The Pace of Change is Accelerating

So I haven't abandoned the blog after just two posts. I've been working on two other long entries, one of which should be ready to post in the next couple of days. It's also been a bit busy as of late. In the future though I'm going to aim to crank out entries more often, rather than trying to perfect entries. I do like to let the deeper, more complex topics crystallize over time so I give all the intricacies proper thought. Does anyone else out there have trouble with repeatedly editing, adding, deleting, and re-editing when writing? Maybe it works better if I just let my stream of consciousness take over the keyboard?

In any case, I wanted to post a recurring thought I keep having: I am blown away by just how profound of an impact the internet is having on the collective brain of mankind. At times I am little aware of the substantial gains in productivity in my own life from having things like Google and Wikipedia as an extension of my brain. But the impact is indeed massive. And collectively, the impact is even more significant. The internet is spreading ideas and commerce more quickly than ever before. New business models and websites pop up daily that disrupt old inefficient tasks. Corrupt governments and organizations are more likely to be outed/challenged by groups of people who are communicating and connecting. People are finding their own niche communities. Experts are finding one another and sharing thoughts/research. People with ordinary IQs and memory banks can utilize the internet to harness collective intelligence on just about any subject that pops up. Are we truly on the verge of the Singularity, where increasingly fast technological progress is leading us to super-intelligence? Some days I really think so. Other days I think about the ways in which certain human emotions and biases counteract this progress. The Glenn Becks of the world stand right in our path (they are better able to connect with their niche of followers after all). The proliferation of information also gives rise to new problems in filtering, searching, and authentication. Further, with information at the push of a button, we face the proposition that deep, nuanced understanding of a subject is giving way to quick and superficial understanding which is less valuable.

Still, I feel as if my own understanding of the world is growing at an accelerated rate (and I cannot be special in that regard). I am not only better able to understand certain subjects, but I am better able to assess what I do not know (the known unknown), what it will take to gain understanding, and what the opportunity cost of gaining that understanding is. I can see more connections across subject areas. Some might call it metacognition. Part of this is a function of my age, of accumulating more experiences over time. But it is also partly a result of this information enabler (the internet), the pace of change it has created, and the new tools that I have added to my disposal almost daily (case in point, I transmitted an edit to this post from my cell phone). Sometimes it makes me feel uneasy or inferior. There are kids growing up in generations behind me who can leapfrog me in certain skill areas and usage of certain tools because they grow up not using the outdated stuff that I learned on. It also gives me a view on how much knowledge exists out there, how much I still do not understand, how much time it would take to better understand everything, the enormity of all the data, books, thoughts, writings, equations, etc. And of course it also exposes me to and makes me aware of the millions upon millions of humans who have tendencies towards ignorance and hatred, or who don't want to see progress, or want to take advantage/mislead others, and so forth. On some occasions these thoughts often lead me to the question "What's the point of this technological progress and explosion of human capability? We haven't figured out how to create a human utopia. We all end up just breathing, eating, procreating, and dying anyway...so what's the point?" Then I bring myself back down to Earth and remember that questions like that don't really have answers. Humanity does have a track record over the long haul of making things better and more accessible for larger numbers of humans. For most of us there is increasing choice and a better existence. Above all, existence is preferable to not existing. I think therefore I am, and because I am, I should continue to be. I want to live a life full of good and interesting experiences, minimize the bad, and find a way to contribute to a better existence for current and future mankind.

So my reading list grows and my technology habits morph. I try to anticipate how society will change so I can best adapt. Change is inevitable. It's also pretty exciting. What kind of beings will we be in 50 years? Will we be living until we're 150 years old? 200 years old? If so, what does that mean for our social constructs regarding resource allocation, assisted suicide, birth control, religion, nation states, energy and food production, space exploration, etc? What role will robots play? What will our attitudes be towards other animals/species? What goals and worries will preoccupy our thoughts? I hope to be writing in 50 years about just how little I knew or understood in 2011, and how fast and far the world changed for the better.

Anyone else thinking about these things? Anyone else blown away by the changes you see taking place on a daily basis and noticing how you yourself are changing?

I'll leave you with Louis CK's classic diatribe: