“Future Shock” colored my outlook on life!
Not long after Future Shock was published in 1970, I read Alvin Toffler’s tome and was fascinated by his broad vision of what lay ahead in our world.
For those who may not have read his book, Toffler defined “Future Shock” as the “shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.”
Toffler went on to dissect each element of our society and then extrapolate how it would change the way we think, react and survive.
Even if you haven’t heard of Toffler, I’ll wager you have heard or used a phrase that he coined: “Information overload.” Most of us can agree that “information overload” has become the rule, not the exception, in our lives. So much information is so readily available that it competes aggressively for our time and energy. If not properly managed, it actually can result in negligence and indecision.
Beyond Toffler’s informed observations about where we were going, I was taken with his insight as to how quickly we would get there. Toffler’s thinking was right on target, but not even he could have predicted the meteoric pace of the Age of Information.
Along this road to progress, we have have allowed key parts of the journey to become blurs in our rear-view windows. The impact Future Shock had on my life is one reason I recognized early on the importance of melding the past with the future. That fundamental philosophy was pivotal as I chose my lifelong career in color.
As our society has progressed, it has taken us away from the healthful benefits of color in our lives. We have substituted artificial light for the healthful benefits of sunlight. By staying indoors so much, we are missing out on the naturally-occurring colors of green, red, orange and blue.
At Sci\ART we have made a priority of creating color products and therapies that can compensate for those deficiencies (www.coloranalysis.com/color_therapy_s/2.htm). Holistic medicine specialists, day spas owners, chiropractors and others routinely purchase our texts, techniques and products to expand their practices. By all accounts, their clients have benefitted.
To be sure, Toffler’s prediction of “information overload” has come to pass. Fortunately, there are professionals who are using the information and technology astutely to bridge the chasm that too often separates the simple from the complex.
You can read Toffler’s ground-breaking commentary online. Go to http://books.google.com/books and type in “Future Shock.” And after you’ve read the book, you might want to check out this interview http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.05/toffler.html in which he reflects on his work a quarter-century later. Fascinating man, and a still-fascinating topic.
Happy reading, and until next time remember: When it comes to color, beauty and health are inseparable.
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 11:09 AM and is filed under Light & Color Therapy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
