The evolution of man has been associated with developing tools that have somehow represented the lengthening or strengthening of his body, primarily limbs and muscles. Thus, a stone knife, stick, hoe, spear or arrow strengthened and extended the human hand. Tools and machines increased man’s strength, and animals, like horses or vehicles, from boats, cars to planes, his speed. Binoculars, magnifying glass, microscope, telescope, megaphone, microphone…are all ways to strengthen and increase the range of our natural abilities, such as the senses.
If the rise of human abilities was closely connected with the exceptional talent of our species to use the environment for its purpose-objects and animals-and to create tools that will greatly increase out physical strength and power, somewhat slower was the evolution of aids that would be associated with the main trait of our species that separates us from our animal relatives-consciousness and thoughts-i.e., with the function of the main organ of the homo sapiens: the brain.
Here we will skip the interesting question about the use of natural drugs as a way for shamans, wizards and first priests tried to elevate or change consciousness and find special ways to reach the essence of things or the suppressible world, one that is beyond everyday observation.
The use of numbers, i.e., mathematics, as well as the invention of writing-discoveries that happened from the angle of evolution almost yesterday-were great stages in the development of aids that were a kind of tool for the brain, or its ability to know the environment and the world.
Although the alphabet represented a great stage in the development of culture and civilisation, Plato still complained about its negative consequences for human thought. “If people learn to write, they will plant oblivion in their souls”, says in Phaedrus, “they will no longer use memory because they will rely on the written word.” However, Plato goes further and points out that the recorded thought becomes a frozen thought, i.e., though that stopped thinking. He compares the written thought to the picture: neither will answer if you ask it a question aloud. Therefore, a living though is one that is pronounced. Plato believed, that only through direct communication, i.e., conversation and lively philosophical dialogue can one approach the truth.
With new information and communication technologies, such as the Internet, computers and smartphones – not to mention the so-called artificial intelligence – there is a new revolution in the evolution of the human species – primarily on the cognitive level, i.e., observation, consciousness and thought. What we call virtual reality is, to some extent, a response to Plato’s objection: with the Internet and social networks, the written word has moved from paper to screen and – it has come to life. From now on, a written thought can answer your question, if you send it in the right way.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that new technologies, in their way, affect the perception of the environment, the perception of reality, and the way our brain behaves and how it concludes. As much as the Internet and various IT tools, like some virtual super-spears, allow us to throw information, thoughts, ideas, faster and further, it can also act in the direction of spiritual relaxation and mental laziness, weakening our brain ability to use and develop our natural algorithms, which we call thought associations.
Man, like any other animal, is naturally lazy (which is logical, because it preserves body energy) unless circumstances (in principle, the search for food, as well as sexual incentives to renew the species) force him to the contrary. Just as carriages and carts have influenced a person to walk less and thus use his lower limbs less, so the tools from the Internet have the effect that the use of some natural abilities of the brain is reduced or not used at all. Are there still people who can recite Gorski Vijenac, the Quran or hundreds of other epic folk songs by heart? If such people still exist, how many will be in the next generations, staring at the screens of their phones and computers?
Our brain activity is indirectly slowing down, due to the tendency of the Internet to “help” us, which is noticeable not only in the case of memory but also at every other step. For example: with GPS technology, our ability to remember and navigate in urban areas (when driving, using a map, etc.) is drastically reduced; with Google, Wikipedia and similar information sources and search engines, our natural propensity to research and search for information diminish in its infancy, and potential curiosity dulls; the way new technologies are used also reduce and shorten attention and concentration when thinking or debating a topic; with the vast amount of information and data we are flooded with, our way of reading and analysing information is becoming increasingly superficial; with new writing features enabled by computers, such as cut and paste (e.g. downloading earlier text for use in other writing), our tendency to think more deeply and more diversely and interpret things through writing is diminished, instead of strengthened, and so on.
In his book, The Shallows, American researcher N. Carr drew attention to the fact that reading on the Internet negatively affects the habit of the so-called deep reading (concentrated reading of longer texts), and then deep thinking.
Therefore, perhaps it is no wonder that all kinds of fake news, such as unusual conspiracy theories and others, spread from various social networks so easily and quickly, from the anti-vaccination movement to the theory of Serbs as the “oldest people” who never moved, has always been in the Balkans since time immemorial. Lack of criticism that is indirectly encouraged by Internet technologies can contribute to much more serious manipulations, as already noticed in some cases of Internet companies (election manipulation), i.e., an extraordinary increase in the power and influence of dictators or various “elites with shadows” they can use massive information (big data) and ease of access to each user of smartphones and the Internet.
An even more subtle and far-reaching form of human dependence on search engine functions lies in the fact that we unconsciously indulge in ways of searching through machine algorithms, instead of free thought associations that are a product and consequence of free brain activities. Indirectly, the constant application of algorithms in research can affect the way we connect information and seek new truths through associations. With this, we unconsciously gradually accept mental “slavery” from a machine.
Memory, perception, navigating in space and among information, critical thinking, the ability to associative and speculative thinking – and other cognitive functions of the brain could be somewhat loose in the presence of the Internet and various information tools, especially with increasing artificial intelligence, which will conquer whole areas of spontaneous thinking.
Thus, a recent decision by the Ministry of education in China to fully ban physical entry of mobile phones during school classes is not surprising.
It seems that the “last line of defence” of humanity is in spontaneity and intuition, which are expressed through art. Freewriting, reading of the literature, painting, making music, and even using programs and computers for creative purposes can be a barrier against the negative impact of excessive use of Internet technologies. Also, at least a temporary vacation from addiction to smartphones, computers and internet connections may represent new forms of mental recreation, necessary for maintaining the good mental state of a person in the 21st century.
Dr Duško Lopandić is a diplomat and publicist, a member of the Council of the European Policy Centre (CEP). He was the Head of the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the EU in Brussels in the period of 2013-2016.
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