Why is it time to become ‘non-discrete’?

“What if we stopped thinking in discrete steps and started to think in never-ending journeys instead?”

Something I have been thinking about more and more recently are the implications of what seems to be a human condition and the preferred modus operandum of our brain: thinking in boxes. Can I hear some of you groan, “Oh no, not another one asking us to ‘think outside the box’!”? That is not what I suggest; what I suggest is much scarier than that.

I suggest that in the 21st century we need to learn to think without boxes! Boxes, linearity, discrete and separable steps are what we are used to, and yet I believe that the context of the 21st century is such that we have to move beyond that. I used to call this phenomenon ‘convergence’ and it started by the realisation that products no longer fit into neat boxes - think about smart phones and all their different meanings and functions! Think about the blurring of boundaries between products and services. Think about the blurring of boundaries between professional and private lives –(while I am aware that many Germans have 2 phones, one ‘professional’ and one ‘personal’, I believe they are the exception. Think about the blurring of industry boundaries. Think about the shifting and blurring boundaries of consumer profiles - the days of using demographics and socio-economic groupings are well and truly over. And think about the way we used to think about our lives: childhood, education, work, retirement—does it really still work like that? Once you start looking, you see dissolving boxes everywhere… Good bye to 'either/or'. Hello to 'and'!

Either/or worked in the past when things were changing slowly…when there was time to focus on one thing at a time. Looking around to see whether it is just me or others have been thinking along these same lines, I found some supporting evidence. The first is from the fields of Chaos Theory and Complexity Theory. Both invite us to re-think our assumption of linearity and predictability.

A source of support are Quantum Physics and Schrödingers Cat, which confront us with the fact that there is no certainty, only probabilities—and that something can be in more than one state. In the case of Schrödinger’s Cat, the cat can be both dead and alive (well, until we actually observe it…). Curious? Watch Schrödingers Cat Explained.

Letting go of boxes requires a willingness to live with uncertainty and give up the illusion of control. It builds on awareness and understanding, rather than knowing. It means constantly monitoring and observing, in order to be able to embrace what changes and opportunities may emerge. Letting go of boxes also means that endpoints are imaginary and that all becomes part of a journey.