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The problem of building a sound basis for social structures and human aspirations is complicated by continuing failures in dealing with the issues described in the essays and distilled to a quintessence above. The root of the problem is our tendency to see issues one at a time, using our own individ-ual and often narrow focus. But this is not the only problem. It is the bane of democracy that logic, analytical thinking, breadth of vision, and consistency are not the hallmarks of the average member of an educated citizenry. By and large, we pursue our private passions or our group's agenda, regardless of logic, often defiantly avoiding a full understanding of the larger picture.
This narrow focus is fed by a tendency to hysteria and ideological dis-tortion among those who convey information to the public. This is particu-larly true in the case of media professionals - reporters and commentators in newspapers and in the electronic media. Bad news is rapidly disseminated, and inflated in significance. Patience with those charged with arriving at difficult solutions is short. One could almost suspect that, to the members of the chattering class, "good news is no news." By and large, they delight in pointing out problems, not solutions. Rarely do we hear of a job well done.
The educational monopolies of western societies are another problem. There is a lack of a clear definition of requirements, and there are difficul-ties with the establishment delivering this vital service. This unfortunate state of affairs is compounded by stale educational ideologies which should have been discredited long ago, but persist because of inertia, and the ossified views propagated by an ideologically-driven education system.
It is a great pity that human life cycles are such that even an instantane-ous solution of the existing problems in education would still take fifty years or so to flush out the system. Because technological and social develop-ments march on at an accelerated pace, we can ill-afford to delay the nec-essary changes to the educational system if we intend to stay ahead in a crowded field of highly competitive developing societies.
It is important for all of us to see for ourselves the connections and consequences of the various issues outlined above. Each is critical to our success as a civilization, even as a species. More immediately, each is important to our society. Yet each is but an item in a larger thicket of highly interdependent issues. There is an ecology of interconnected activities and each niche plays a role in its functioning.
One may wonder why the essays are not presented in the same order of priority as that delineated in this postscript. The reason is that the problems are not linearly related, and much going back and forth is required to see and understand the interconnections. Much going back and forth is also needed to shape policies on the various issues as we gain control of more and more of all we require for success � no � for the very survival of humanity and of civilization. It would be a mistake to try to view the various issues as a linear chain of "this begets that." Each issue is critically dependent on several others, in a network, an ecology, of issues.
So you see � the Silva Rerum that represents human activities is a trackless woods, not a tidy row of roadside trees.
In this forest, this trackless and dangerous thicket of essential needs, structured activities, and primal instincts, we continue to search for clues and directions through the woods. This is the timeless Game which has led us to the level of civilization we have achieved to date. To succeed in this Game, we must survive, improve our understanding, and increase our capabilities. That is the human imperative:
the Game must go on.