There’s been heightened chatter as of late, particularly in the Twittersphere, around the idea humanity might be undergoing a consciousness expansion. This concept seems to be going mainstream, which could be a great thing provided it doesn’t get turned into a cliché or marketing gimmick.
This notion of a human consciousness shift that could emerge and alter the paradigm on planet earth in unimaginably positive ways was something I became obsessed with last year. My interest was sparked by the infantile and deranged political environment which swept across the U.S. in early 2017, and was solidified by an encounter with the concept of Spiral Dynamics generally, and the work of Ken Wilber specifically. I ended up writing a five-part series on the topic, which I’d like to revisit before moving on.
According to Wilber, the key threshold to hit in order for the next stage of human evolution to occur is 10% of the global population moving into a second-tier type consciousness (yellow based value system). To understand what that means, let’s revisit some of the key characteristics of people resonating at second-tier consciousness.
From Spiral Dynamic Integral the Netherlands:
Yellow value system Characteristics
Firstly, he noticed that a Yellow orientated lifestyle is much more free than a lifestyle in any of the other value systems. Yellow oriented people seemed to move and express themselves completely free and independent of their life environment. Contrary to people in other value systems, they were not afraid anymore to be rejected and they didn’t fear other people’s or God’s judgment. They didn’t show the need to make an impression on others and to reach the top at the cost of everything.They also didn’t strive anymore for absolute truths and they didn’t have the need to belong to something anymore. In short: these were people without irrational fears, compulsive needs and compulsive behaviors. However, this Yellow freedom doesn’t mean that people in the Yellow value system are not connected to their environment. On the contrary, Yellow oriented people are very much involved and show a lot of compassion. The biggest difference with people from other value systems is that their life environment is not fearfully or compulsively leading them.
Now here’s Ken Wilber’s brilliant description:
That’s a lot to unpack, so let me summarize. The various stages within first-tier consciousness are all driven by a deficiency motivator. Humans operating at that level are primarily driven by a need to prove something to themselves or others, or by a need/desire to attain something. All levels of first-tier consciousness are highly tribal and see the world as us (my team) against them (the others, who are considered heathens). At the second level, humans aren’t lacking in any major physical or psychological way, and are thus motivated by what Wilber describes as “being needs,” versus “deficiency needs.” Fear dissipates as does attachment to dogma. You’re simply more understanding of different perspectives and the roles they play even if you strongly disagree.
Naturally, people obsessed with controlling others and dominating society do not wish to see humans operating en masse at second-tier. People at a higher stage of consciousness are simply more troublesome and far harder to control and manipulate. As I noted in last year’s post, What is Spiral Dynamics and Why Have I Become So Interested in It?
Based on his recent observations, he [Wilber] estimates this number [operating at a second-tier consciousness] to now be around 5%. That’s an incredible leap, and explains a lot of the current status quo panic and drive to divide and conquer everyone. To see what I mean, let’s put it in the context of the U.S. adult population, which stands at around 242 million individuals.
1% of that number is 2.4 million adults. While that’s significant, if Ken is right about his 5% estimate, we are now talking about 12 million Americans operating at a far higher level of consciousness. Not enough to win a Presidential election, but very significant and extraordinarily dangerous to the establishment. If that sort of “awakening” continues, the current paradigm has no hope of survival. As such, all of the madness being perpetrated by the media and divisive pundits on both sides needs to be seen in the context of this unfolding of consciousness. These people are in the fight for their lives to keep the current paradigm they are comfortable with alive. If you accept this view, then you recognize the importance of staying true to your values and not regressing back into first-tier type thinking. As Wilber and others explain, these are fluid states, so periods of stress or fear can result in a regression of consciousness. It’s not an exaggeration to say that preventing this from happening is of the utmost significance.
As mentioned earlier, Wilber also previously estimated we need around 10% of the world population operating at second-tier to kickstart an entirely new paradigm here on earth. Personally, I think we’re very close to that number (if not there already), and that the major catalyst has been an explosive growth of the internet and social media.
