Are we discovering more than we can process?

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I do think we ARE in an age of information/technology where the speed of discovery and dissemination is faster than it ever has been.  Some have called it a "revolution," like the Industrial Revolution, etc.  I think we have had a lessening of the FEAR of new technology (again, watching a 3rd worlder approach things they've never seen only ever heard of is a fascinating way to learn about all this), and this is definitely brought about because of how quickly everything has been changing and how quickly it becomes consumable and usable by the general populace.

Hmm, I think maybe there is an increasing gap in our human society when it comes to technology, discovery, and advancement.  

But, because of the bias of hindsight, I'm not convinced that the stuff we are discovering today is that much more mindblowing than the stuff that was being discovered a thousand years ago or more.

I mean, I that's probably impossible to measure unless we discover a way to re-animate the people who lived back in those times.  

Next advance on the list!

[Richter]

History has shown that new technologies can be incorporated fairly easy, once its use and market have been established.

But technology at a user level is vastly removed from understanding how it works.  Most people still can't explain how a CD player really works, and that technology is already dying.

Seems to me like we've redefined "process" - Are we discovering more than we can "assimilate and make use of"?

Probably not!

This.  We, by necessity need to screen it out from all the other stuff that isn't relevant to us

LMNO pointed out earlier that the BIP resonates here and you point the same thing. There really is no escape from the BIP, is there?

You can make anything resonate with anything if you try enough.  Christianity's use of the death of Christ as a metaphor has proved this to me.  

Not to cheapen's LMNO point, it is a valid one, but being cynical about these things helps me avoid the informaiton overload this thread cites in the first place

[Adios]

I do think we ARE in an age of information/technology where the speed of discovery and dissemination is faster than it ever has been.  Some have called it a "revolution," like the Industrial Revolution, etc.  I think we have had a lessening of the FEAR of new technology (again, watching a 3rd worlder approach things they've never seen only ever heard of is a fascinating way to learn about all this), and this is definitely brought about because of how quickly everything has been changing and how quickly it becomes consumable and usable by the general populace.

Hmm, I think maybe there is an increasing gap within our human society when it comes to technology, discovery, and advancement.  

But, because of the bias of hindsight, I'm not convinced that the stuff we are discovering today is that much more mindblowing than the stuff that was being discovered a thousand years ago or more.

I mean, I that's probably impossible to measure unless we discover a way to re-animate the people who lived back in those times.  

Pretty good point. I can only imagine the excitement of discovering one could make a fire at any time instead of always having to carry it around with you.

[AFK]

I do think we ARE in an age of information/technology where the speed of discovery and dissemination is faster than it ever has been.  Some have called it a "revolution," like the Industrial Revolution, etc.  I think we have had a lessening of the FEAR of new technology (again, watching a 3rd worlder approach things they've never seen only ever heard of is a fascinating way to learn about all this), and this is definitely brought about because of how quickly everything has been changing and how quickly it becomes consumable and usable by the general populace.

Hmm, I think maybe there is an increasing gap in our human society when it comes to technology, discovery, and advancement.  

But, because of the bias of hindsight, I'm not convinced that the stuff we are discovering today is that much more mindblowing than the stuff that was being discovered a thousand years ago or more.

I mean, I that's probably impossible to measure unless we discover a way to re-animate the people who lived back in those times.  

Next advance on the list!

And of course those people would be instantly corrupted anyway unless you put them in an isolation containment where they can't see cell-phones, TV, velcro, breast implants, etc., etc., 

[Captain Utopia]

This is a repost, but I think it's relevant here too.  "Digital Natives" - kids who grew up in a stimulation saturated environment have brains which develop differently and seem to have certain processing advantages, as a result.
  http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/13/miles-obrien-is-tech.html

I'm guessing that capacity is still finite though, and no word yet on what the mystery ingredient in that "free lunch" is.

[Cramulus]

Re: Are we discovering more than we can process?

as LMNO said, it depends on the "we" you're talking about. Are we discovering stuff faster than individuals can process it? Oh hell yes, that's why people have such trouble explaining stuff like the LHC. That's (partially) why so much of the American public thinks that climate change is some kind of political gambit.


What we're observing is that information has a velocity. And certain information moves through some channels and populations faster than other information.




I'm reminded of this fictional syndrome by William Gibson, called Nerve Attenuation Syndrome. In his version of the near future, we get blasted with so much information on a minute to minute basis that can lead to a nervous breakdown. People see thousands of advertisements a day! People are exposed to large sets of conflicting information (visualize flipping back and forth between fox news and MSNBC). And as time goes on, marketers get better at grabbing our attention, creating stress, releasing that stress by making a sale...

So in the future, people start shorting out. They get nervous tics, then epileptic fits, then they just shut down. The best medicine is to spend some time in the mountains, alone.

[Adios]

This is a repost, but I think it's relevant here too.  "Digital Natives" - kids who grew up in a stimulation saturated environment have brains which develop differently and seem to have certain processing advantages, as a result.
  http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/13/miles-obrien-is-tech.html

I'm guessing that capacity is still finite though, and no word yet on what the mystery ingredient in that "free lunch" is.

