We live in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times where change is the only constant. Having worked in five service industries across two decades, I can see the tsunami of these disruptive forces at play.

Consequently, many of the skills and intellectual assets that were most valued yesterday can all but become obsolete today.

There are three fundamental factors that have given rise to the creation of a fundamentally different world. The combination of information explosion, meteoric rise of computational resources and machines coming to life can only just begin to describe the outlines of our environment. However, let’s scratch the surface and see what is really going on.

1. Information Explosion – We have created more information in the last few years than has been created since the recorded history of mankind. This pace is only going to accelerate in the near future. One of the by-products is the reduction of the average human attention span to less than that of a goldfish!
2. Computational Resources – The availability of enormous computational resources has severe repercussions. The tasks which the economy and society  relied upon humans to perform are being performed far more efficiently by a variety of computational resources.
3. Intelligent Machines – Even knowledge work is being machine learned through artificial intelligence and deep learning. With IoT (Internet of Things) becoming the focus of the mainstream, intelligent machines will acquire “thinking” capabilities and pose unique challenges.

Under these circumstances, is it possible for the average person to go back to the traditional educational system to upgrade their educational and intellectual armory to survive the VUCA world. Is it possible to continue to be ahead of the curve or keep pace with the changing demands of the time with the skills, knowledge and expertise of yesterday?

Obviously not !

This is the time for the Rise of the Autodidacts !

This is the time for people to start and keep learning on their own, without recourse to conventional wisdom of formal learning and create an “autodidactual” world. The world will witness the Rise of the Autodidacts, who will thrive in this VUCA world.