Although it’s become trendy to disparage the internet, and social media specifically, as propagators of “fake news” and tribal echo chambers, I take the opposite view. First off, fake news has always been a fundamental part of the human experience. In prior centuries, the wealthy and powerful simply had a monopoly on creating and spreading it. The establishment doesn’t care about “fake news,” it’s simply terrified that people are now able to come to their own informed (or misinformed) conclusions without gatekeepers telling them what to think and how to think. The primary driver behind the establishment panic over “fake news” is simply fear regarding a loss of narrative control. There’s nothing else to it.
Looking at the bigger picture, human beings communicating in realtime, globally, on a peer-to-peer basis using social media (as flawed as the current iterations of it are) is an extraordinary achievement with no precedent in world history. Moreover, this sort of connectivity has only been happening at scale for around a decade or so. This is a meaningless blip in the context of time, and we simply can’t imagine what the ultimate consequences will be.
My personal view is that we’re currently witnessing the emergence of what Terence McKenna called the “global brain.”
Here’s what he said about it in 1994:
The people who are not switched on don’t even know anything has happened. To them the world looks exactly like it looked five years ago. To the people who are switched on, earth is becoming a distant memory.
The internet is the global brain. The cyber-spatially connected telepathic collective domain that we’ve all been hungering for.
Some of you may misinterpret this, so let me elaborate. When talking about a “global brain” I’m not referring to uniformity of thought at a planetary level, but rather the ultimate outcome of human beings directly talking to one another across borders. Over time, I’m completely convinced this will result in a much more compassionate, understanding and connected species, which will make manipulating us into crazy wars or other insane activities counterproductive to our wellbeing much more difficult for the types who make a habit of that sort of thing.
The “global brain” is just humanity discovering that we are all connected. That we aren’t as different as we’re led to believe, and that we certainly shouldn’t be running around killing each other to satisfy the money and power cravings of a very small, but highly motivated, type of person.
In other words, the emergence of the global brain, thanks to the internet, will in the long-run help free us from systemic manipulation and lies. I’m not talking about a utopia, but I am talking about a much healthier paradigm for our species.
It won’t happen overnight, but it is happening. Your job is to do whatever you can help it come into being.
Given a universe in which anything goes, what are the most lovely, generous, and exuberant things we can do?
— Alan Watts (@AlanWattsDaily) May 2, 2018
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Skimmed the article, I think you are right in a general sort of way. All the 10% global consciousness though is a little hokey. Pleas see Viable on Amazon, Medium or Steemit. under user CMW or Race Caffee on Amazon. It is really more down to earth than that. Human logic is corrupted and we need to make it work for us. Which we now can. I appreciate your articles because simple as it sounds. No one wants to listen. Everyone alive today was born into this world as we know it. This will be a sea change a new environment for humanity, Those humans will think differently. We will give them hours and hours of good laugh as they look back to this past.
Cmw, there’s nothing “hokey” at all about the phenomenon that Michael is describing.
Personally, I feel it better not to attach percentages (I.E.- “10%”) to it, as that tends to diminish and obscure what is happening.
Nonetheless, it is very real, and we can thank a relatively small group of people for their selfless work over the past 20+ years getting it to this point.
Logic has its place. But logic tends to constrain, instead of expand, consciousness.
To Genaro Don’t mean to offensive with the “hockey” comment. I appreciate Miket you and others are trying to do. More than you imagine. I have been on the same warpath for more than 10 years. This book “viable” I referenced is mine. My point here is explained more clearly in other post I have made on Medium and Steemit, that being said, Religion, politics etc. are not the answer. When I say hokey I mean in the sense of somehow imagining that an element of our environment “consciousness” will somehow save us now when it has never worked before. I mean in the sense that it turns the page for us. Yes, we have the internet, and without modern technology what I envision would not be possible. What is “consciousness” though; “Philosophy. the mind or the mental faculties as characterized by thought, feelings, and volition. “ This is just hope In good will repackaged to produce more hope. This is the cart not the horse. I believe you are wrong when you discount human logic. Logic is everything. It is the essence of human intelligence. It is the foundation for most of what you believe. Errors in logic are our #1 enemy. These are the lies politician “sell” . Please do read my post on Medium. Thanks for the comment.
