Quantum Jump: A Survival Guide for the New Renaissance

Quantum Jump was written for individuals trying to make sense of the rapid social and political changes overtaking their lives. Clement explains how our civilization is undergoing a translation similar to the European Renaissance, the development of managed agriculture or the invention of writing. Each of these eras brought about new world-views and broadened the intellectual scope through which we perceive our world. The Renaissance was triggered by the discovery of perspective — the means to manipulate three dimensions — and implemented by the bill of exchange and new mathematics. Our newest era began in 1900 with the discovery that the universe exists in many more than three dimensions. Exploration of this realm via mathematics and computers will drive the immediate future. This is a guide to surviving the jump from the industrial age to the onrushing era of hyperspace. The changes wrought by this era transition are already formidable — the rise of global capitalism and new industries, the collapse of the Soviet Union — but they are only the beginning. History shows that era transitions are juggernauts, imposing massive individual, cultural and social adaptation. Clement analyzes current responses, from retreats into tribalism to the erection of a "New World Order" of global corporatism and trading blocs; he concludes that neither is viable. Instead, he points to skills like tangential and lateral thinking that will better equip individual readers with the points of view required in tomorrow's world. Clement is a refreshingly astute voice in the realm of political and social analysis. Praise for W.R. Clement's Quantum Jump: "[Clement] argues persuasively that the discovery of quantum mechanics is having the same kind of effect on modern minds that the application of perspective to art had 500 years ago … his fascinating … book deserves a wide audience." — Monday Magazine "Social scientists will be debating the next millennium until we are well into it. This book gets the discussion started." — Quill & Quire