Education
Three key takeaways and eight growing job segments
Hidden by the tall reeds and rushes, the young woman waded along the banks of the Euphrates as it passed by the city of Kish, some 4300 years ago. She carried her baby son in a basket woven from these very same reeds.
As the lowest of servants in a house of priests, she knew enough to hide him from curious eyes.
There is an actual cuneiform inscription that chronicles these events—in Sargon’s own voice:
My mother was a changeling, my father I knew not,
The brother of my father loved the hills,
My home was in the highlands, where the herbs grow.
My mother conceived me in secret, she gave birth to me in concealment.
She set me in a basket of rushes, she sealed the lid with tar.
She cast me into the river, but it did not rise over me,
The water carried me to Akki, the drawer of water,
He lifted me out as he dipped his jar into the river,
He took me as his son, he raised me,
He made me his gardener.
This is the birth story of Sargon of Akkad, preserved in the ancient Library of Ashurbanipal. He would go on to unify the Sumerian city-states under a single authority, establish one of the world’s first empires, and create enduring models of centralized administration, military organization, and cross-regional governance that shaped Mesopotamian civilization for generations.
Sargon shows how education—in the broadest sense—serves as the final Working Origins marker.
He rose from gardener to court official, to the king’s cupbearer, and ultimately to ruler of Akkad and Sumer. Along the way, he would have been trained—formally or not—in the core systems of surplus that sustained early civilization:
Agricultural practices: irrigation (canals, water control), crop cycles and yields (especially barley), labor coordination for planting and harvest, and estate provisioning for households and temples.
Cultural customs and language: familiarity with cuneiform (even if not a full scribe), fluency in Sumerian (the administrative and prestige language), and Akkadian (the Semitic dialects spoken by the broader population).
Governance and trade: ration systems (grain, beer, oil), standardized weights and measures, tracking of obligations and deliveries, and long-distance trade networks extending to Anatolia and the Indus Valley—moving grain, textiles, metals, and stone.
Military organization: command hierarchy, supply and logistics coordination, infantry organization, weapons and formations, and siege tactics against walled cities.
What Sargon came to understand—first as a laborer, then as an administrator, and finally as a ruler—was not power itself, but the systems that made power possible.
Those systems were new in human history, and they rested on a foundation that would define civilization itself: the ability to create, store, and distribute surplus at scale.
Deep Origins
Systems of surplus are the bedrock of civilization. They allow for the storage of harvested grains, meats, fruits, and durable goods. That stored surplus, in turn, supports standing armies, priests, administrators, craftsmen and trade guilds, laborers, and ruling classes.
Each Working Origins marker aligns with a system of surplus—Oldowan tools, expanding trade networks, Acheulean craftsmanship, shared belief systems, seasonal planning, and early village farming. At every stage, cultural training—education—was required.
Around 5,500 years ago, civilizations began to standardize writing and formalize instruction. Writing accelerated how systems of surplus could spread across regions and persist across generations.
Today, our systems of surplus are changing rapidly, accelerating their impact on our cultures and daily lives. Few of us expect to live as our parents did.
Business and cultural innovations reshape how we live—and concentrate capital at unprecedented scale. For example, Elon Musk’s net worth of roughly $250–300 billion is on par with the annual GDP of countries such as Finland, Portugal, New Zealand, and Qatar.
We keep pace with these changes through cultural education—both formal and informal—which reshapes how we connect, entertain, shop, learn, travel, eat, live, and work.
Biological Foundations
Our biology continues to adapt to cultural changes over the last six thousand years.
Disease resistance: Humans develop resistance to new diseases, many of which emerged through proximity to domesticated animals and commensal species such as mice, flies, and rats.
Self-domestication: Particularly in long-urbanized cultures, humans exhibit traits associated with domestication—often described as neoteny, or the retention of youthful characteristics. These include changes in facial structure, reduced aggression, extended developmental periods, and increased sociability.
