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Human Beings Versus Digital Technology.
The next 50 years of human history will be determined by our relationship with machines. Our lives have gone hand-in-hand with technology since we created fire and primitive tools. Tools that we invented are a huge part of each new day that helps us to evolve. With an altered scale of things, like the ubiquitous Smartphone, we are being funnelled down a rapidly narrowing pathway to an unknown future for all humankind. No need to be concerned about the animals. They can not relate to the digital era like we do― their so-called superiors. So they will gradually disappear, only digitally kept alive on animal kingdom movies.
I'm thinking of producing a movie titled " Silencing the Nerds", where essentially men in their twenties, thirties and forties have swamped our natural thought patterns with robotic communication. Every common practice is being tweaked so that it complies with our growing population. Sounds great, but who really wants to live with such nature-crushing godlike technology.
Technology and primarily digital technology is changing rapidly, while human nature will almost always stay the same. Our brains formed around seven million years ago, to grow more rapidly around two million years ago. The problem we're left with is to either crank up the human brain several more notches or try and tame technology so each environment we are involved in is more aesthetically acceptable. To find victory we must pluck out the nerdy invaders who are filling too many heads with the wrong information about accepting a digitally perfect society.
Nature gives us choices of seasons, of temperatures so it's cold, it's wet or it's hot. Through political correctness we are left with a dwindling amount of choices. I don't have a problem with that as long as I do have a choice. But in the future if there is no choice, you may as well crawl inside a tortoise shell and flip yourself upside down. We have the right to choose because we are human beings. Humanoids? I'll leave that for Hollywood…
Let's look at the latest outdoor activities on television. It seems that tradies are showing us how to make plant stands that have been made to last possibly not much longer than the duration of that Homemaker program. They show the screws being power driven in. The camera pans away as a screw splits the wood. Next scene is a couple of sandpaper rubs then a paint roller colours the stands to balance the picture displayed for each viewer's HD TV screen.
These shows reveal people doing things with their hands but the show is really luring others to join in so their house and yard can be re-fashioned for others to see. Before and after shots and tricky camera work helps to achieve just how simple each task is. If it's broken or if it's unsightly it can be fixed by using today's technology, simple. Only the tips are shown so quickly that you must write in short-hand before the next time-wasting commercial arrives.
When we look at the latest weight–loss pill or pain reliever, a high-tech concoction is recommended, which is always more complicated and expensive. I find relief can be found by using simplicity and home remedies.
If you go anywhere today you will see people with both hands waist high and their heads down scrolling over their latest message from friends, lovers or offers of a lifetime. These advertisements usually always need unsubscribing from ―or adding to your spam list.
Why are we so focused on ourselves. Our mind and our imagination run wild and before we know it that brief perusal on the mobile stole our attention for almost half-an-hour. And that time lost is seen in open spaces during early morning exercise. It is amazing how many people have been caught-out behind the wheel, glancing downward while the fingers tap and slide over their mobile phone screen. A message says: "Can we meet for a game of volleyball at the beach?" "Not now, my phone is almost out of juice". Is their reply. Human relationships are being mis-managed by this technology.
Do we find truth in what is offered by the large companies that have mega-million dollar plans to save our planet. Does it involve more of this self-indulgent behaviour and whose interest is really being served? Years ago before computers, self-indulgence didn't have us on call 24/7 and the time used was useful time where we might read a novel, do some handiwork or gardening around the house ―you might even find the time to write to a distant friend, maybe go shopping then catch up with a friend over coffee.
We have human emotion versus computer logic so who is going to succeed? Certain nerdy companies are conveniently stealing our data, they weaken our relationships, invade our true vision of reality and many users of this technology are being swayed by "promises" for a veiled aimless and self-indulgent future.
Don't get me wrong, computers are priceless to me and any other digital technology. It is just a case of whether you should have accepted and downloaded that last program which was anti-virus approved and strangely listed as "FREE"
We, out of all living species, appear to be the most adaptable creatures and also the most intuitive and nurturing souls in the Universe. There is no better way to live your life in Nature than with a brain that can decide, so we can communicate with others while enriching mind and body to carry us through a lifetime.
