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Meet the new year... same as the old year?

The future is of course... unpredictable. However, we can often get a sense of what lies ahead by examining current trends. Trends are simply manifestations of Newton's Law of Motion, which states that an object set in motion tends to stay in motion. This essay attempts to illuminate a few of the present trends one may wish to be mindful of as this auspicious year of two thousand and twelve unfolds. As stated in previous essays, I personally tend to not subscribe to the popularized gloom & doom interpretations of the Mayan calendar as it relates to 2012, yet it is pretty clear that the times they are a changin'. In fact, contrary to the picture painted by President Obama in his State of the Union Speech this month, rather than buying into the idea that we have turned the corner on our problems here in America, it appears that 2012 may have even more uncertainty and volatility in store than 2011. This is not necessarily bad news though. We are witnessing the birth pangs of a new age. It is possible that we will shortly see old systems designed to work very well for a relatively few be swept away in favor of new systems architected to serve a greater good. Who would claim it's not about time for that?

Trends of 2012