Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
The Seventh Sense summary
Joshua Cooper Ramo
Power, Fortune, and Survival in the Age of Networks
Listen to the first key idea
Key idea 1 of 6
4 (22 ratings)
15 mins
6 key ideas
Audio & text
What is The Seventh Sense about?
The Seventh Sense (2016) unpacks the positive and negative aspects of today’s interconnected world. Terrorism is on the rise and the global economy is in a questionable state. The Seventh Sense explains how these issues are interrelated, and how society can still prosper in this network-dominated age.
About the Author
Joshua Cooper Ramo is the author of international bestseller The Age of the Unthinkable (2009). He is fluent in Mandarin, and the World Economic Forum named him one of China’s pioneering scholars born overseas. He has written for many renowned publications including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Table of Contents
Key idea 1 of 6
Technological changes mean that old systems are being replaced by more advanced versions.
Back in the nineteenth century when the industrial revolution was in full swing, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche shrewdly said that people needed a “sixth sense.” In other words, he meant that, as a society, humans would need to develop another instinct in order to keep up with the pace of technological change.
Today, it’s necessary for people to develop a Seventh Sense to comprehend the complex connections of networks which have formed between people, mobile devices, computers and financial markets as a result of technological advancement.
To develop a Seventh Sense, you first have to understand that everything is interconnected. Take the unveiling of the first iPod in 2001. The device not only fundamentally changed the way people listen to music; it altered the music industry itself. After the product was launched, people stopped using Discmans, and CD shops began to close while MP3 sales flourished. Eventually, this led to the rise of streaming services such as Spotify. In essence, the old analog network was replaced by a new digital network.
As technology moves rapidly, old network systems are frequently replaced by new ones – the author refers to this process as network power.
To understand network power, look at the way that English is presently used as a global lingua franca. The language enables information to be shared in a simple manner among people from different countries across the world, making it a powerful network of exchange.
Currently, switching languages seems inconceivable. However, eventually, lingua francas like English will be replaced with real-time machine translation between many languages because that is the nature of network power.
Advanced connectivity has allowed this technology to develop. One day, you’ll be able to jump into a taxi in Madrid and say “good morning,” and your taxi driver will instantly hear “buenos días.” There will come a time when a translation algorithm will be more vital than having the ability to speak and comprehend English.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Seventh Sense?
Key ideas in The Seventh Sense
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Who should read The Seventh Sense
- Anyone addicted to social media
- Managers of a business or corporation
- Anyone curious about the impacts of technology on today’s society
Categories with The Seventh Sense
Books like The Seventh Sense
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers