The shift away from traditional family structures may be negatively impacting human cognition and long-term thinking, according to futurist Ari Wallach. In a recent Huberman Lab podcast, Wallach discussed how modern society has moved away from multi-generational family units and tribal structures that fostered long-term planning and wisdom transmission across generations.
Wallach argues that for most of human history, children were raised in close proximity to parents, grandparents, and extended family members. This allowed for the passing down of stories, life lessons, and cultural knowledge that helped younger generations think beyond their own lifespans.
In contrast, the nuclear family model that emerged in the Victorian era isolated children from extended family. Practices like having babies sleep in separate rooms disconnected infants from constant contact with caregivers. The push to have elderly family members live separately in retirement communities further fractured inter-generational bonds.
This isolation of family units has coincided with a shift towards more short-term thinking in society. Without regular exposure to elders and their wisdom, younger generations struggle to conceptualize long-term consequences or plan for the distant future. The constant notifications and stimuli of modern technology further shrink our cognitive time horizons.
To counter these effects, Wallach recommends consciously cultivating “transgenerational empathy” – the ability to emotionally connect with past and future generations. This can involve practices like writing letters to your future self or keeping an empty picture frame to represent unborn descendants. By expanding our sense of family across time, we may be able to regain some of the long-term cognition that traditional family structures once fostered.
What is Cathedral thinking and why is it good for us
Cathedral thinking is a powerful concept that can help shape a better future for humanity. As explained by Wallach, cathedral thinking involves making decisions and taking actions today that will benefit future generations, even if we won’t personally see the results.
The term comes from the medieval practice of building cathedrals, which often took hundreds of years to complete. The architects and initial builders knew they would not live to see the finished product, but worked toward a greater vision that would impact generations to come.
Wallach argues that adopting cathedral thinking is crucial in our current era of short-term focus and instant gratification. Social media, technology, and other factors have dramatically shortened our mental time horizons. We tend to think only about immediate rewards rather than long-term consequences or goals.
To counter this, Wallach advocates cultivating “transgenerational empathy” – caring about and considering the well-being of past and future generations. This involves:
1. Having empathy and compassion for yourself
2. Appreciating those who came before us
3. Caring about future generations we’ll never meet
Some practical ways to develop cathedral thinking include:
– Writing letters to your future self
– Keeping an empty picture frame to represent future descendants
– Using age-progression photos to connect with your future self
– Reading biographies to understand historical figures’ challenges and humanity
Wallach also suggests keeping an empty picture frame alongside family photos to represent future generations. This visual cue reminds us to consider how our actions today will impact those who come after us.
By expanding our mental time horizons, we can shift from short-term reactivity to long-term visioning. This allows us to tackle major challenges like climate change and emerging technologies with wisdom rather than just intelligence.
Ultimately, Wallach invites us to see ourselves as part of humanity’s grand, multi-generational story. By cultivating “Cathedral thinking” – working on projects whose fruits we may never see – we can become the “great ancestors” future generations need us to be.