The Internet is truly amazing. It is the culmination of thousands of years of philosophic thought and technological development. A computer runs on transistors with logic gates. Logic gates come from Boolean logic, which is a branch of mathematics designed by mathematician Bool to mathematically represent and calculate Platonic Logic. Theories of the mind that date back over two thousand years in development eventually gave us the computing architecture first designed by Charles Babbage then later refined by Alan Turing. (There were a great many more; read about them here)
And that is just the computer side of things. The communications technologies are each worth an entire article on their own, with their own rich histories in information theory, cryptography, linguistics, and a variety of the sciences.
Now, we have a system of near global communication, that also acts as a vast library and public forum. It offers more entertainment than anyone could ever consume. It enables one to learn almost any skill or knowledge that humanity has ever had. You can find love, or fame, or fortune. You can make friends and enemies. With almost anyone on earth.
I cannot stress this enough; Scholars, kings, emperors, and philosophers alike would have killed and pledged their eternal soul for a fraction of this.
There is a reason for this. The Internet is simultaneously the Akashic Records, the Cosmopolis, and the Tower of Babel wearing a trench-coat.
To keep it short;
- Akashic Records - the sum total of all human knowledge, this can also be called the Library of Babel.
- Cosmopolis - Originally a philosophic ideal; that one should consider all peoples their neighbors; that all are of one cosmopolis. The Internet has made this a literal reality.
- Tower of Babel - A pre-Christian myth taken from Hebrew folklore. The story of the fall of the tower is well known. It drove humanity apart when it fell, and so the many languages of the earth were started. The Internet is like a second tower, supplanting God by uniting humanity, and easing the language barriers.
Now, I do mean it literally when I said that The Internet supplanted God, at least from a classic Judeo-Christian perspective. Tell me, when one has a problem in day to day life do you:
- A) - Pray to God for help?
- B) - Consult your holy books?
- C) - Search The Internet for a solution?
Now, given that you are here, reading this, I think it may be safe to assume that C is what most people put their faith in first. - Because it is more effective at solving most of life's problems.
Now, The Internet is not all good. But in its faults, it reveals faults in us humans, either individually or as a society. The Internet is a reflection of us as a species.
And, unlike the Tower of Babel. The Internet was not built by a tyrants say-so. But by the collective efforts of countless people over thousands of years. All for the goal of furthering the understanding of ourself and our environment, and connecting each-other with that knowledge.
Until, one day, The Internet was Born.
And I think that is beautiful