That the vast majority of alleged threats to humanity are, in fact, dwarfed by the magnitude of opportunities that exist in the twenty-first century.

“I do not think that unemployment is among those evils which, like poverty, capitalist evolution could ever eliminate of itself.”

Unlike those in my generation whose first step after college was, more often than not, onto a corporate conveyor belt, the students I see today are no more likely to be enthralled by the promise of a corner office than they are by a ride to the love-in on the Magic Bus.

Economist Martin Weitzman has put it this way: “Can we imagine a world in which we’d run out of new ideas?” Almost inconceivable. The reason is that most new ideas are generated as new combinations of old ideas, and the number of new combinations is almost limitless:

“The behavior of the individual social insect evolved with reference to what it contributes to the community, whereas the genetic fitness of a human being depends on how well it can individually use the society. We have become insect-like only by extreme contractual arrangements.”

“Always keep one hand free,” he instructed me, “in case you have something else to carry.”

Productive entrepreneurs create a space for the future by innovating new combinations of economic activity and pushing back against entrenched interests.

If you want to understand why humanity might not be doomed—despite the daily drumbeat of declarations to the contrary—I’d say you’re more likely to get an answer from glancing at the last cookbook you purchased than from either pondering the possibilities of your iPad or diligently rereading your college economics textbook.

Like nations, individuals have to find a functional balance between order (skills) and adaptability (creativity).