Perhaps the whole digital-techno world of computers, mobiles, even robots could be re-invented (thanks to our beautiful minds) so that anything computerised needs to learn like we do― which would include making mistakes. These human error/techno error situations could have a positive interactive approach to a most happy environmental and aesthetically pleasing society―
The next 50 years of human history will be determined by our relationship with machines. Our lives have gone hand-in-hand with technology since we created fire and primitive tools. Tools that we invented are a huge part of each new day that helps us to evolve. With an altered scale of things, like the ubiquitous Smartphone, we are being funnelled down a rapidly narrowing pathway to an unknown future for all humankind. No need to be concerned about the animals. They can not relate to the digital era like we do― their so-called superiors. So they will gradually disappear, only digitally kept alive on animal kingdom movies.
I'm thinking of producing a movie titled " Silencing the Nerds", where essentially men in their twenties, thirties and forties have swamped our natural thought patterns with robotic communication. Every common practice is being tweaked so that it complies with our growing population. Sounds great, but who really wants to live with such nature-crushing godlike technology.
Technology and primarily digital technology is changing rapidly, while human nature will almost always stay the same. Our brains formed around seven million years ago, to grow more rapidly around two million years ago. The problem we're left with is to either crank up the human brain several more notches or try and tame technology so each environment we are involved in is more aesthetically acceptable. To find victory we must pluck out the nerdy invaders who are filling too many heads with the wrong information about accepting a digitally perfect society.
Nature gives us choices of seasons, of temperatures so it's cold, it's wet or it's hot. Through political correctness we are left with a dwindling amount of choices. I don't have a problem with that as long as I do have a choice. But in the future if there is no choice, you may as well crawl inside a tortoise shell and flip yourself upside down. We have the right to choose because we are human beings. Humanoids? I'll leave that for Hollywood…
Let's look at the latest outdoor activities on television. It seems that tradies are showing us how to make plant stands that have been made to last possibly not much longer than the duration of that Homemaker program. They show the screws being power driven in. The camera pans away as a screw splits the wood. Next scene is a couple of sandpaper rubs then a paint roller colours the stands to balance the picture displayed for each viewer's HD TV screen.
These shows reveal people doing things with their hands but the show is really luring others to join in so their house and yard can be re-fashioned for others to see. Before and after shots and tricky camera work helps to achieve just how simple each task is. If it's broken or if it's unsightly it can be fixed by using today's technology, simple. Only the tips are shown so quickly that you must write in short-hand before the next time-wasting commercial arrives.
When we look at the latest weight–loss pill or pain reliever, a high-tech concoction is recommended, which is always more complicated and expensive. I find relief can be found by using simplicity and home remedies.
If you go anywhere today you will see people with both hands waist high and their heads down scrolling over their latest message from friends, lovers or offers of a lifetime. These advertisements usually always need unsubscribing from ―or adding to your spam list.
Why are we so focused on ourselves. Our mind and our imagination run wild and before we know it that brief perusal on the mobile stole our attention for almost half-an-hour. And that time lost is seen in open spaces during early morning exercise. It is amazing how many people have been caught-out behind the wheel, glancing downward while the fingers tap and slide over their mobile phone screen. A message says: "Can we meet for a game of volleyball at the beach?" "Not now, my phone is almost out of juice". Is their reply. Human relationships are being mis-managed by this technology.
Do we find truth in what is offered by the large companies that have mega-million dollar plans to save our planet. Does it involve more of this self-indulgent behaviour and whose interest is really being served? Years ago before computers, self-indulgence didn't have us on call 24/7 and the time used was useful time where we might read a novel, do some handiwork or gardening around the house ―you might even find the time to write to a distant friend, maybe go shopping then catch up with a friend over coffee.
We have human emotion versus computer logic so who is going to succeed? Certain nerdy companies are conveniently stealing our data, they weaken our relationships, invade our true vision of reality and many users of this technology are being swayed by "promises" for a veiled aimless and self-indulgent future.