This whole idea of “consciousness” which is very abstract is just another incantation of the “love one another” theme that is always in the undercurrent and sometimes pokes it’s head up; think hippies. This does not change the reality that humans have a complex, powerful computer called a brain and that this brain/computer is housed in a “self”. It also is housed in a black box as far as processing goes. How do you see the true intention, how to you see the code, the reasoning? You can’t. The answer is a Collective Intelligence akin to an artificial intelligence. Human intelligence empowered. Intelligence based on sound processes, conclusions, logic and reason.
Sorry for all the post. But this is my life. If nothing, when I see humans believe this consciousness non-sense. Sorry in the ball park, but striking out. Reading Mike’s story; I say he’s got it, he see’s the big picture. Then on the other hand It just reinforces how people believe they can have their cake and eat it too. They want things to change and stay the same at the same time. They are saying “we can live in this world and have the benefits of a new world”. This is what everyone want’s. The lying politician wants to be seen as “respectable”. The warrior killing women and children wants to be seen as “doing good, fighting for what is right”. There is a entire branch of philosophy; Huge as Donald might say, called epistemology relating to logic, reason and the pursuit of a “justified true belief”. It is laying for all practical purposes unrealized. That is because humans operate from “self” through a “perception based” mental approach. They are illogical, irrational and they love it. It works for them, till now ( think nuclear weapons) maybe no Ken burns documentary this time.
so i guess the bible was the original ‘fake news’
Mike, I read this (as I do all of your articles) on Zero Hedge and am disappointed in, though not surprised by, the comments. What you have touched on, however, is the very essence of the unprecedented transformation that the world is undergoing, and I would welcome a conversation as to what I and my company are doing to become an integral part of that transformation.
Michael, it is disappointing that one of the great civil liberties voices of our time doesn’t see the totalitarian potential of a centralized global informational space.
Hi Annette, thanks for your comment, but I’m pretty sure you misinterpreted my post.
The key gist of the “global brain” concept from my end is that humans around the world talking to each other in real time peer-to-peer is unprecedented and will have extremely beneficial long-term effects on humanity.
Nowhere did I herald or even mention a “centralized global informational space.” As you surely know, I’ve been one of the strongest advocates for decentralization out there.
Happy to address your concerns if you can be more specific.
Annette, I often get the same comments, group think, hive mind, centralized and really the potential of what Michael is presenting is the opposite of what you imagine. First I just have to point out as I often do that the world we live in is no real utopia. War, is our hallmark, 700 billion out of 1.3 trillion for “defense” from whom, humans? First you must understand that the real issue we have here on earth is that we do not “create” together. I know we build bridges etc., but can we “reason” together, do we have a platform in place to utilize logic, reason and the human faculty in a productive, mutually beneficial way? No.That said, the foundations as I see them are 1. Transparency – If you or anyone else could follow the process in it’s totality and provide the oversight of logic and reason as you see it, that is control. 2. Anonymity – when what you or anyone has to contribute is totally anonymous then the “power” dynamics have changed. 3. Permanence – When the entire system (centrally located, blochain perhaps) is a work in progress in perpetuity that should take the fear out of it. “Central” only means “accessable”. That means that if at 2:00 am you think that just doesn’t sound right then you can change it. In today’s world 1. You are dealing with unknown’s. You choose your “leader” because is outward presentation may convince you he or she is “good”, we have to make “leaders” obsolete. 2. you are locked out. You don’t have the credentials and don’t get to take part. That is why you elect leaders. We need to make “leaders” obsolete. 3. Noting is created, that is why we live with “cycles” the old warriors die and we start a new war because we have forgotten. Our constitution was a “creation” Now those alive don’t understand the principles or thinking behind it’s presentation. No creation, no progression. The sum of this all is that we must present human (everyone’s) logic and reason as the primary moderator In our new world. In today’s world, “authorities” are the moderators. What makes them authorities ask yourself? What Michael presents MUST be our future. Why, because the gap between our technology and our human existence is widening. Stretching like a rubber band. It will break one way or the other.
