John Archibald Wheeler (physicist) postulated that
"We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance."
This is a reminder that with each advance, the circumference of what we know expands, and thus we experience an ever-increasing breadth of challenges. Some may be perceived from our present shore, looking toward the horizon. Others, we may have no clue of yet. See Dunning Kruger (January 2026). The acretion behind us deserves attention, but the fresh experiences before us are so enticing.
A similar sentiment is expressed by Confucius, more focused on plenary progress and persistence:
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
I spent several hours over the 2025 year-end holidays working on a couple of manuscripts. I hope to push two books to print in 2026, and perhaps I near the end of my exposition phase. In any case, those two projects are behind, a bit more shore exposed, a bit more mountain moved.
For only the second time in my career, I set out in 2026 to teach a class on workers' compensation. My first opportunity was at the University of North Florida, in its paralegal program. That was more years (decades) ago than I like to admit. Over the intervening years, I have been privileged to observe the microchasm that is workers' compensation, nationally and here in our little corner. I am better prepared today than I was then.
Progress? Certainly. The world of Florida workers' compensation is better today than it was in the 20th century. Unfortunately, however, the practice has undoubtedly declined. As I write this, I am drawn to the thoughts of physicist Carl Sagan and his tome The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995).
In my twilight, I struggle with what tomorrow may hold, what sea may be exposed by our expanding shore. I see the shore being exposed ever faster as technology both drives and drags us. I also lament that those coming challenges and discoveries will be for others.
Despite our contrary desires, many of us will not be here forever. See Death and Taxes (December 2025). We may leave something behind, whether our consciousness or something less. And thus, I turn to the University of West Florida (UWF) and its election to include workers' compensation in the Spring 2026 curriculum choices for its Legal Studies and Prelaw program. This portends promise and potential.
I lament that workers' compensation is not a staple of each Florida law school curriculum. There have been sporadic successes with that. FAMU, Florida Coastal, Florida State, and others have gone there over the years. I suspect more than a few of today's persistent practitioners are in this fold because of such exposure.
There will be room for new leaders in the near future (there is now). See Bring Value (February 2020), The Time is Now (April 2022), Work Comp Academy 2023 (February 2023), Positioning Comp (April 2023), It's a Mystery (March 2024), Tweens? (June 2024), and Gonna be alright (August 2025). The next generation indeed holds great hope. Some will merely live up to our example, and others will simply leave us in their dust.
But they will do it their own way. In Let's Make a Change (April 2023), I made some critical points:
"The generational opportunity to parent these people is passed.""we will have to come to the next generation. They have aptly demonstrated that they are not coming to us."
Critical. Whatever, whoever they are, we made them; they are made, and we won't change them. Nonetheless, we may mentor, envelop, and encourage. I am hopeful that is what this Spring 2026 opportunity at UWF will be. I hope to illuminate the challenges, risks, and benefits of this social welfare program for a new generation of aspiring lawyers.
To this end, I have prepared and published an overview of workers' compensation that is suitable for addressing any college class. There is a PowerPoint, a proposed syllabus, and more resources on my website, and more are under development. My free books are there also.
In furtherance of our collective future, I am striving to speak to the next generation about workers' compensation and why it is interesting and compelling. The material on my website is yours for the taking if you have such an opportunity and find it useful in that or any regard.
Let's take our message to them. Let's make that our legacy.
