I have begun thinking about crafting cognitive environments. Invisible forceEvery day we inhabit environments that quietly shape how we think, learn, create, solve problems, make decisions, and relate to one another. For the first time, ordinary individuals have unprecedented opportunities to participate intentionally in crafting the environments in which they think, learn, create, and care for one another. The question is no longer whether our cognitive environments are being crafted. I suspect that intentionally crafting cognitive environments may become one of the defining life skills of the twenty-first century—not simply because it enriches our lives, but because it helps us remain capable, adaptive, and fully engaged for longer.