The Internet is a simulation of the brain. Connections between neurons make the brain work, and generate the mind. Connections between computers generate the web. The mind is a network of neurons, and the Net is a network of minds. The Inner Net (mind: antarmukha), and the Outer Net (the web: bahirmukha).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the more time you spend with the Outer Net, the less time you have to strengthen the connections in the Inner Net. There are many neurons that remain unused, because they don\u2019t fire often, even though they\u2019re a part of the network (the neurons that fire together wire together). This applies to minds too. All minds are part of the network of minds (even without the Internet). But some minds are \u2018major\u2019 nodes, playing important roles in the cognitive machinery of humanity, because they fire more often and to greater effect. And ironically, they can only do this in isolation, because if you\u2019re part of the noise of the Internet, you will lack the ability to make the signals. This has always been true, even when the network of minds (the Outer Net, \u2018bahirmukha\u2019) was connected by means other than the Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, the more connected human society becomes, the less in touch with their consciousness and subconsciousness humans become, and proportionately less able to make the connections that are the stuff of ideas and creation (one definition of an idea is \u2018a previously unseen connection between two seemingly unconnected concepts\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there is the fact that we have delegated memory to hard disks and the Internet. Memories are like tools and the raw material with which we create. Someone with a paintbrush and colours can either be an artist or not. But someone without the paintbrush and colours certainly cannot be an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we don\u2019t have the required \u2018furniture\u2019 or \u2018tools\u2019 in our heads to be creative, inventive in the same way that our ancestors were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Memorising something requires depth of processing. That is why experts, who engage with their domain expertise and have a deep understanding of it, have a superb memory for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But are we not in the age of \u2018exponential progress\u2019? Aren\u2019t breakthroughs coming at an ever-increasing rate? My theory is that they are not breakthroughs, at least in the fundamental sense that movable type printing, electricity, the theory of evolution or quantum mechanics were. We have today improvements in the technology of science (better instruments, experimentation, knowledge repositories) but not in the science of technology \u2013 the insights and brainwaves that lead to new technology and change the way we live. Speaking of which, life expectancy has either stagnated or is falling. And the quality of life is not improving . <\/em>At least, the perceived quality of life is not improving. But that is a whole other question: is an hour spent surfing the web on an iPad better than an hour spent hunting for flowers in a wood? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Internet is a simulation of the brain. Connections between neurons make the brain work, and generate the mind. Connections between computers generate the web. The mind is a network of neurons, and the Net is a network of minds. The Inner Net (mind: antarmukha), and the Outer Net (the web: bahirmukha). Now the more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speculations","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"\n