22nd Century – How many brains does your remote reach?

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Technology. Innovation. Digital media. Surging forward … in addition to a myriad of questions of how, why, where, etc., that would explore the impact of ever changing scenes round the corner, there is one more aspect that needs to be examined: where does all these lead us to? Can we, as humans, want to give up control of our faculties, or immerse ourselves into the depths of possibilities, yielding perhaps to a “bettered Us”?

A recent episode on the PBS channel gives much food for thought, and wonder about everything that revolves around our lives … as it was before, the way it stands now, and spatially bound hereafter … well, if we can presume that we would have one, life that is, after all the advances that are set to besiege us in the near future. It was a great episode actually, entitled: 22nd Century – The World Wide Mind. The world wide mind (WWM, pronounced whim) was explored to depict the distinct possibility of hooking up everyone’s minds in a web of connectivity & synchronicity. The power to tap into resources of connected minds to address, evaluate and resolve anything that your mind ponders on at any given time: a question pops into your mind, and poof, already answered, packaged, delivered to your mind, and instantaneously mastered. What a concept! And as you know concepts inevitably become reality, in light of advancements we have seen so far, whether borrowed from fiction, or otherwise engineered.

Can you imagine the significance, or the impact such Cerebral Connectivity would have on our society? Who would be responsible for the WWM, and how would such connectivity be managed amidst the constant struggle for power? Countries will be racing towards mind control schemes that would rival the nuclear arms race, and within each country there could be chaos, or there could be united thinking borne not by individuality but rather collective brain-washing. Zap! Poof! And your mind is free to move about within the confines of the reprogrammed zone. Would the WWM be in the hands of select few, or collectively owned by the masses? Would the force of mind control replace bombs, and perhaps lead to newer generation of genocide, holocausts, etc? Even the most innocent innovations have been exploited at the hands of kings, presidents, government and what not, mostly in the name of boundaries, segregation, and PEACE.

On the political front, would there even be Obama factor? Or would Clinton, Obama and all the primary candidates have the same brain wavelengths, be on the same page, and maybe think up of the same strategies to tackle all the issues of national interest? Where will this leave the GOP, and other political factions? Or, perhaps there will be an end to bipartisan, as the democrats and republicans share the mind of a collective brain: the brain of the nation!
Would it matter that all teams have the ability to get into Super Bowl, and more importantly would two deserving coaches, Tony Dungy of Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of Chicago Bears, both of African American heritage finally have equal opportunity to get into NFL history long before people look at the diversity stats of football seasons? Would there be even such a thing as race, or would WWM be so programmed to segregate people … er minds actually, based on regional needs?
Would all people be interested in similar experiences and/or preferences (such as shopping, education, social outings, etc)? Of course, immersive experiences such as travel, IMAX etc could be a thing of the past – poof! You already have experienced the ways from far corners of Asia through the deepest routes of Zimbabwe without ever setting foot outside your home/mind.

When the mind can be controlled through web connectivity, everyone would seemingly have the same brain power to achieve anything and everything; and this might perhaps lead to supercharging the comfort needs, collective experiences, etc, which could only rob people of individualism. And yes, more automation, robots, and artificial intelligence all lead to degenerative “real” minds.

On a more local level, this might mean the loss of our jobs, as machines could be programmed to deliver every need. And the usefulness of human race: perhaps very questionable. Every experience that we are capable of could theoretically be reduced to information, that somehow feeds and negates the desires that would have been evoked otherwise. And our zombie-selves will be, for once, no better or worse from our neighbors across the road, town, or country. Equals, finally, but not the way all the Great Leaders/People of our times (George Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Tersea, Mahatma, Dalai Lama, Oskar Schindler, Nelson Mandela, to name a few) fought hard to achieve.

Of course, it’s not all doom say, mind you. The ability to tap into the brain cells of WWM network would lead to huge sale on La-Z-Boys. And the wars are not fought physically in Iraq, Korea or any continent locales, but more so from the comfort of your home. The might of your mind … How many brains can your remote reach? And when you think of master remote … yes, you got it, poof! The new reality shows could possibly revolve around the ways to outwit, create diversions, and confiscate brain cells to reach the master remote!

Pretty interesting indeed! What do you folks think? Ah yes, indeed … answers/opinions already known if only one had access to WWM.

In the words of Art Buchwald: whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we got.