What you don\’t see is that “centralized” is what we have today. It is called individual intelligence and it is where One individual or a small group of individuals gets to decide the fate of many. One person who may be logical, rational, selfless or Not. What do they and everyone else on the planet do more often than not? They use and abuse human logic and rational to however it suits them. They seek power over reality. They seed to own It, as they say.
And Michael if you are reading this please don’t take anything I said in offense. I absolutely salute you for you efforts when they are outside the norm as Annette’s post shows. Writing and journalism sadly is also, not the answer. You and others like you are holding the line for all of us. I don not believe blogging though will win the war. You are one of a very small minority willing to look beyond and I thank you for it.
I too read this on ZH and was dissappointed to see comments dominated by first tier contributors. I hope you are right (because my gut says we have yet to break 5%, at least in US) but either way the momentum seems to be in the right direction.
Hi Ciclismo, I wouldn’t draw any important conclusions from the Zerohedge comment section. Surely, you could be right about the percentages, and I agree the key is that it is moving the right way.
I don’t care what people say about me and never have. If I can reach 5 new people on a deep level with these concepts while 10,000 laugh at me, that is still a success in my book.
This is called ascension! It’s a practice Buddhists have been doing using the higher consciousness to reach enlightenment! Been practicing it for years!
I hope you’re take is close to right. I worry that human consciousness is still ultimately constrained by our evolutionary biology, which provides us with the ability to deeply and empathetically connect with, what, 100 people or so? The number seems to change based on the specific research, but I’m just not sure we’re ever really going to be able to be more than social mammals–evolved to live in small groups. My hope is that if we can re-create our optimal environment, where our lives are filled primarily with deeply meaningful interactions with these “100 people” (our Village), and that context can be one where we are not in competition with other groups for our lives and livelihoods, then we can create a world where we can learn to “love thy neighboring groups” or at least, treat them with an honest respect. I guess your vision is based on another evolutionary step, which would seem to be one where an individual can truly care about and connect with “the whole world as my village”. . . I’m just not sure I see the positive selection pressure that would drive that. The one I can see, maybe, is massive systemic collapse. In that situation, the “Yellow” consciousness will, I believe, be much more resilient and survive to become a much, much larger percentage of the population. If they are prepared to deal with the ensuring chaos in the short term. But honestly, I’ve worked with so many people pursuing “higher consciousness” and it just seems to always end up being an abstract, intellectual, even academic thought experiment. Always reminds me of Tyler Durden–“How’s that working out for you? Being clever. Oh, keep it up then.” Still, I hope you’re righter than I am.
This is a very noble idea but unfortunately I think the timing is way off. Despite the many interesting effects the Internet has had on society, propaganda has worked well enough to turn people against each other for the near future.
The springboard for humanity seems to be when people are sick of fighting and dying, asking en masse if there is a better way forward. The last such opportunity was probably 1945, but after brief benevolence toward the (West) Germans and Japanese, we then set about creating the Cold War and playing empire. We also blew an enormous opportunity around 1990 when, as the Soviet bloc crumbled, we paved the way for oligarchs and Yeltsin-style mass graft rather than welcoming those from the other side of the iron curtain into the fold. We have also created an oligarch class in our own western societies, backed vigorously by central banks and politicians.
Barring nuclear annihilation, there will be other opportunities for humankind, but not until the next big round of conflict finishes. Currently, patriotism and nationalism are the order of the day. People are itching for a fight, not looking for ways to avoid one.
Only when we start emphasizing similarities rather than differences do we get the green light to move ahead.
