Ni’coel takes aim at the reflexive urge to size one another up by birth year, showing how that shorthand flattens our perception of wisdom, talent, and emotional depth. She argues that true pattern recognition emerges not from time logged on the planet but from self-reflection, a closeness to suffering, and the ability to transcend generational scripts. By treating interactions as a chance to mine unexpected realities rather than confirm age-based expectations, the spectrum of human intelligence widens.

This perceptual shift lies at the heart of Human Decision Intelligence. HDI asks us to question every inherited heuristic, especially those like age, that silently drives hiring algorithms, social hierarchies, and even self-talk. Removing age from our personal sorting mechanisms disrupts the machine-like defaults that favor the median and overlook the exceptional. Practicing HDI means scanning for diverse cognitive signatures, honoring intergenerational reciprocity, and designing decisions that privilege insight over chronology.

🔸Explore the global learning hub: humandecisionintelligence.com

🔸Cohost: Chelsea Makena’s work spans leadership development, enablement, engagement, and performance. She partners with founders and tech executives to build humane, high-performance systems. As one of CHDI’s earliest collaborators, she brings a grounded people lens that elevates our conversations on human systems.