A parallel and similar development in human consciousness is: the development towards the Hive Mind.
A Hive Mind is traditionally a scary thing which has only been in use by fearsome aliens in SF novels. But it might be a good thing.
It used to be that good art of craft was almost always only found in products coming from individual artists or crafstmen (or inventors, or thinkers...). But the times are going towards collaboration.
Just one example is that it now rapidly becoming more reliable to read several reviews of something (a book, camera, computer...) online than it is to rely on the advice on a salesperson in a main street dealer.
I think Wikipedia is a great example of this.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, one of the best. I actually meant to mention that in the article.
ReplyDeleteThe success of science, so far as I understand it, has crucially depended on scientists checking up on each other's work. That's to say, science has been a collaborative enterprise from the start.
ReplyDeleteThe fear surrounding a hive mind is complete uniformity. If each member loses his or her distinct traits it becomes a nightmare. Creativity dies because no one can think an original thought, individuality is forcefully removed from each personality and ultimately you end up with a lot of gray drones doing the same damn thing as all the other gray drones.
ReplyDeleteWith every possibility there are the extreme outcomes such as the above which rarely turn out to be favorable for humankind. What we need to remember is that nothing is foolproof. Seeking a "safe" alternative will only stunt our progress. Worst case scenario it gets a bunch of us killed. The key is always finding the balance point. In this case, a hive mind comprised of interconnected individuals that each celebrate their uniqueness while simultaneously realizing that they are essentially the same as their brethren (there's really no way to say this that doesn't make it sound like a contradiction but it really isn't.) would likely turn out to be a wondrous thing.
But that would require us to take ourselves far less seriously than we do now. Only playful souls can pave the way to the future.
If only language weren't quite so limited... Then this post would be much more interesting. Ironically there'd be no need to make it.
Peaceful Blade said...
ReplyDelete..."and ultimately you end up with a lot of gray drones doing the same damn thing as all the other gray drones."
I take it you didn't enjoy your time in the Army very much? ;-)
Hey, honey, at least gray makes you look slim.
(there's really no way to say this that doesn't make it sound like a contradiction but it really isn't.)
So you're a poet. Naughty, naughty.
"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" - (Her Royal Majesty of Hearts)
Your point of view about art is preposterous. Yeats lauds greatly the "hive mind" type of communal creation which he imagined to have happened in ancient Byzantium. The works of Shakespeare and Homer both are probably products of great communal effort and cooperation. The notion of a "great individual creator" is really just a construct of the Romantic movement, which to me is mostly a rather pompous outpouring of people desperate for a little individuality amid the chaos of the early English Industrial Revolution.
ReplyDelete