Sadly, I truly believe we could win this war tomorrow if 1. People realized the impact of errors (fallacies) on all modern forms of interpersonal communications. 2. People realized that the internet was a platform to enable a process of human cognition with far greater errors (fallacies). 3. People realized that by anonymous participation they could pool their intellectual resources to create a better product, outcome or conclusion. What would this do? It would make our “leader” the equivalent of a prairie schooner. They would become obsolete, In 20 minutes the speech they make the editorial the write, the propaganda they broadcast; would be taken apart, organized, analyze, the errors (fallacies) found and the conclusion, assumption, interpretations etc would all be clearly valued in relation to their argument ( the logical conclusion of the individual cognition) It would be the nameless, faceless humanity vs the stark individual. Logic vs logic who wins.
CMW, no offense taken at all.
Logic has its place. But it is just one piece of a much larger picture with regard to consciousness.
The “Dumbing down of America” (the West in general) is really a tool which enables suppression of individual, and thus collective, higher consciousness. It’s actually what I think of as a “spirit cage”, and is quite purposefully built by those who want to maintain control on this plane for self-serving reasons.
BTW, the internet is only a small part of that larger picture on both sides. Each individual has to make their own decisions and do their own work.
The best thing about decentralization is it makes it much more difficult for those people to maintain that cage.
Genaro, I guess what I see in all this is; this is the conversation we should be having. What we need is a format to rationalize, think and work through with our faculties, (yes logic also). So we can collectively connect our brains/computers to produce a better picture of reality. That is just another way to look at what I call Collective Intelligence as opposed to “higher consciousness”.Dictionary consciousness; 1 “the thoughts and feelings, collectively, of an individual or of an aggregate of people” 2. “concern, interest, or acute awareness” 3 “the mind or the mental faculties as characterized by thought, feelings, and volition” As you can see this is merely a state of being. The question is how do we get there? This is nothing new, is it? It really is just assuming that the internet will somehow magically transform humanity. Please read the post by ChrisL. What I want is for someone to explain the mechanism that will effect this change. Because the way I see it people are still people processing all the info in their environment within a black box (brain) and producing a result; (logical and reasonable if defended, there are always reasons why) How error prone is this process within this black box? Why? Those are the questions that should be asked. I used to say that human logic was Fractured. That is implying that is was at one time whole and that is not the case. Humans are at their core individuals and always have been. The real difference that the internet will bring about I hope is that this (process) can now be collective. Hardware and software can enable a platform to weed out the errors (fallacies). To weed out the inefficient comments as Ciclismo pointed out. Books, editorials etc could never in history do that. That is what is important to realize! When I bring this up at relevant times on ZH it is like one of those CareerBuilder.com commercials with the monkeys. People blog and post and complain all day but in the end they are comfortable with what they know. Michael, if you really want to Save the World find a way to keep this most important of all conversations going. Find a way to organize the points, Find a way to streamline the process. Find a way to find and correct errors in logic and rational. What will happen is that we will have a platform to develop questions, We will build upon the ground we have covered (efficiency, productivity), We will refine our conclusions and our outlook to the world. Then, we will become Conscious of something better. Please read my post on Medium and Steemit under user CMW. There really is an answer, other than Armageddon, religion, communism etc.
“Logic has its place. But it is just one piece of a much larger picture with regard to consciousness.”
Rather than look at it as logic, Thinks of it as human cognition
“The “Dumbing down of America” (the West in general) is really a tool which enables suppression of individual, and thus collective, higher consciousness. It’s actually what I think of as a “spirit cage”, and is quite purposefully built by those who want to maintain control on this plane for self-serving reasons.”
perhaps purposely built but they can only do this by scrambling the logic and using disinformation, misinformation etc. There are over 130 Fallacies (errors in logic) in their tool box and they use them all day and all night and we let them, because they are wearing a nice suit and are “authority””
“BTW, the internet is only a small part of that larger picture on both sides. Each individual has to make their own decisions and do their own work.”
The internet is an environment changer. We can for the first time in human history communicate, store and refine collectively ( no exemptions or credentials needed) human perception and thought
The best thing about decentralization is it makes it much more difficult for those people to maintain that cage.