Don't get me wrong, computers are priceless to me and any other digital technology. It is just a case of whether you should have accepted and downloaded that last program which was anti-virus approved and strangely listed as "FREE"
We, out of all living species, appear to be the most adaptable creatures and also the most intuitive and nurturing souls in the Universe. There is no better way to live your life in Nature than with a brain that can decide, so we can communicate with others while enriching mind and body to carry us through a lifetime.
Perhaps the whole digital-techno world of computers, mobiles, even robots could be re-invented (thanks to our beautiful minds) so that anything computerised needs to learn like we do― which would include making mistakes. These human error/techno error situations could have a positive interactive approach to a most happy environmental and aesthetically pleasing society―
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The Digital Age Is Silently Re-organising Our Brains.
The worldwide web has been around for close to 26 years, yet it is hard to imagine life without it. It has given us instant access to vast amounts of information, and we're able to stay in touch with friends and colleagues more or less continuously.
But our dependence on the internet has a dark side. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the net, with its constant distractions and interruptions, is turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers.
Even when I was away from my computer, my mind seemed hungry for constant stimulation, for quick hits of information. I felt perpetually distracted.
Could my loss of focus be a result of all the time I've spent online? In search of an answer to that question, I began to dig into the many psychological, behavioural, and neurological studies that examine how the tools we use to think with - our information technologies - shape our habits of mind.
The picture that emerges is troubling, at least to anyone who values the subtlety, rather than just the speed, of human thought. People who read text studded with links comprehend less than those who read words printed on pages. People who watch busy multimedia presentations remember less than those who take in information in a more sedate and focused manner. People who are continually distracted by emails, updates and other messages understand less than those who are able to concentrate. And people who juggle many tasks are often less creative and less productive than those who do one thing at a time.
The common ground with these disabilities is the division of attention. The energy of our thoughts, our memories and even our personalities hinges on our ability to focus the mind and hold concentration. Only when we pay close attention to a new piece of information are we able to associate it meaningfully and systematically with knowledge already well established in memory. Such associations are essential to mastering complex concepts and thinking critically.
When we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be when looking at the screens of our computers and mobile phones, our brains can't forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give distinctiveness and depth to our thinking. Our thoughts become disjointed, our memories weak. The Roman philosopher Seneca offered this reasoning 2000 years ago: "To be everywhere is to be nowhere."
Certain computer tasks, such as playing video games, increase the speed at which people can shift their focus among icons and other images on screens. Other studies, however, found that such rapid shifts in focus, even if performed adeptly, result in less rigorous and more automatic thinking.
In one experiment some students was allowed to use internet-connected laptops during a lecture, while others had to keep their computers shut. Those who browsed the web performed much worse on a subsequent test of how well they retained the lecture's content. Earlier experiments revealed that as the number of links in an online document goes up, reading comprehension falls, and as more types of information are placed on a screen, we remember less of what we see.
Every medium develops some cognitive skills at the expense of others.
Our growing use of screen-based media has strengthened visual-spatial intelligence, which can strengthen the ability to do jobs that involve keeping track of lots of rapidly changing signals, such as piloting a plane or monitoring a patient during surgery. But that has been accompanied by new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes, including abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination., In one word, we are becoming more shallow.
Studies of our behaviour online support this conclusion. German researchers found that web browsers usually spend less than 10 seconds looking at a page. Even people doing academic research online tend to ''bounce'' rapidly between different documents, rarely reading more than a page or two. Such mental juggling takes a big toll. In a recent experiment researchers gave various cognitive tests to 49 people who do a lot of media multitasking and 52 people who multitask much less frequently. The heavy multitaskers performed poorly on all the tests. They were more easily distracted, had less control over their attention, and were much less able to distinguish important information from trivia. The researchers were surprised by the results. They expected the intensive multitaskers to have gained some mental advantages. But that wasn't the case. In fact, the multitaskers weren't even good at multitasking. Everything distracts them.
