Everything Mr Peter Schwartz knows, he learnt after he graduated from school.
"I studied as an aeronautical engineer, with a smattering of biology," he says, noting that now, advancements in science and technology have progressed so far and so fast that he has had to re-learn everything.
And that is probably our new reality today.
So, how?
The metaphor that Peter used at the start of his keynote address today at the ALS sums up our response perfectly.
"When white-water rafting, the key to staying in control is to move a little faster than the water."
In other words, stay ahead of the curve, else you're going to get swept away.
And that really would be where adult education comes in -- which I reckon, we'd be talking about a lot more over this two days.
Peter did a great job of weaving various thematic threads of what is happening in the world today to project possible views of the future.
But where are we in all this?
Peter brought up opportunities for the future in science, in technology, in medicine, in education, but all his examples were from other countries.
Yes, Singapore is a world leader in human capital development, and we have one of the highest per capita incomes of the world, but listening to his speech, it seems to me that discovery is the key to surviving the future.
What have Singaporeans discovered recently?
Any thoughts?
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