So you are saying that evolution can be shaped by information? Would that make information a new environment?

[Nephew Twiddleton]

This is a repost, but I think it's relevant here too.  "Digital Natives" - kids who grew up in a stimulation saturated environment have brains which develop differently and seem to have certain processing advantages, as a result.
  http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/13/miles-obrien-is-tech.html

I'm guessing that capacity is still finite though, and no word yet on what the mystery ingredient in that "free lunch" is.

So you are saying that evolution can be shaped by information? Would that make information a new environment?

Maybe eventually. I could see at some point in the future people who are better at processing large amounts of info get better jobs and therefore are more desirable mates. It's kinda that way now, but I think that the brain development being seen now has more to do with inherent plasticity. Could be though that people who are able to maintain plasticity eventually out compete people with less plasticity.

[Requia ☣]

This is a repost, but I think it's relevant here too.  "Digital Natives" - kids who grew up in a stimulation saturated environment have brains which develop differently and seem to have certain processing advantages, as a result.
  http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/13/miles-obrien-is-tech.html

I'm guessing that capacity is still finite though, and no word yet on what the mystery ingredient in that "free lunch" is.

So you are saying that evolution can be shaped by information? Would that make information a new environment?

That's not so much evolution as plasticity*.  Human brains are particularly good at this (which is why you know how to use a lever and your ancestors didn't).

*I may be using this term inappropriately, but since I don't know the right one I'm going to use it anyway.

[Adios]

So are you guys saying that the brain is not evolving to adapt to a new environment?

[Captain Utopia]

This is a repost, but I think it's relevant here too.  "Digital Natives" - kids who grew up in a stimulation saturated environment have brains which develop differently and seem to have certain processing advantages, as a result.
  http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/13/miles-obrien-is-tech.html

I'm guessing that capacity is still finite though, and no word yet on what the mystery ingredient in that "free lunch" is.

So you are saying that evolution can be shaped by information?

The point I was making only went as far to say that the development of kids brains is being effected by their environment.  And we have no long-term studies to help tell us what that's going to look like in the future.  Will they be burned-out by 30, super-geniuses, or pretty much what we would consider normal?

Would that make information a new environment?

I think information is one of the oldest environments we've ever known.

Given that it's how we perceive all other environments, I don't see how our ability to comprehend and manipulate more of it couldn't affect our evolutionary paths.

Not sure how useful that is though, considering the difficulty in predicting (or even documenting) the complexity which arises from evolutionary processes.

[LMNO]

So are you guys saying that the brain is not evolving to adapt to a new environment?

I am.

Evolution is a process that is marked by centuries, if not millenia, and it involves those that reproduce, and genetic biological change.

What we're talking about here is not the physical structure of the braing changing.  It's still a brain, and it looks like a brain of 100 years ago.

[Jenne]

I do think we ARE in an age of information/technology where the speed of discovery and dissemination is faster than it ever has been.  Some have called it a "revolution," like the Industrial Revolution, etc.  I think we have had a lessening of the FEAR of new technology (again, watching a 3rd worlder approach things they've never seen only ever heard of is a fascinating way to learn about all this), and this is definitely brought about because of how quickly everything has been changing and how quickly it becomes consumable and usable by the general populace.

Hmm, I think maybe there is an increasing gap within our human society when it comes to technology, discovery, and advancement. 

But, because of the bias of hindsight, I'm not convinced that the stuff we are discovering today is that much more mindblowing than the stuff that was being discovered a thousand years ago or more.

I mean, I that's probably impossible to measure unless we discover a way to re-animate the people who lived back in those times. 

Well, I think we can ask people like my grandmother, who started out being raised on a hog farm in the 1930's and who now use the internet for all their corresepondance with their grandchildren.  Or people like my husband's stepfather who thought that when he saw "Lord of the Rings" it was about real events.  And he thought Disneyland was "real America."  Not the urban slums he was living in.

The speed of technological assimilation and the degree to which our lifestyles change to fit their use seems to be very fast indeed.  We went from courier mail systems to electronic communication that is not only realtime but IMMEDIATE in delivery and expectation (that last is the most important) in mere decades.  The demand for information to be by the second is phenomenal, considering.  And if you know someone who is from somewhere where this is not the case, and you listen to their point of view on life and what matters, you get a sense of "where we were" before this all blew up and became so integral in day to day life.

[AFK]

I'm curious as to what people think has changed or is in the process of changing in the environment that would cause the brain to evolve.  Do we really think we are absorbing or are subject to more knowledge than our ancestors?  

[Adios]

So are you guys saying that the brain is not evolving to adapt to a new environment?

I am.

Evolution is a process that is marked by centuries, if not millenia, and it involves those that reproduce, and genetic biological change.

What we're talking about here is not the physical structure of the braing changing.  It's still a brain, and it looks like a brain of 100 years ago.

I suppose this is true as it really depends on an individual and how they respond to info overload. I do feel like it's an info overload at times but natural curiosity still keeps me digging around for more. Sometimes it feels so very counter productive.

I think it was Cram earlier that said the best thing to do sometimes is to just go sit on a mountain.