Scanners, Multipotentialites, and other Non-Linear Thinkers as Entrepreneurs in the New Economy
In a world where machines are doing more, our humanness matters more than ever.
Whether we love them or hate them, AI and LLMs have become an integral part of our daily lives. They’re transforming the way we live and work, with both positive and negative consequences that will continue to shape our futures.
For entrepreneurs, particularly those who are non-linear thinkers, this transformation presents exciting opportunities. Now is the perfect time to start tapping into these possibilities. But what do these opportunities look like for non-linear thinkers?
Note: a “Non-linear Thinker” could be a person who is a scanner, an ADHDer, a Multi-passionate, a Multi-potentialite, a Polymaths, etc.
The Focus for the Future Can be Found in the Past
Non-Linear Thinkers will reclaim their economic and social value
The dominance of specialists and one-subject experts appears to be dwindling. Specialists and one-subject experts have only been valued over all others since 1955, when the beginnings of the “Space Race” between the USA and the USSR required these science-biased specialists. This focus on the need to specialize became such a big part of formal education, that it began to dominate job markets where specialization wasn’t really necessary.
However, for most of human history before then, non-linear thinkers, including scanners, multipotentialities, multi-passionates, etc., were highly valued both socially and economically.
With the increasing uptake of AI and LLMs, the role of ‘specialist’ will change.
Specialists will still be needed in the future, however, what we consider ‘specialization’ will evolve to become more non-linear and not so narrowly focused.
Traditional specialists will still be needed in some areas, particularly in technical fields with high stakes (e.g. quantum computing, medicine, advanced engineering, etc)
There will be many areas where specialization will evolve into a more interdisciplinary or adaptive expertise (e.g. from deep technical mastery to someone who can integrate new AI tools quickly; or from a narrow focus to an interdisciplinary fusion that blends psychology with technology, or magick with entrepreneurship.)
Specialists won’t disappear, but their monopoly on economic value will, opening the door to the re-valuing of non-linear thinkers - who have been sidelined for the last 75 years.
Non-Linear Thinking Skills that are Increasingly More Significant to Entrepreneurs
Pattern Recognition and Synthesis
People who are non-linear thinkers often excel at seeing connections others miss. In a world of information overload, this is gold. With this skill, Scanners become Pollinators - they gather insight from multiple domains and create something novel and innovative.
Fluid Thinking and Adaptability
AI can be rigid when faced with nuance or contradiction. Humans with non-linear thinking styles can pivot faster, improvise, break out of binary logic. In other words, the very traits that were once seen as ‘distracted’ or ‘scattered’ might become adaptive superpowers for entrepreneurs.
Creativity and Emotional Intuition
Non-linear thinkers (particularly Scanners and ADHDers) often bring high empathy, imaginative storytelling, magickal thinking, and passion-based productivity (when aligned with their interests). These skills and talents are hard - if not impossible - for AI to replicate authentically.
What was once a flaw is now a superpower!
What will Replace ‘Specialization’ as the Highest Economic Value in the Near Future?
We are moving into what some futurists call the Imagination Economy or the Resonance Economy.
Instead of “What do you do?” the question becomes:
How do you make meaning?, or
What do you create that only you can?. Or
How do you help others connect, feel, or transform?
People who:
Curate experience
Blend ideas across domains
Spark communities of meaning
Offer emotional or spiritual guidance in chaotic times
…will hold deep value in the social, cultural, and economic environment of the near future.
People with non-linear minds have often been told:
“You need to focus”
“Stop chasing new ideas”
“You’re all over the place.”
But in a world of automation and information saturation, the ability to:
Jump between ideas
cross-pollinate between domains
See connections no one else sees
Stay curious and adaptable
…..isn’t a flaw. It’s a superpower.
And here’s the best part: you don’t need to wait for permission to be valuable. You already are!
Are You Ready to Discover Your New-Economy Superpowers?
I’ve created a Tarot spread that can help you tap into what makes you uniquely valuable in this shifting world - especially if you’ve never fit into a tidy box before!
Use it for insight. Use it for self-celebration. Use it to remember that the world is changing - and you are ready to help create what’s next.
In my next article we will begin exploring entrepreneurship and the non-linear thinker.
