I introduce myself : a Digital Dinosaur.
Nevertheless, I fully agree that the digital revolution is on its way.
I have expressed my views on several aspects (in french) :https://medium.com/@Ciron/r%C3%A9volution-num%C3%A9rique-le-grand-chambardement-9d5cccc702ef#.ogc3ate04
Your essay makes me think of a couple of more long range aspects :
At the moment, the digital revolution mainly (solely?) deals with sequential, point-by-point, analytical approach. And applies it to more and more areas. Areas which also get interconnected.
That also is what our left brain hemisphere is best at : to organize & planify within a known & somehow predictable environment. But our brain is very slow.
Our future changing physical & social environment is likely to become more and more complex & less and less predictable. This environment requires inventiveness, creativity, intuition, audacity,… Which is mainly the right hemisphere’s job !
That is why I think that the Digital Revolution is likely to be a two-stages revolution, if the second step occurs… If it does occur, many of us ought to rethink the way in which they consider the « material base of thoughts »…
This brings me to the second long range aspect indicated above.
Scientist wondered why the brain size (adjusted by size/weight) of humans (Homo sapiens) has narrowed significantly (15/20 %) between the Cro-Magnon (35.000 years ago) and modern sapiens. (ref. anthropologist Antoine Balzeau of the French Museum of Natural History).
The reason for that often is attributed to the social segregation of human activities (social specialization). A large part of this reduction occured in the last 15.000 years (agriculture, etc). Of course, nobody would dare to suggest any relation with intelligence trend. :-)
But it brings me back to Digital issue. For the majority of the population, the Digital makes that people act more and more according to procedures & methodologies which have been invented by somebody else. And they do not have in mind (nor look for) other possible ways. It is another step forward in segregation of activities/ thoughts.
Jean P. Ciron