If you want to know what I believe here read my post to Annette. The pinnacle of centralized is the individual. That one man ( a President) could start a nuclear war says it all. As long as we rely on “leaders” we will have cages
‘The singularity cometh’ is a video about the emergence of a global consciouness viewed from a different angle: https://www.corbettreport.com/the-singularity-cometh/
Very interesting!
I wonder if the vision of a ‘global brain’ and the analysis of what stage of development it is at would compare to the task of a human trying to understand a 4d universe. Those thinking about the topic would look at a 2d entity trying to imagined our 3d world.
So in trying to understand this ‘global brain’, emerging from a collection of human brains . are we missing something by not looking at the emergence of the human brain from the collection of cells? I would thing there was some “spiral dynamics” in the world of cells wherwhere over time the cells advanced in stages of development and interconnection where the human brain emerged ?
Adding to this we often think of the brain as a central planner of the body, but there is the idea that your body really operates as a decentralized being where the cells in your hand decide to grab an object of press a buttion and then the brain is sent the information that the event occurs and then carries out the logical analysis of what those cells diddid , weefs out the misinformation and lieslies from other cells , and convinces the body that the process started in the mind. We see this effect in out reactionary reflex to touching something hot where damage over time can not wait for the mind to respond.
Aaron, the body remembers. Consciousness and memory are not restricted to just the brain. Which is why there is a difference between the brain and the mind.
Brian O’Shaughnessy’s book “Consciousness and the World” does an excellent job of explaining why body memory cellular memory) is verifiable.
10 Organ Recipients Who Took On The Traits Of Their Donors
https://listverse.com/2016/05/14/10-organ-recipients-who-took-on-the-traits-of-their-donors/
Of course the materialists (most so-called “Scientists”) with severe anomalphobia vehemently deny that cellular memory exists.
Likewise, collective consciousness is contagious through the ether that connects our minds.
“Only the existence of a field of force can account for the
motions of the bodies as observed, and its assumption
dispenses with space curvature. All literature on this
subject is futile and destined to oblivion. So are all
attempts to explain the workings of the universe without
recognizing the existence of the ether and the
indispensable function it plays in the phenomena.”
– Nikola Tesla
The global brain exists with or without the internet. It is the original internet that gave birth to the internet as we know it.
My apologies to Michael and all. I did just skim and got the wrong impression. I have seen too many co-exist bumper stickers and anarchist frustrate me. I dropped religion 12 years ago. I do still believe in a spirituality and that there is much we don’t understand. So I do not want to disparage this in any way. There is a good discussion here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkFhcAr9-Ls It is the weekly suspect sky discussion. My only addition would be that I have always believed that any progress we make must involve/include the sheeple. Yes, the sheeple, those who stand there in the middle of the road blocking any progress. I guess what I am trying to say is that rather than divide and categorize humanity we need to see it as a whole. Each type of person plays an integral part. Even the sheeple. Here is my outlook; life has been hard, humanity as of necessity had evolved with a perception based intellect. Is there a saber tooth cat in the bushes? Wait to find out and it will be too late. For more than ten years as I preached my little Collective Intelligence sermon people fell into two categories. Those who just stared at me blankly and didn’t say anything, good friends included and those who said immediately “it wouldn’t work”. Out of 100 people maybe one kinda, sorta positive comment. My wife was one of those “would never work” people. She now listens in a positive way. She would most likely fall somewhere low on Ken’s scale. She also has more stamina, drive and determination than anyone I know. I am sure she would march through hell, kick the devils butt. If needed. What I am trying to say is that people like me are here because of people like her. Now it is our responsibility to do our part. Global consciousness, alright I’m sold sounds great, I’m in. We need to move forward as a whole though, sheeple too. What I am trying to say is that we need fundamentals. We need solid bedrock to build upon and that is moving away from a perception/individual intelligence to a logical/collective intelligence. We have the ability to do that. The “global consciousness” will now go on steroids. Uncle Wiggly will move ahead 60. This is the cart before the horse. Power yields power.
