As 2011 draws to a close, it seems natural to look back on the year that was. What events defined this year and how did they shape us, what did they tell us about us, about who we are and where we are going. At a time when boundaries become less and less relevant, when technology communication threatens to surpass all borders, events take on a new global context. No longer are the days when we could hear of happenings from far away and dismiss them as irrelevant to our lives. We saw that so clearly earlier this year when a handful of events affected so many of us in so many ways. But to provide a proper retrospective, simply regurgitating what took place like an out-of-date almanac won’t do. The true gauge of the impact of what took place is surely how those events affected how we look at ourselves and how we perceive who we are. At base are we evolving from those who once lived in caves or is human nature something so strong, so innate, that no amount of knowledge will fundamentally change the way we are? Human nature is an ephemeral concept. While views may vary (a recent example being the TED conference in November in Amsterdam), there are some definitions of human nature that I think shed more light than others, and all seem to imply there are elements of good and bad, or even good and evil, within us all. While there are far greater minds than mine who are looking at this issue, I cannot help but feel inside that there must be more to being human than just the bad, the selfish, the cruel. With that in mind let’s look back on the year and find out… Read the rest of this entry »