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Jeremy Rifkin, the author of the just-published book The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, suggests that The Age of Reason is being eclipsed by the Age of Empathy." "Unfortunately, Rifkin says, our educational structures and modes of teaching science remain grounded in the Age of Reason. Rote memorization of facts, competition among peers and individual achievement are hallmarks of this approach." "Today, young people see the world in a different way than their parents, who often cannot understand why their children are always glued to their BlackBerries in an orgy of talking, texting and tweeting. While their parents value individualism and privacy, today's youngsters view connectivity, interaction and collaboration as everything. And forget privacy; for them, being out of touch is a cardinal sin." "The extent of their kids' connectivity is disturbing to many adults. "If your kids are awake, they're probably online,"" "There is a tendency to view kids' passionate embrace of networked relationships and connectivity as an aberration ("what is this generation coming to?") or as a temporary event ("they'll grow out of it"). These responses may miss the larger picture. Kids' embrace of a new way of being in the world may mirror changes that have been steadily increasing in other areas of society, including science. "