing puts you on the road to the same old destination.
Don’t wait for clarity because speed is the only certainty (we don’t know where we’re going, but we’re making great time)
Don’t build for today because tomorrow is already here (live forward…)
From “Daily Inspiration: “At this very moment, someone somewhere is busy inventing something that will be so common in but 10 short years that you simply won’t know how you lived without it!”” (February 2022)
Need to get inspired for the future? Head on over to my post, ‘101 Things We Know About Our Future’ - An Esoteric List of Things That Are Happening Now and Next! - it’s right here . As I note in that post: My mind all too often races with ideas; I think too much. The busy activities in my head lead me to regularly scribble down lots of thoughts about the world around me. Overall, as a futurist, it’s a remarkable time to be alive – and with that in mind, here’s a list that I’ve accumulated as to ‘101 things we know about our future.’
Machines are starting to think on their own a bit more. We don’t yet know what this means.
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Daily Inspiration: “Much of what you know today is already obsolete - you just don’t know it yet!”
Daily Inspiration: “Consistency is only a virtue if the path is still relevant.”
Daily Inspiration: “At this very moment, someone somewhere is busy inventing something that will be so common in but 10 short years that you simply won’t know how you lived without it!”