How long we can keep up?

I just have watched an interesting Geoffrey West’s presentation: “The surprising math of cities and corporations” on TED Conference (click to watch it here). He points out that complex systems are governed by certain laws and those laws can be statistically measured and analysed. Gathered data forms similar patterns whether we talk about animal kingdom, forests, cities, corporations. 

Organisms have their life spans and they live as long as they keep up. What about our civilisation? The common consensus is we live faster and faster. Science, technology, social development, and pretty much everything seems to be accelerating. We have to adapt faster and faster. Geoffrey West says: “The image is we are not only on a treadmill which is going faster and faster but we have to change treadmill faster and faster”. The question is how long we are going to keep up?

MG