Scott McLeod spoke to a group of us Friday explaining why "the jobs you're preparing students for don't exist anymore." He put together some convincing (and scary) data showing employment trends in various sectors. Not surprisingly, the knowledge and creative sectors are taking a bigger chunk out of the available jobs.

More college! More knowledge! More creative thinking! More brains!

We live in a culture that confounds intelligence with training. Our machines are evolving far faster than we can. There are some folks who think maybe amphetamines (Adderall) and modafinil (Provigil) should be considered to improve our productivity--coffee is the new gateway drug. (Both are used in children with attention deficit disorder--even children without ADHD can "benefit", if benefit means improving test scores.)

In the dead of winter, surrounded by walls, flooded by light powered by electrons manipulated by humans, I am drawn into the fray. I float into the monitor, drawn to voices and words and images. I am mesmerized by Emerald Cities, knocking on huge wooden doors with marvelous brass door knockers, hoping my shoes are shiny enough to get me inside the walls.

***

I scuffed up my shoes sandals a bit yesterday. I went fishing at Poverty Beach in Cape May. The sun hung low in the sky, softened by a threatening storm, as chilly waves rolled up over my feet, the edge of white foam contrasting with pinkening toes.

Nothing and everything makes sense outside. My neocortex cedes to the limbic system; vague surges of pleasure and fear and swirling memories fill my mind, silencing the narrator who usually processes the world for me. The sharp smells--life and death at the sea's edge--remind me I am more than my eyes.

Words cannot describe the world outside. We become the conversation started long before we could speak.

On days like yesterday, I forget the Emerald City exists. On days like yesterday, I forget "I" exist.

My sandy sandals next to the sliding glass patio door remind me that even in January, living is possible.