3/31/17 - I find the idea of exploring space trite, silly, without much of a purpose, and don't see it going much of anywhere interesting. I think life only exists here on earth. That said, there is a new frontier which I am interested in - communication. The primary distinctive characteristic possessed by humans, that separates us from other animals, is our ability to use language and communicate at a high level. We use simple, symbolic expressions (sounds) to describe complex realities and concepts to one another. The sounds we omit became symbolic of specific meanings... letters form the syllables that correspond to these sounds, then becoming words, sentences and complex ideas. Even greater, these expressions can be translated into script and placed on paper, immortalizing momentary expressions of language. If I could not write down my thoughts, they would never occur to me again in precisely the same way, forever altering their meaning. Why is communication such a great frontier, as I am proposing? Because knowledge can be communicated with crafty description, and knowledge grows larger and larger with each passing generation of human life. There are things that we all know, but do not have a capacity to describe. This is the capacity I wish to develop in myself, and pass on to other humans. If knowledge could be more effectively communicated, I think it would act as a catalyst of evolution and create the basis on which higher animal transformation would occur. As it is, I think human use of language is largely degenerating, and requires individual catalysts (language users), such as myself, to ever achieve anything beyond the primitive forms of communication in which we currently engage ourselves. Using communication to perform rudimentary tasks is fine ("Put the ball in the hoop, son." "Okay, Coach!"), but I was always dissatisfied by such activities. I've always craved something more interesting, and so involved myself introspectively, seeking answers to whatever question might occur to me on a daily basis. You might think, "Then, instead of sports, you were interested in school!" But, this isn't true at all. Text books usually appear cryptic to me, or don't make sense, and I didn't do as well in school as I probably should have. I have since determined that this wasn't due to my personal lack of a capacity for language, but that the writing we were given to read in school was not effective or interesting. Writers of text books are doing their job, relating information in the formal way in which they are expected, and I think it is poor communication and never exciting at all. If someone I were genuinely interested in were doing the teaching, I might have learned a lot more. I wanted to learned the sciences in college, but couldn't catch on in any real way. I passed a few classes with C's and quit, realizing that I wouldn't become an inspired scientist with great knowledge even if I could reproduce information on a test. How many students can generate unique theories the way the most notable and famous scientists in history did? Why not? Probably, because those scientists never effectively related their thoughts so as to pass on the knowledge they employed in doing so. There is sometimes a scientist who is inherently knowledgable and inspired, but never has their knowledge been truly passed on. More effective communication is in order so that the knowledge of these human phenomenons does not continue to become lost. Perhaps, communication was more effective in the past than it is today... perhaps, the ability to THINK existed at a higher level. What has modern culture and institutional process done to the individual's mind? With all the trivial preoccupations of the modern world, no one ever really asks you to think and use your mind. Getting A's in school is more a matter of kissing ass than displaying a genuine understanding and intellectual command over a particular subject. Creativity is not valued. Originality doesn't have a place in most classrooms. If you don't stick to the guidelines, you often will flunk or pass with an average mark. My communication class in college was taught by a teacher who demanded precisely the answer she was looking for. Actually considering the question and giving an honest and thoughtful response was immediately deemed incorrect, as if it were just plain false. It reminded me of Nazism. There is no enlightenment in this current age, and if we are to find it, it will have to come from those not officially endorsed by institutions or under the persuasion of society's favor. |