Strategic thinking counts the most. Strategic, meaning long-term. Strategic, in addition, meaning extensive in scope.
Town of San Juan, Batangas has 33 by 15 kilometers municipal waters. Major part of Verde Island Passage that is world “center of the center” of marine biodiversity.
One billion pesos a year worth of fish, none of which gets into the hands of the town populace. Budget allocated for the protection of the fisheries, at one point, 50 thousand pesos for the entire year.
Clear lack of strategy, lack of strategic thinking.
If only in the hands of the populace, one billion pesos pays college tuition fee for 31,250 students every semester at the community college.
Nearby Sariaya is veritably now a city in terms of population and income. Nearby Candelaria is about to become a city in five years in terms of population and is already a city in terms of income. San Juan’s population is catching up at 114 thousand and is already also a city in terms of income. A metropolis of four cities, including nearby Lucena City, is in the offing.
Neither the fisheries of San Juan nor the rise of this upcoming metropolis are covered by the mental models of the town’s leadership. Indicated by the absence in laws and policies dealing with these. No plans involving these. No strategy involving these.
A strategic outlook for such a town as San Juan requires three things.
The town’s leaders need critical thinking ability. This does not come cheap. One ought to get knowledge of the nature and limits of reasoning during one’s junior and senior high school years. This prepares one so that during his college years, he gets to understand his strategic thinking lessons.
Getting knowledge of the nature and limits of reasoning requires patience with reading volumes of new material and patience with working on mathematical exercises. Knowledge of the nature and limits of reasoning requires study of mathematical logic. Good level of reading comprehension is a prerequisite to getting knowledge of the nature and limits of reasoning.
Patience with reading and with working on exercises one gets from a good pre-school and elementary school education.
Having the kind of education program that sets attainment of high level of reading comprehension in elementary education, high level of critical thinking in high school education and high level of strategic thinking in college education has, so far, been an exception rather than a rule.
Three more things, in addition, are needed.
The education institution one expects to lay down such attainment, in the long run, on all of these levels is that which takes on the challenge to generate, on its own initiative and effort, useful knowledge out of its own local needs and environment. In addition, it is that institution which is eager to share traditional forms of useful knowledge compatible with and together with what it has generated as such. Finally, it is that institution which is eager to make sure that the knowledge it has generated as such and has shared as such gets to be applied to meet the locality’s needs including the protection of its environment.
The next stage of the development of civilizations demand that humankind at large gets to have some capacity for strategic thinking. There are, now, two existential threats to humankind. One, upcoming global environmental disaster. Two, upcoming advent of Artificial General Intelligence.
To attain that state of having moved-up, humankind needs to imbue its kids with high level of reading comprehension. As pointed out, that is not going to be enough.
Next, humankind needs to imbue its junior and senior high learners with understanding of the nature and limits of reasoning. Again, as pointed out, that is not going to be enough.
Next, finally, humankind needs to imbue its adults with strategic thinking capability. Where it ends as we hope for the best.
None of any one of these means the beginning of humankind’s demise as a system.
The alternative to moving up in this direction is extinction.
Extinction awaits at the end of the tunnel.
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