Food sources: Our genes and gut biota adapt to new diets, as seen in traits such as lactose tolerance.
Gene editing: We are now intentionally modifying biology. Technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9—derived from bacteria like Streptococcus pyogenes—allow precise editing of genetic material.
Other selection pressures: The idea of human equality often extends to the assumption that we are genetically identical. In reality, there are measurable differences in polygenic traits across populations and generations. This is a complex and sensitive topic, but it is recognized in areas such as public health.
While definitive evidence is limited, researchers observe that complex societies likely favor traits such as abstract thinking, planning, rule-following, delayed gratification, and higher cognitive performance.
Core Behaviors
As civilizations formed, our core cultural behaviors adapted to complex systems that extended beyond immediate relationships and outcomes.
Learning systems. Learning became increasingly mediated through systems—written records, formal roles, and shared procedures. Skills were transferred across distance and time, and enabled people to participate in systems they did not fully witness end to end.
Specialized roles. Individuals were required to perform to specific tasks—farmer, scribe, laborer, soldier, administrator—each with defined responsibilities. Success depended on reliably executing within those roles. This required discipline, consistency, and an understanding of how one’s work contributed to a larger system.
Trusting abstract systems. Civilization introduced a new kind of trust: not just trust in people, but trust in systems—measures, records, transactions, and institutions. Grain recorded on a tablet, a delivery promised across distance, or a command issued through a hierarchy. This shift enabled coordination at scale, but required a willingness to rely on systemic trust.
Law of the harvest (delayed gratification). Participation in surplus systems required individuals to accept delayed returns—planting for future harvest, storing rather than consuming, contributing labor in exchange for future security. This extended time horizon supported planning, stability, and growth, but required behavioral restraint and alignment with collective goals.
These behaviors are part of complex systems that underlay all civilizations today. They shape how we learn, work, and adapt within modern organizations and cultural communities.
Foundation Layers
Successful education (or training) is best ensured when we are mindful of our foundational layers.
E — Emotions, States, and Drives: Absolutely be motivated by your own needs and wants—for yourself or family. Recognize authentic motivations—jealousy, ambition, desire, or even the need for a simpler life. It is all fair at this personal and emotional level. Most emotions, states, and drives are easily mediated within a good workplace, which gives more meaning to the ideas of delayed gratification and the law of the harvest.
S — Social Learning: A great life lesson is expressed by the phrase, “To go fast, go alone. To go far, go with others.” All our best human adaptations start as a team, even when the adaptation is personal. If you are retraining, look to a class or group. If you are learning a new sport, join a team or club. If you are in a formal school, be part of a study group. That is how humans are built.
T — Trust & Trade: Work and understand the workplace environment. Build trust relationships with customers, suppliers, partners, and competitors. These expand access to your own knowledge and opportunity.
I — Instruction: Seek good training instruction from accredited sources that best aligns with the workplace culture. Seek and follow good advice from that workplace culture.
M — Myth & Mediation: Be deliberate in what you choose to believe. Belief is a very powerful human expression, especially when aligned with others. Balance narratives with evidence and practical needs.
A — Agile Cultures: Express your innate human agility, even for small incremental changes. Human agility is best expressed by those groups that accept new ideas, then envision, plan, and act to change.
T — Till & Tend: Domestication is a powerful pattern for integrating any new resource into the way you work, and exemplifies the law of the harvest. Invest first, reap rewards later.
E — Education: In our rapidly changing world, personal and group agility begins here.
Today’s Workplace
My own experience is that anybody can find a good job today, if they are willing to put in the time and energy. Here I have identified eight industry segments that have recently changed the way we live. Each of these also offer new employment opportunities.
Industry Segment: Platform-Based Local Services
The change: smartphones enabled real-time coordination of local labor.
Roles: ride services, food delivery, home task services.
Why it matters: low training barrier to entry, flexible participation, immediate integration into a system.
Industry Segment: In-Home and Community-Based Care
The change: aging populations + preference to remain at home.