It would be one thing if the ill-effects went away as soon as we turned off our computers and mobiles. But they don't. Scientists have discovered the cellular structure of the human brain adapts readily to the tools we use to find, store and share information. By changing our habits of mind, each new technology strengthens certain neural pathways and weakens others. The alterations shape the way we think even when we're not using the technology.
One pioneering neuroscientist Michael Merzenich believes our brains are being "massively remodelled" by our ever-intensifying use of the web and related media. He conducted a famous series of experiments that revealed how extensively and quickly neural circuits change in response to experience. He was profoundly worried about the cognitive consequences of the constant distractions and interruptions the internet bombards us with. The long-term effect on the quality of our intellectual lives could be deadly.
Not all distractions are bad. As most of us know that if we concentrate too intensively on a tough problem, we can get trapped in a state of confusion. But if we let the problem sit unattended for a time, we often return to it with a fresh perspective and a burst of creativity.
Psychological research indicates that such breaks in our attention give our unconscious mind time to grapple with a problem, bringing to bear information and cognitive processes unavailable to conscious deliberation. We usually make better decisions if we shift our attention away from a mental challenge for a time.
But the psychologist's work also shows that our unconscious thought processes don't engage with a problem until we've clearly and consciously defined what the problem is. If we don't have a particular goal in mind, unconscious thought does not occur.
The constant distractedness that the internet encourages - the state of being, to borrow a phrase from T. S. Eliot, "distracted from distraction by distraction" - is very different from the kind of temporary, purposeful diversion of our mind that refreshes our thinking.
The discordant mixture of stimuli short-circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively. Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.
What we seem to be sacrificing in our surfing and searching is our capacity to engage in the quieter, attentive modes of thought that underpin contemplation, reflection and introspection. The web never encourages us to slow down. It keeps us in a state of perpetual mental locomotion. The rise of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, which pump out streams of brief messages, has only exacerbated the problem.
There's nothing wrong with absorbing information quickly and in bits and pieces. We've always skimmed newspapers more than we've read them, and we routinely run our eyes over books and magazines to get the gist of a piece of writing and decide whether it warrants more thorough reading.
The ability to scan and browse is as important as the ability to read deeply and think attentively.
What's disturbing is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of thought.
Once a means to an end, a way to identify information for further study, it's becoming an end in itself― our preferred method of both learning and analysis.
Lured by amazing internet treasures, we have not seen the damage we may be doing to our intellectual lives― if not our culture.
The worldwide web has been around for close to 26 years, yet it is hard to imagine life without it. It has given us instant access to vast amounts of information, and we're able to stay in touch with friends and colleagues more or less continuously.
But our dependence on the internet has a dark side. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the net, with its constant distractions and interruptions, is turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers.
Even when I was away from my computer, my mind seemed hungry for constant stimulation, for quick hits of information. I felt perpetually distracted.
Could my loss of focus be a result of all the time I've spent online? In search of an answer to that question, I began to dig into the many psychological, behavioural, and neurological studies that examine how the tools we use to think with - our information technologies - shape our habits of mind.
The picture that emerges is troubling, at least to anyone who values the subtlety, rather than just the speed, of human thought. People who read text studded with links comprehend less than those who read words printed on pages. People who watch busy multimedia presentations remember less than those who take in information in a more sedate and focused manner. People who are continually distracted by emails, updates and other messages understand less than those who are able to concentrate. And people who juggle many tasks are often less creative and less productive than those who do one thing at a time.
The common ground with these disabilities is the division of attention. The energy of our thoughts, our memories and even our personalities hinges on our ability to focus the mind and hold concentration. Only when we pay close attention to a new piece of information are we able to associate it meaningfully and systematically with knowledge already well established in memory. Such associations are essential to mastering complex concepts and thinking critically.
When we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be when looking at the screens of our computers and mobile phones, our brains can't forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give distinctiveness and depth to our thinking. Our thoughts become disjointed, our memories weak. The Roman philosopher Seneca offered this reasoning 2000 years ago: "To be everywhere is to be nowhere."
