Cliche, consensus and change: the wisdom of the WEF crowd

It was inevitable that the summary statements of two days deliberations by 800 diverse people at the WEF in Dubai would be cliche-ridden and consensual. I didn’t hear many surprising, challenging or critical ideas in the plenary presentations. Talk to individuals, however, and they are full of knowledge and innovation. Take the Stanford professor of longevity who told me about pharmacological solutions of cognitive deterioration in the world’s booming elderly population and the psychological aspects of ageing.