"Our brain is not cut out for nonlinearities. People think that if, say, two variables are causally linked, then a steady input in one variable should always yield a result in the one. Our emotional apparatus is designed for linear causality." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Linear Thinking

Any structured, logical, or sequential method of problem-solving requires linear thinking.  This means there is a step-by-step progression, direct cause-and-effect reasoning, and a single path to a solution.  But what happens when this methodology is not possible? 

The current rapid state of change creates novel situations to life that will require novel approaches beyond linear thinking.  To navigate this dynamic and rapidly evolving future we will need more and more nonlinear thinking.  Linear thinking will not suffice because cause and effect may both be as yet undiscovered.    

"Nonlinearity means that the act of playing the game has a way of changing the rules." - James Gleick

Nonlinear Thinking

Common examples of nonlinear thinking include mind mapping and brainstorming sessions.  In the future, AI will be doing the bulk of linear thinking and perhaps some of the nonlinear thinking. 

However, the rate of change may create overloads of data even for AI.  Humans may still be required to connect the unrelated concepts that AI would struggle to identify, especially those concepts that relate only to specific human values.

Psychological Nonlinearity

What happens when cause and effect in human behaviour and mental health are not proportional or in a straight-line?  Novel experiences/situations will be less conducive to linear solutions.   

Predicting inconsistency at best will only achieve a partial picture of accuracy.  Therefore, we can be sure that nonlinearity will impact not only humans but also AI.  Uncertainty will be the human challenge of the future.

“There will be very few occasions when you are absolutely certain about anything. You will consistently be called upon to make decisions with limited information. That being the case, your goal should not be to eliminate uncertainty. Instead, you must develop the art of being clear in the face of uncertainty.” - Andy Stanley

Accepting Nonlinearity

How do we find peace in uncertainty?  Accepting Nonlinearity is the precursor to accepting uncertainty.  The future was always going to be about uncertainty but the escalating pace of change and the implosion of technology in modern living has exponentially affected the permutations of uncertainty.  Linearity is increasingly more difficult to pen down. 

In psychology, we have moved from stages of development, stages of grief, and other sequential theories to chaos theory and beyond to metacognition, which is not about what we think but how we think. 

How we think in the future, it appears, will be a shifting modality.  Fixed approaches will give way to more adaptive approaches.  To sustain the human psyche will require adaptability to achieve resilience.  Toffler suggested more than 50 years ago that humans would learn to comprehend some new concept only to realize that concept had already changed into something newer. 

In our techno world of 2026, we are experiencing the phenomenon of updates faster than any other time in history.  These updates change what we are familiar with into something new and unfamiliar.  It seems this reality demonstrates the superordinate need for human adaptability in the future.

Will we ever catchup or will each generation have to be more adaptable than the previous generation?  Where is the point of breakdown, both mentally and emotionally? 

It seems acceptance may not be enough.  We will also need some form of regulation to stay in touch with the speed of change.  Maybe what we need to accept is our finite limitations to the insatiable quest for change.  To retain our humanity and avoid become machines ourselves, we will have to assimilate the abject vulnerability of the capacity of humans.

Ironically, neuroplasticity is directly related to expanding your brain into new and novel activities.  The problem with increasing novelty is that even neuroplasticity needs to germinate and adjust to new thinking.  When this timeline is continuously shortened, it becomes similar to the dog chasing its own tail.  Our timeline for change needs space so the brain can breathe in the new within our finite capacity.