The crisis in change

摘要

There are several indications that humanity is now entering a condition of rapid and continuous change with 'runaway' characteristics. There are also signs that the mass media are encouraging the rise of a new, rapidly self-adaptive culture of particular relevance to the near future. Social dynamics of this kind should be well within the conceptual range and social responsibility of engineers, and deserve their professional attention. Engineers are accustomed to studying complex systems, and are capable of making significant contributions to our understanding of the most important of all complex systems - society itself.