Well, I've been out of this group for quite a while, but its nice to see
loads
of the same people still interacting.
The quote down below about computers surpassing humans and evolving as the
next form is just something I've been thinking about.
It feels like the next evolutionary step is going to be a super (won't use
META
just yet) set of the consiousnesses avaliable.
The single cell formed and now works with many others in the shape of
(wonder
twin powers activate....) bodies, and yes, I'll just jump here to human
bodies.
Humans took another evolutionary step here by collaborating in the form of
communitites. These individual communties became larger and became things
like cities and nation-states, and all that. I might think technologies
like
agriculture and animal domestication really helped here. Legal and religous
memes are not to be excluded either.
[You know, that last little section hides lots of history and data, but I
haven't had
a beer yet today, so I'm just trying to squeeze my ideas out succienctly.]
Next stop (not really) silicon. The computers and cell phones and all them
other gadgets not made o' wood are allowing a huge and instantaneous web
of connections to arise. Connections between humans and humans, computers
and computers, humans and computers are proliferating.
Whoops, I just used the word 'web'. At least I didn't preface a word with
'cyber!'
These connections are what is sponsering an evolving form.
Yet another entity that will be an aggragation of most humans and
computers on the planet.
What will be the effective of all this interconnectedness of the minds, in
meme
terms, that is?
Will it be similar to the effects that physical interconnectedness?
The plague, AIDS, increased tolerance of "foriegn" behaviour, mobile
specialists,
sharing of artifacts, the desire to preserve the "common ground?"
Any how, just wanted to provoke some ideas, but now I've got to get my pale flesh out into a rare Seattle sunny day.
eEc
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Woon <yardman@woontech.com>
To: virus@lucifer.com <virus@lucifer.com>
Date: Saturday, May 08, 1999 7:34 AM
Subject: Re: virus: Re: META: topical rules
>Not so, Within a hundred years, humans will be able to explain the whole
>universe. And within twenty years, computers will out think and surpass
>human intelligence (from "Age of Spiritual Machines" - Kurzweil).
>
>Don't underestimate evolution and it's ability to surpass itself, ie., the
>next stage in evolution is being created by us in the form of computers.
>