Roles: home health aides, personal care assistants, companionship services.
Why it matters: short certification paths, high demand, stable work, strong human connection component.
Industry Segment: E-Commerce Fulfillment & Logistics
The change: online retail reshaped how goods move.
Roles: Warehouse operations, picking/packing, last-mile delivery.
Why it matters: scalable employment, structured systems (easy to train into), widespread geographic availability.
Industry Segment: Digital Customer Support & Remote Operations
The change: cloud systems + remote work infrastructure.
Roles: customer support (chat/voice), on-boarding specialists, remote operations monitoring.
Why it matters: The required training may be extensive but well structured and available online, the job is accessible from home, great growth across industries, good upside for salary and leadership growth.
Industry Segment: Skilled Trades with Modern Systems Integration
The change: electrification, IOT connectivity, energy systems, smart infrastructure.
Roles: electricians (EV, solar), HVAC technicians, plumbing with modern diagnostics.
Why it matters: strong demand, training via apprenticeships or short programs, combines physical work with system knowledge.
Industry Segment: Food Service Specialization & Cultural Dining
The change: consumer interest in authenticity and specificity.
Roles: regional cuisines (Oaxacan, Tamil, Sichuan), specialty food production, food trucks and small formats.
Why it matters: skill-based entry, ethnic-cultural knowledge valued, wide range of roles.
Industry Segment: Experience-Based Travel & Local Guiding
The change: shift from passive tourism → participatory experiences.
Roles: local guides, experience hosts, activity coordinators.
Why it matters: leverages local knowledge, often part-time or second career, low formal barriers.
Industry Segment: Adult Education, Training, and Certification Delivery
The change: continuous learning became necessary, not optional.
Roles: trainers, certification instructors, curriculum delivery.
Why it matters: meta-layer of all other changes, often filled by experienced workers transitioning roles.
Takeaways
These three takeaways are heartfelt messages to family and friends around the world.
In a civilized world, education is how we adapt to rapid cultural change.
From the first cities to today’s global economy, our own progress depends on how we work with new systems of surplus—new tools, new roles, new expectations. The pace has accelerated, but the mechanism is the same. Those who learn fastest are best positioned to participate and contribute.Education is increasingly accessible and informal.
Historically, education was expensive and institutional—schools, apprenticeships, formal roles. In many cases it was restricted to just a few. Today access has greatly widened. Training, self-directed learning, and real-time instruction are available to anyone motivated to engage. In many cases, the self-directed paths move faster than formal education. The constraint is no longer access—it is initiative.Use the Working Origins model to manage the risk of change.
Change always carries risk and uncertainty. The Working Origins model connects you to our human past and to others. You are not alone, and we solve problems together. See the above Foundations Layers.
Education is now key to both personal and business growth in a changing world, and reflects a simple truth at the core of Working Origins:
Working together well is the most human thing we ever do.
For more information on this post, see the Working Origins Library and these recommendations…
The 10,000 Year Explosion (2009) by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending — explores how human biological adaptations continue alongside the rise of agriculture and civilization.
A History of the Ancient World (2007) by Susan Wise Bauer — a broad and accessible narrative of early civilizations, complemented by her lecture-style podcast series on the ancient world.
By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean (2015) by Barry Cunliffe — examines how geography and movement shaped early human networks and cultural exchange.
Code Breaker (2021) by Walter Isaacson — recounts how Jennifer Doudna and others discovered accurate gene-editing processes and then built machines to do so at scale.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (2005) by Charles C. Mann — reframes pre-Columbian societies as complex, populous, and highly organized.
Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World (2006) by Philip Matyszak — highlights lesser-known civilizations and cultures that contributed to the ancient world’s diversity.
Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) by Jared Diamond — investigates how environmental and geographic factors shaped the development of civilizations.
The Story of Human Language (2013) by John McWhorter — an engaging overview of how language evolves and supports cultural transmission.