Beyond Recognition

Abstract

In an age marked by accelerating crises—from the pandemic to the rise of generative AI—traditional models of resilience and critical thinking no longer suffice. This article introduces Literacies of Transition (LoT) as essential meta-competencies for navigating cognitive instability in the REHI-world (Rhythmic, Emergent, Hybrid, Innovative). LoT equips individuals to recognize when their habitual cognitive interface breaks down, dwell productively in liminal uncertainty, and reconfigure new modes of thinking. Drawing on phenomenological analysis of 131 participants in an intensive Eco-Centered Psychological Facilitation (ECPF) course in Ukraine, we identify key manifestations of transition literacy: flickering identity, generative procrastination, and the mirror crisis triggered by interaction with AI. Rather than pathologizing procrastination or educational inertia, these are reframed as early indicators of interface transformation. The study shows how bodily sensations, temporal rhythms, and minimal interventions serve as navigational tools for cognitive reorganization. By reframing education as an ecology of becoming, the article proposes a shift from outcome-based learning to rhythmic architectures and hybrid agency. LoT offers a generative response to uncertainty, redefining critical thinking not as mastery of content but as the art of navigating shifting cognitive terrains in dialogue with human and non-human systems.