Disconnected from the Collective Halucination
On Wednesday, our "free" ADSL modem from BT went on holiday. Permenantly. After calling BT about it, I was informed that "a Tech will call and set up an apointment some time to come round and fix it". Three days passed - no call. I'm assuming "some time" means some time this year or the next. Not being able to wait (after all, something amazing might happen on the "hamster-powered midi machine" website - I'm not kidding, Google it), Cin and I decide to go out and get our own ADSL modem, one that sings and dances and plays games and tucks you in at night. Failing that, at least one that reliably connects us to the Collective Halucination that is the internet, so that we can regain our status as "Homo sapiens digitalis" (of which we likely comprise about 20% or less of the entire total number of humans on the planet).
And that's the point. We lasted three days without internet. THREE DAYS. Back when I was a kid (walking to school uphill in a blizzard both ways) I sometimes went weeks without news from further away then the next town. Now, I feel completely lost when I can't simply reach out and see what's going on in Thailand, or Uzbekistan, or Toronto. It was absolutely amazing how dependent one can become on the Weird Wired Web.
Of course, we have an excuse. Cindy and I don't watch, and currently don't even OWN a television, despite the great nashing of teeth from the UK's leading law-enforcement agency, the TV Police (see the note at the bottom of this post). So our only window to what's going on in the world is the local radio station - whose apparent main concerns consist of football, whether there's a que at the A6/M1 motorway interchange, and speculation on why the Queen Mum won't attend Chuck's wedding to Camilla. Consequently we feel a little discombobulated when we can't connect to the world at large.
And yet, I think it's more then that. I think (for those of us that are wired, anyway) that perhaps the human race is evolving toward a more collective consciousness, made up of the shared experiences, images, and ideas of everyone who is connected. This Blog is a case in point - without which you wouldn't be exposed to these ramblings of mine (perhaps mercifully). And without the constant feed of data from this "higher collective" we have the sensation that we're missing something vital. Like the phantom itching amputees feel from the place where a limb once was.
The question is now, as the world differentiates further and further into the "connected" and the "disconnected", will those of us who share experiences/images/ideas be all the better for it than those who dream their own dreams, and think their own thoughts? In other words, is the increase in diverse experiences and ideas stimulating our brains into new and different directions? Or like a fastfood franchise, are we plowing down and paving over our individual cognitive functioning to put up a McPsyche - a place of homogenaity and non-imagination. A place that the "Everyman" can understand?
Sounds like there's a novel in there...
***
Note: In the UK you have to pay to watch BBC through rabbit ears. Not cable or satelite TV (called "sky" TV here) but through-the-air signals. If you don't pay, the TV police come round and confiscate your TV until you get a license. Cindy and I have been getting politely threatening letters from these people ever since we moved in, asking us if we're SURE we don't have a TV and that the inspectors could be calling round ANY MOMENT and by then it's TOO LATE and that we could suffer a HUGE FINE or worse, be forced to eat marmite. Its as if they think we misplaced our TV. Or don't realize that we have a TV tucked away in a back closet somewhere. Or maybe had one fall inadvertantly between the cushions of the sofa, there to rest with the loose change and the pocket lint. Maybe they've convinced themselves that us "hooligan colonials" have been stealing UK TV signals and smuggling them back to Canada to sell at a huge profit. Regardless, the near monthly letters have been a good chuckle and we often gather round the warmth of the fire at nights, the cats purring contentedly at our feet, and re-read the crinkled, finger-smudged words from these stauch defenders of public law and order.
And that's the point. We lasted three days without internet. THREE DAYS. Back when I was a kid (walking to school uphill in a blizzard both ways) I sometimes went weeks without news from further away then the next town. Now, I feel completely lost when I can't simply reach out and see what's going on in Thailand, or Uzbekistan, or Toronto. It was absolutely amazing how dependent one can become on the Weird Wired Web.
Of course, we have an excuse. Cindy and I don't watch, and currently don't even OWN a television, despite the great nashing of teeth from the UK's leading law-enforcement agency, the TV Police (see the note at the bottom of this post). So our only window to what's going on in the world is the local radio station - whose apparent main concerns consist of football, whether there's a que at the A6/M1 motorway interchange, and speculation on why the Queen Mum won't attend Chuck's wedding to Camilla. Consequently we feel a little discombobulated when we can't connect to the world at large.
And yet, I think it's more then that. I think (for those of us that are wired, anyway) that perhaps the human race is evolving toward a more collective consciousness, made up of the shared experiences, images, and ideas of everyone who is connected. This Blog is a case in point - without which you wouldn't be exposed to these ramblings of mine (perhaps mercifully). And without the constant feed of data from this "higher collective" we have the sensation that we're missing something vital. Like the phantom itching amputees feel from the place where a limb once was.
The question is now, as the world differentiates further and further into the "connected" and the "disconnected", will those of us who share experiences/images/ideas be all the better for it than those who dream their own dreams, and think their own thoughts? In other words, is the increase in diverse experiences and ideas stimulating our brains into new and different directions? Or like a fastfood franchise, are we plowing down and paving over our individual cognitive functioning to put up a McPsyche - a place of homogenaity and non-imagination. A place that the "Everyman" can understand?
Sounds like there's a novel in there...
***
Note: In the UK you have to pay to watch BBC through rabbit ears. Not cable or satelite TV (called "sky" TV here) but through-the-air signals. If you don't pay, the TV police come round and confiscate your TV until you get a license. Cindy and I have been getting politely threatening letters from these people ever since we moved in, asking us if we're SURE we don't have a TV and that the inspectors could be calling round ANY MOMENT and by then it's TOO LATE and that we could suffer a HUGE FINE or worse, be forced to eat marmite. Its as if they think we misplaced our TV. Or don't realize that we have a TV tucked away in a back closet somewhere. Or maybe had one fall inadvertantly between the cushions of the sofa, there to rest with the loose change and the pocket lint. Maybe they've convinced themselves that us "hooligan colonials" have been stealing UK TV signals and smuggling them back to Canada to sell at a huge profit. Regardless, the near monthly letters have been a good chuckle and we often gather round the warmth of the fire at nights, the cats purring contentedly at our feet, and re-read the crinkled, finger-smudged words from these stauch defenders of public law and order.
posted by Mark at 8:08 a.m.
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