Certain computer tasks, such as playing video games, increase the speed at which people can shift their focus among icons and other images on screens. Other studies, however, found that such rapid shifts in focus, even if performed adeptly, result in less rigorous and more automatic thinking.
In one experiment some students was allowed to use internet-connected laptops during a lecture, while others had to keep their computers shut. Those who browsed the web performed much worse on a subsequent test of how well they retained the lecture's content. Earlier experiments revealed that as the number of links in an online document goes up, reading comprehension falls, and as more types of information are placed on a screen, we remember less of what we see.
Every medium develops some cognitive skills at the expense of others.
Our growing use of screen-based media has strengthened visual-spatial intelligence, which can strengthen the ability to do jobs that involve keeping track of lots of rapidly changing signals, such as piloting a plane or monitoring a patient during surgery. But that has been accompanied by new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes, including abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination., In one word, we are becoming more shallow.
Studies of our behaviour online support this conclusion. German researchers found that web browsers usually spend less than 10 seconds looking at a page. Even people doing academic research online tend to ''bounce'' rapidly between different documents, rarely reading more than a page or two. Such mental juggling takes a big toll. In a recent experiment researchers gave various cognitive tests to 49 people who do a lot of media multitasking and 52 people who multitask much less frequently. The heavy multitaskers performed poorly on all the tests. They were more easily distracted, had less control over their attention, and were much less able to distinguish important information from trivia. The researchers were surprised by the results. They expected the intensive multitaskers to have gained some mental advantages. But that wasn't the case. In fact, the multitaskers weren't even good at multitasking. Everything distracts them.
It would be one thing if the ill-effects went away as soon as we turned off our computers and mobiles. But they don't. Scientists have discovered the cellular structure of the human brain adapts readily to the tools we use to find, store and share information. By changing our habits of mind, each new technology strengthens certain neural pathways and weakens others. The alterations shape the way we think even when we're not using the technology.
One pioneering neuroscientist Michael Merzenich believes our brains are being "massively remodelled" by our ever-intensifying use of the web and related media. He conducted a famous series of experiments that revealed how extensively and quickly neural circuits change in response to experience. He was profoundly worried about the cognitive consequences of the constant distractions and interruptions the internet bombards us with. The long-term effect on the quality of our intellectual lives could be deadly.
Not all distractions are bad. As most of us know that if we concentrate too intensively on a tough problem, we can get trapped in a state of confusion. But if we let the problem sit unattended for a time, we often return to it with a fresh perspective and a burst of creativity.
Psychological research indicates that such breaks in our attention give our unconscious mind time to grapple with a problem, bringing to bear information and cognitive processes unavailable to conscious deliberation. We usually make better decisions if we shift our attention away from a mental challenge for a time.
But the psychologist's work also shows that our unconscious thought processes don't engage with a problem until we've clearly and consciously defined what the problem is. If we don't have a particular goal in mind, unconscious thought does not occur.
The constant distractedness that the internet encourages - the state of being, to borrow a phrase from T. S. Eliot, "distracted from distraction by distraction" - is very different from the kind of temporary, purposeful diversion of our mind that refreshes our thinking.
The discordant mixture of stimuli short-circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively. Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.
What we seem to be sacrificing in our surfing and searching is our capacity to engage in the quieter, attentive modes of thought that underpin contemplation, reflection and introspection. The web never encourages us to slow down. It keeps us in a state of perpetual mental locomotion. The rise of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, which pump out streams of brief messages, has only exacerbated the problem.
There's nothing wrong with absorbing information quickly and in bits and pieces. We've always skimmed newspapers more than we've read them, and we routinely run our eyes over books and magazines to get the gist of a piece of writing and decide whether it warrants more thorough reading.
The ability to scan and browse is as important as the ability to read deeply and think attentively.
What's disturbing is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of thought.
Once a means to an end, a way to identify information for further study, it's becoming an end in itself― our preferred method of both learning and analysis.
Lured by amazing internet treasures, we have not seen the damage we may be doing to our intellectual lives― if not our culture.
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What happens when all your most favourite things in the world just don't seem that precious and important any more?