Please just tell me to shut up and go away whenever you please. Thoughts on Ken’s spiral chart; The more variables the more outcomes. Conversely the more outcomes the greater variable and the less chance Ken found/interpreted all of them. We still live in an age of individual intelligence and most likely the Turquoise category does not exist and is Ken’s unconscious construct for authority. Holistic, is the trait? Holistic to me says – spirituality, something we know very little about.( so little that we construct religion around it as a crude shelter). Holistic being spirituality would be there for all. Yes, we need the sheeple on board. Sociology has always stymied me. How can so many people be so stupid? Perhaps if there is a “global consciousness” – spirituality, then all humans are in a way conscious of it and it’s power. Perhaps as humans we collectively repress individuality and enforce conformity in an attempt to harness this power and wield it for the “common good”. We seem willing to do anything for the “common good”. Will A.I. be as irrational and illogical as humanity. Will A.I. feast on fallacies as a means to an end as humans do? What about states of mind vs. consciousness? Are there really only two variables? Would this not destroy the spiral chart if there is a fluid dynamic here between states of mind and global consciousness? Can those with their heads down doing the heavy work not harness the holistic if shown the common good in a new state of mind – Collective intelligence. Are not the sheeple some of the most ardent protectors of what they don’t understand (spirituality)even is there efforts are misplaced (religion)?
Sheeple and Power(authority) are two sides of the same coin. I am not sure how you can eliminate one and keep the other.
Ciclismo, You are right they are two sides of a coin. This is why I see so many solutions or avenues today as only patches or temporary fixes; politics, anarchy, etc., because you are not really addressing the root cause. Where we find ourselves today I see as a distortion of power. Power is what it is all about so you have to ask yourself where does the power come from? How is it held? How is it distributed or employed? We can blame the sheeple or being ignorant, apathetic or selfish but 20 years from now there will still be sheeple, politicians and all the same stupid sh*t. It will just be with different players. Really at the root of all, I see that humanity in dragging itself out of the mud was dependent on the individual and the perceptions of the individual for survival. The individuals held power for various reasons and they still do. Individuals die though and we still carry on which means it is not the individual but human intelligence that is important. So the question is how do you separate human intelligence from the power (and failings) of the individual. This is where I believe modern technology for the first time in human history allows us a Collective Intelligence. What I see when I look at this world is chaos. Humanity is a war with itself. 6 billion individual competing for survival. What is the rule of war, deception? There is the issue, we are manipulating perceptions as a means to power, to holding power and for employing power. Then we build our “society” around these norms. What you have are conclusions based on perceptions. What I propose is conclusions based on logic or human rational understanding through a platform shared and owned collectively. Power resides in the conclusion. Not the individual or group of individuals. if you achieve this then the power dynamics will change and the sheeple will change and society will change. Authority becomes a process not a person. and eventually we will all changer, perhaps evolve a little. Yesterday Charlie Munger attempted to verbally destroy Bitcoin. You can find it on ZH. Why was he given an Important voice on the topic? Why would people listen to him? Was he correct? Why or why not? What if instead Charlie had to submit all his brain/computer believe true about Bitcoin to a platform for logical and rational analysis by other participants. How would the power dynamics change? Would Charlie look silly or stupid with his outburst if there was such a platform? Would his special flock of sheeple suddenly become as irrelevant as he would?
I enjoyed the fresh perspective. The subject reminds me of Isaac Asimov’s fictional Gaia, complete with telepathic robots and Ecological National Socialism run rampant. The Foundation Trilogy was, after all, the most competent planned economy competitor to square off against Atlas Shrugged.
I read your blog in order to improve my mood….
Not sure if this is insinuated or assumed in this here piece but Terrence Mckenna was not the first individual to talk about or mention the global brain. But yes we are witnessing the emergence of the global brain right now. It’s full effect however I believe will be realized more concretely rather than abstractly when our physical brains merge with the the internet and our minds will be literally connected to the global brain. We might see a sudden shift and drastic alteration in ‘consciousness’ if such a thing exists almost overnight even.