The following post is inspired from reading, and challenging at times, the Rick Rubin book titled “ The Creative Act.” A book that I found personally inspiring from a personal biography, but perhaps not telling the whole story, or the consequences of the creative act, actions or outcome more long term as a society.
Humans are creators; we are problem solvers. Our intelligence enables us to synthesize ideas from both positive and negative experiences, driving us to take actions that alter the outcomes of our encounters. This ability has propelled us into the modern technological era of the 21st century, characterized by numerous conveniences, luxuries, and an abundance of goods and services.
However, is there a downside to this exponential building and creating? What are we sacrificing in the name of progress? When our creations and endeavors become successful in society, they often accelerate.
Consider the food industry: in the past century, we have transitioned from basic, localized farming to global, factory-based and industrialized processes for nearly everything we consume. Our success as a species has led to a substantial population growth, posing new challenges in feeding the world, increasing yields, preserving harvests, and ensuring affordability.
It is an established fact that the nutritional value of today's grown or raised food is lower than that of food from 20, 50, or even a hundred years ago. Genetically modified foods and enhanced feedstock have increased yields but diminished the nutritional content of our food. A landmark 2004 study at the University of Texas found that over a fifty-year period, thirteen nutrients in a general selection of produce had measurable declines ranging from 6 to 38 percent, including protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B2, and vitamin C. This loss is exemplified by the need for eight modern oranges to match the nutritional value of one consumed fifty years ago.
The environmental culprit behind this decline is soil depletion. Enhanced crop production techniques after World War II resulted in greater yields and faster growth but also stripped the soil of nutrients without allowing sufficient time for recovery.
Turning to health, the USA is grappling with a massive health crisis due to various factors of modern living and industrialized processes, including the advent of plastics, a material invented in 1907, did not exist in mass circulation and use until 70 years ago.
Plastic, widely used in today's industrial world, poses a serious threat to the environment and consumer health through harmful chemical exposure during manufacturing, leaching into stored food items, and children's contact with plastic toys. Research indicates that phthalates, used as plasticizers in PVC, pose risks to human health, with links to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, and developmental and reproductive effects.
The evidence suggests that phthalates, released during the manufacture, use, and disposal of PVC products, are hazardous to human health, particularly for infants and children. Various countries, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States, have restricted or prohibited the use of phthalates in consumer products.
The negative consequences of our creations, such as soil depletion and health issues linked to plastics, highlight the unintended and often irreversible consequences of our actions. AI serves as another example, echoing Jeff Goldblum's caution in Jurassic Park: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
An optimistic perspective sees the act of creation as a long-term strategy, as Simon Sinek notes: "the goal of long-game strategy is not to win but to keep playing the game." Can our creative endeavors be harnessed to counteract or even solve the problems created by our previous acts of creation? With global warming as a significant challenge, Mother Earth's dynamic and volatile nature, as Jeff Goldblum’s “Ian” character suggests, life may find a way in its own chaotic way – even if it doesn't necessarily include us narcissistic humans.