My good friend Wade commented on our thread The Science of Beliefs with some skepticism toward my pro-internet viewpoint. In response, I explored some avenues of where I have seen the internet free people. I also briefly discuss the "dangers" of the internet's knowledge. Enjoy!
When I was in Puerto Vallarta last, I was hosted by a generous Couchsurfer named Anahi. She took me to the Malecon where we got gelato and watched the sunset. We took a bus out of the tourist district and into her neighborhood. As the bus jostled through potholes on the unpaved streets toward her house, I could see piles of garbage left in the middle of intersections. Despite these infrastructural limitations, I pulled out my iPhone to find that the entire area was wired with free public wifi. Free internet and gravel roads! It didn't make sense.
And yet, I would never have met Anahi or seen the local side of Vallarta without this free internet. She would not have a Couchsurfing account where she can interact with visitors from all over the world. She could not supplement her income by working on her friends' websites. She wouldn't have all the world's knowledge right at her fingertips like we do, a fact I take for granted every day.
This is just one story of how the internet is freeing society. One story of a billion. Entire nations are using the internet to free themselves from dictatorial rule in the Middle East, to unite their people under a common cause and break free from oppression.
My own story with the internet, though far less transformational, is one of freedom. With the internet, I have taught myself nearly as much in 2 years outside of college as I learned in college. I learned to program in web languages, in-turn creating a way to make a living from anywhere in the world. Anywhere! I'll be in Chile on an 8 month unpaid internship. Am I worried about finances? Not for a minute. I have developed a skill that can be monetized in any hemisphere.
Have I lost the ability to think critically due to the amount I rely on my "digital brain"? Perhaps when I first discovered Wikipedia, I copy and pasted willy-nilly just to shortcut homework assignments. But now that I am out in the world studying what genuinely interests me, I am no longer satisfied with regurgitating other people's thoughts. When I read Wikipedia, I read it with a slight edge of skepticism. I know that the information comes from humans, and humans are human (subject to error). Furthermore, my digital enlightenment has led me to not only question what I read on pages like Wikipedia, but it has led me to want to add my own knowledge to these wonderfully free sources of information.
Is there dangerous forms of knowledge on the internet? Yes. We can learn to make a pipe bomb, calculate the blast radius, and place it in the most destructive location possible. We can figure out how to synthesize illegal and dangerous substances like methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Do a majority of us spend our time wandering these dangerous avenues? Or do we rather research ways to improve our community, to increase energy efficiency in our homes, or how to expand our minds with safer substances like LSD and mescalin.
Personally, I have encountered a handful of the latter instances in Jackson. Yet to see any of the more dangerous alternatives outside of freak incidents on the news, incidents that are becoming less frequent as knowledge continues to triumph over ignorance.
The internet is not the end-all answer to our problems; then again, no one source of goodness ever will be. But the internet is freeing people every day. People like Anahi. People like me. And, even if you are skeptical, the internet is freeing you as well.
Excerpt from The Science of Beliefs:
How is the internet "freeing society"? Excellent question.When I was in Puerto Vallarta last, I was hosted by a generous Couchsurfer named Anahi. She took me to the Malecon where we got gelato and watched the sunset. We took a bus out of the tourist district and into her neighborhood. As the bus jostled through potholes on the unpaved streets toward her house, I could see piles of garbage left in the middle of intersections. Despite these infrastructural limitations, I pulled out my iPhone to find that the entire area was wired with free public wifi. Free internet and gravel roads! It didn't make sense.
And yet, I would never have met Anahi or seen the local side of Vallarta without this free internet. She would not have a Couchsurfing account where she can interact with visitors from all over the world. She could not supplement her income by working on her friends' websites. She wouldn't have all the world's knowledge right at her fingertips like we do, a fact I take for granted every day.
This is just one story of how the internet is freeing society. One story of a billion. Entire nations are using the internet to free themselves from dictatorial rule in the Middle East, to unite their people under a common cause and break free from oppression.
My own story with the internet, though far less transformational, is one of freedom. With the internet, I have taught myself nearly as much in 2 years outside of college as I learned in college. I learned to program in web languages, in-turn creating a way to make a living from anywhere in the world. Anywhere! I'll be in Chile on an 8 month unpaid internship. Am I worried about finances? Not for a minute. I have developed a skill that can be monetized in any hemisphere.
Have I lost the ability to think critically due to the amount I rely on my "digital brain"? Perhaps when I first discovered Wikipedia, I copy and pasted willy-nilly just to shortcut homework assignments. But now that I am out in the world studying what genuinely interests me, I am no longer satisfied with regurgitating other people's thoughts. When I read Wikipedia, I read it with a slight edge of skepticism. I know that the information comes from humans, and humans are human (subject to error). Furthermore, my digital enlightenment has led me to not only question what I read on pages like Wikipedia, but it has led me to want to add my own knowledge to these wonderfully free sources of information.
Is there dangerous forms of knowledge on the internet? Yes. We can learn to make a pipe bomb, calculate the blast radius, and place it in the most destructive location possible. We can figure out how to synthesize illegal and dangerous substances like methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Do a majority of us spend our time wandering these dangerous avenues? Or do we rather research ways to improve our community, to increase energy efficiency in our homes, or how to expand our minds with safer substances like LSD and mescalin.
Personally, I have encountered a handful of the latter instances in Jackson. Yet to see any of the more dangerous alternatives outside of freak incidents on the news, incidents that are becoming less frequent as knowledge continues to triumph over ignorance.
The internet is not the end-all answer to our problems; then again, no one source of goodness ever will be. But the internet is freeing people every day. People like Anahi. People like me. And, even if you are skeptical, the internet is freeing you as well.
You need to read "The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom" by Evgeny Morozov (Feb 28, 2012). He speaks of how governments are using the net to keep tabs on anyone who dissents. Scary stuff. -GSJ
ReplyDeleteUgh, our own government is doing that right now. They could be reading this very conversation... :o
DeleteVery scary. A bit too much like Orwell's 1984...