#human2.0

[m4rm4r]

[m4rm4r]

[ngmoon101]

Human 2.0: How Tech Transformed Us

Tech has played an integral role in shaping human’s lives throughout out our history. Current tech has brought us to a new age of enlightenment and connection. 

The Rise of the Super Human

The growth of tech has led to a rise of super humans. Our tools have moved from sticks and stones to computers and phones. We are capable of anything. We have a vast library of knowledge at our disposal. With the tech power we possess, are we reaching its full potential? Or are we using it trivially to handicap ourselves?

Nicholas Carr would argue that tech is morphing our brains negatively. We are destroying neural pathways that help deep thought and long term memory. All in exchange for Internet efficiency. Carr is right that our brains have changed. Negatively? Not quite.

Technology is King

The human race has followed a natural pattern of tech advancement. We have constantly changed: culture, mindsets, lifestyles; always making room for the newest thing. Humans long for relevancy. We seek to find the next greatest thing. It’s hard to believe Nicholas Carr when he is against everything that world has stood for. As humans we have always adapted and embraced the newest tech to push ourselves to new enlightenment. Why change now?

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

To believe that tech has severely handicapped us would be a false assumption. Humans can and will evolve. Though we do lose different neural networks, we build new, faster ones in their place. We can move around the web and search for info faster than we could going to a library.

People like Carr would argue that we are losing an important skill to deeply analyze books and learn from them. Books are not our only source of deep thought, though. In actuality, we’ve sped up the process. If I want to know something that I didn’t know, I don’t need to go to a library. The answer is in my pocket. I can get it instantly. Tech has made us infinitely more efficient.

Imaginative Tech

Pamela Lund discussed how tech gives rise to creative imagination. Everyone has the ability to create new things and find new ways to interact with their world. You don’t need to be a scientist or doctor, you could be a kid learning how to make a mini computer to help feed your cat. Anything is possible.

We have enhanced every part of our lives: socially, economically, medically, agriculturally, infrastructurally, etc. by applying tech.

The Future Now

With the use of phones and computers we have transformed ourselves into Human 2.0’s. Today we’re taking it a step further.  We’re working on meshing tech directly into the physical world with the use of virtual and augmented reality. I can wear glasses that show me directions as I walk down the street. Just a couple of years ago it seemed like a gimmick, but this year it is completely real and working. Human 3.0 is on the horizon.

We have modified our lives positively with tech, and we will continue to in a myriad of ways. Though there is change involved and there are negative effects to any new thing, tech will continue to evolve us and bring us to enlightenment. Tech will continue to make us think imaginatively. We will adapt and continue to create great new tools to further help preserve and perpetuate the human race.

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Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. Print.

Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked. San Francisco: PLI Media, 2011. Print.

[ghettoblasphemer]

Nanotechnology is advancing to the point that some experts believe that within 30 years we may be able to create "superhumans". 

Definitely something I'm interested in.