Schools of thought/perspective

[Undertoad]

There are approximately
6,602,224,175

people on this big blue marble.

Figure that a bunch of them are not cognizant enough to recognize anyone, except maybe mom and/or dad.... let's round to six billion.

Each of us has a unique experience in our memories. Each of our brains are unique. The consciousness that makes us special, has 6 billion fingerprints out there. No two are alike.

We were born, we had experiences; we grew, we developed relationships, we were taught by parents, we were taught things in school, we had family traditions that went back as far as anyone could remember. We shared what we knew. We shared how we felt about it.

Most of us can trace our genetic background to some similar place... xoB sent off for the kit that can tell you where your vast ancestors came from. For the most part, we share enough genetics that all humans have the same basic capacity to learn. You may think you come from Europe, or Asia, or Africa, wherever... we all have the basic capacity to learn and be unique human beings.

Over time, the human race has developed many tools which allow it to share information. At first, the trick was to publish the information in some form of writing. This allowed information to survive beyond the tales and biases of one or two generations. This allowed information to be collected.

Since then, the sharing of information has led to the progress of mankind. Each change in how we share information has been the front of huge leaps in progress. The invention of paper. The invention of the printing press. Telegraph. Telephony. Radio. Television.

The INTARWEBS

...which comes to where we are now, in 2007; in a remarkable exercise, we have presented each of the 6 Billion minds on the planet, if they are in reach of an Internet cafe, with equal access to pretty much all the facts we commonly know. OK, not all of them have access. But it's a new level we have come to, a vast and fascinating exercise.

To my great delight, it spreads to the Cellar; a place that started as only accessible to one city, is now accessible to at least the entire English-speaking world.

And yet we find ourselves in deep, deep disagreement. We are, in many circles, as separate as we might ever find ourselves. We develop websites for those who believe as we do, and where we can say the worst possible things about the people who believe other things!

How can this be?

(ed. note. probably part one of x.)