internet as a global neural network/brain? (obvious but fascinating)

[victor c.h. fan]

this is an essay i wrote a winter or two ago. i've been meaning to share it, but its not very well researched and im sure many brighter than me have put this to bed. But...either way hope ya like.

________

the idea obviously exists...
Indulge me an anecdote: play this in background...

i was overheariing a radio canada international thing about the hoax of the untimely death of dear old Canadian icon Gordon Lightfoot.
they tracked down a journalist who tracked it back to the origin of the *hoax*. it turned out some guy claiming to be lightfoot's grandson broke the *news* to the family of ronny hawkins, and told poor ol 'hawk' that his ol buddy gord was a goner.
The journalist mused on how it went so viral so fast...of course until ol gordo himself heard in the back of a cab on the radio that he was apparently dead (how much would it suck to ponder you might actually be dead -- and the afterlife is the back of a filthy ass taxi cab...but i digress

This journalist presents a convincing, if rather obvious connection between the success of the 'hoax' to the current state of the internet. But he makes a casual observation about something rather profound...I paraphrase:

the present and emerging state of the internet represents a new relationship between the citizen, and journalism (defined here as the insitution devoted to 'public record' -- the first draft of history) we learn to question always the storyteller...you can retract and apologize for a lie in the public domain all you want...but it cannot erase the fact that the statements are matters of 'public record' (aka journalists).
He observes that public lies, AND truths has equal potential to use the neural network of the 'internet' to affect the emotions and hearts of the world at large.. and for good and bad ideas to have the potential of a virus, infection, or mutation (Darwinian definitions).

Consider these postulates:

1. The internet as an evolving neural network of a global-brain, if you will....its potential effect: a self-awareness of the planet as a single complex organism.
   
2. As such: we can benefit from applying principles and ideas associated with psychology, neuroscience, and neuroimmunology.
   
3. as well as the franeworks of the evolutionary biology, and the postulates of moores law.
   

now...
let me take you back to Earth 100million years after formation...hot as hell, all life resembles puddles of snought...ok we've got to cue through this s*** like at about: say 10 million years per minute...
so watch the single cell amoeba collide and rub against each other...then for some reason i cant even begin to fathom...they team up, bond, mutate etc...
in the next minute of cosmic time...it gets more complex, it mutates, it branches out...consider exhibit a and exhibit b.


So why is this out there? Most of what I'm saying is hardly original - a Darwinian interpretation of global internet theory. Although the philosopical idea of 'global consciousness'' is longstanding...debates about the role of the 'internet' in this worldview is pretty sparce. but I feel its time to investigate it from a more cultural / phenomenoligal angle. The potential reward is brushing up against what I coinsider the ultimate mystery in the Darwinian model...at what point does consciousness evolve sentience?

when it begins to be aware of itself.

what then follows would be like a being, waking up - as seen from the perspective of one of its cells. Now im the last person for 'conformity', but we're talking about survival! and besides, my 'cell function' is just communicating (so i make films and write stuff), not everyone has to be a nerve cell or brain cell but everyone has a purpose.

bytheby: im workin on a much simpler story for 101010 (about gratitude and giving in music, in thxgiving in canada!)...cant imagine capturing that in one day :s

More to come...

victorchfan

headtax

toronto, ontario, canada, earth

a few interesting tangents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_neuroscience
WHY THE FUTURE DOESN'T NEED US - Bill Joy's earth-shattering 2000 ARTICLE on moores law and its social ramifications