Three things that will shape our future
I have thought for some time that I am in serious danger of becoming a news junkie. But just recently I made some mental links and concluded that, in fact, there are 3 main developments occurring right now and everything suddenly makes sense. Or reduces the nonsense. Or .... well... at least brings us a step closer to making sense.
In no particular order of priority, they are:
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Six_degrees_of_separation.png
So first up is 'Technology' or the virtual world of data bytes, sound bytes and video bytes, engrossed in which we humans are spending about 12 billion hours per day of our waking and often sleeping time.
(Estimate worked out as follows: Number of internet users worldwide equals 2 billion as per http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/28/un-worldwide-internet-users-hit-two-billion-cellphone-subscript/ , average hours spend on the internet per day is assumed to be 6 hrs which is a conservative estimate as the average American user spends 11 hrs http://www.inma.org/blogs/marketing/post.cfm/newspapers-mobile-and-internet-gain-share-as-average-media-use-increases).
Being connected on-the-go during all waking hours is not enough anymore, for now we can even tell our i-phone to sneakily record the recalcitrant partner’s snoring while asleep. This would be the conversation the morning after:
Woman: Ha, hear that? And you thought I was lying.
Man: Wait a sec, that’s not me snoring, its you! I can tell from the snore pitch and frequency, its definitely y.o.u.
Woman: How dare you accuse me unjustly!
Man: ok- so lets download this other App then. So now as soon as the snoring comes on, the phone will not only jump up from the side table and point itself in the direction of the culprit, but its camera will automatically make a video. I will be proved right yet......
But while some of us are just uploading photos of the family cat or doing our grocery shopping online, others are inspiring revolutions. Which brings me neatly to Wael Ghonim, whose posts on Facebook leading to his arrest, a 12-day detention and subsequent safe release have inspired a whole nation to pick up cudgels and march to Tahrir Square.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/08/egypt.protests/index.html?hpt=T2
So just for now I set aside my usual hostility to social media (a subject I'm still saving for another post) to laude the technology that allows a powerful idea, a little seed sown in the cyberworld to grow, within minutes and hours, from a fledgling shoot to the full-grown Tree of Aspirations of a whole nation.
A light breeze of change that started in Tunisia turned into a veritable storm as it crossed the deserts to reach the ancient pyramids. And change it will bring. As I type this out this evening, a leader of 30 years still tries desperately to hang on to power as the protests become louder and angrier.
But there are other changes occurring in our world which all of us are directly or indirectly affecting. We are using our natural resources like we've done for centuries, but we are doing this faster than ever. And one of these natural resources is oil. Yes oil, a substantial portion of which comes from the Middle East, and the discovery of which shaped the Middle East we see today. And as oil price rises so do our potatoes, pantaloons and Peugeots.
The people in Cairo fight for their beliefs while the rest of the world waits with bated breath, wondering - will they win, will they get their demands of liberty, freedom and justice, will they be able to form a government of the people, by the people and will that oil price fluctuate a bit less?
This relentless hunger for oil, metal, gas, foodgrain gets bigger every day. Soon it will be driven by the Dragon, the Tiger and other would-be superpowers and super-dense-clusters of humanity who have yet to be given suitable ferocious animal names. Was it only a few years ago when the dominant world powers looked at these hatchlings and cubs as one looks to a toddler? Mostly fun to play with and easily bribed by candies when they throw tantrums.
Source: http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/biafreitas/tiger-dragon/zoomed
Before the old stalwarts could blink their eyes, these toddlers had grown into angry adolescents and are now on their way to becoming aggresive adults. Aggressive, because they yet lack the confidence and calm superiority that comes only from being on the top for a long time.
So who will have the last laugh? Will it be the leader who is propped not by one particular ideology but by the will and the power of millions, the geek who understands the code of the virtual world or the sage who knows that all that appears real is virtual and all that appears virtual is also virtual. All of them. Or maybe none of them. Perhaps it will be the soaring falcon high above who laughs last and longest.
Source: http://www.ecvv.com/product/1848440.html
In no particular order of priority, they are:
- Technology or The cyber-age
- Democracy and revolutions
- The rise of new superpowers (and some others in the making)
So first up is 'Technology' or the virtual world of data bytes, sound bytes and video bytes, engrossed in which we humans are spending about 12 billion hours per day of our waking and often sleeping time.
(Estimate worked out as follows: Number of internet users worldwide equals 2 billion as per http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/28/un-worldwide-internet-users-hit-two-billion-cellphone-subscript/ , average hours spend on the internet per day is assumed to be 6 hrs which is a conservative estimate as the average American user spends 11 hrs http://www.inma.org/blogs/marketing/post.cfm/newspapers-mobile-and-internet-gain-share-as-average-media-use-increases).
Being connected on-the-go during all waking hours is not enough anymore, for now we can even tell our i-phone to sneakily record the recalcitrant partner’s snoring while asleep. This would be the conversation the morning after:
Woman: Ha, hear that? And you thought I was lying.
Man: Wait a sec, that’s not me snoring, its you! I can tell from the snore pitch and frequency, its definitely y.o.u.
Woman: How dare you accuse me unjustly!
Man: ok- so lets download this other App then. So now as soon as the snoring comes on, the phone will not only jump up from the side table and point itself in the direction of the culprit, but its camera will automatically make a video. I will be proved right yet......
But while some of us are just uploading photos of the family cat or doing our grocery shopping online, others are inspiring revolutions. Which brings me neatly to Wael Ghonim, whose posts on Facebook leading to his arrest, a 12-day detention and subsequent safe release have inspired a whole nation to pick up cudgels and march to Tahrir Square.
So just for now I set aside my usual hostility to social media (a subject I'm still saving for another post) to laude the technology that allows a powerful idea, a little seed sown in the cyberworld to grow, within minutes and hours, from a fledgling shoot to the full-grown Tree of Aspirations of a whole nation.
A light breeze of change that started in Tunisia turned into a veritable storm as it crossed the deserts to reach the ancient pyramids. And change it will bring. As I type this out this evening, a leader of 30 years still tries desperately to hang on to power as the protests become louder and angrier.
But there are other changes occurring in our world which all of us are directly or indirectly affecting. We are using our natural resources like we've done for centuries, but we are doing this faster than ever. And one of these natural resources is oil. Yes oil, a substantial portion of which comes from the Middle East, and the discovery of which shaped the Middle East we see today. And as oil price rises so do our potatoes, pantaloons and Peugeots.
The people in Cairo fight for their beliefs while the rest of the world waits with bated breath, wondering - will they win, will they get their demands of liberty, freedom and justice, will they be able to form a government of the people, by the people and will that oil price fluctuate a bit less?
This relentless hunger for oil, metal, gas, foodgrain gets bigger every day. Soon it will be driven by the Dragon, the Tiger and other would-be superpowers and super-dense-clusters of humanity who have yet to be given suitable ferocious animal names. Was it only a few years ago when the dominant world powers looked at these hatchlings and cubs as one looks to a toddler? Mostly fun to play with and easily bribed by candies when they throw tantrums.
Before the old stalwarts could blink their eyes, these toddlers had grown into angry adolescents and are now on their way to becoming aggresive adults. Aggressive, because they yet lack the confidence and calm superiority that comes only from being on the top for a long time.
So who will have the last laugh? Will it be the leader who is propped not by one particular ideology but by the will and the power of millions, the geek who understands the code of the virtual world or the sage who knows that all that appears real is virtual and all that appears virtual is also virtual. All of them. Or maybe none of them. Perhaps it will be the soaring falcon high above who laughs last and longest.
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