The difference of goal and vision is defined as, “goal is a specified objective to be achieved” and “vision is having the knowledge of what future will look like or will be”. With broadening of our visions we are becoming less and lesser sure about the terms we use. For example dictionary defines the term “genius” as, “Someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality, Unusual mental ability, Exceptional creative ability, a natural talent”…It feels true when we look to very short list of popular genius individuals, of course, there are not too many Isaac Newton, Einstein, Michael Angelou and so on but looking to the number of the Scientists and Artists with natural talents, unusual mental abilities and originality that are evident from enormous discoveries (though not as big as laws of motion or relativity but yet big enough to transform the lives of people across the world) and rapid changes in technologies that have changed the basic life styles and perspectives about living, one gets inclined to agree with another definition of “genius”; There are countless number of people with natural talents and originality but one gets lucky to work with an idea that proves revolutionary and he/she becomes an icon of originality and natural talents. Whenever I encounter with this definition, it makes me smile as it seems that random fixation of genetic mutations fits here too, natural laws are deeply penetrative to embody quarks and human imagination at same time. Which one of these two definitions regarding the “genius” is true?
That is what makes me shaky. Yes shaky, not because I do not have a clear concept of what genius is? But shaky because of rapidly blurring vision of future that makes it difficult to see in a penetrative manner far into future and see that how long today’s a truth stand true? Frankly, I am not really convinced that technological advancements will surpass the human capabilities rather they add to human capabilities. It is not the technologies that will change the reality but the humans who will use these technologies… I am so sure about it because we all know very well the Power of Aided-Senses and how they have changed our perspectives of reality as well as our of visions…
Until now, the unprecedented leap forward that human had in Sciences been dominantly the results of aided senses… From recorded history of systematic usage of reasoning in a systematic to uncover the reality (Ancient Athens) till renaissance, the biggest challenge was the epistemological challenge. What can human know? And outcome was a trend among philosophers to create a system (reality) based on their epistemologies, so we there were logical wars for reality. The most interesting of these systems is that of Rene Descartes because of his most radical approach. He declared that we can skeptic of certain knowledge of everything except of one thing. At least we can be sure about knowledge of our existence and it is why he said, “I think, therefore I am”.
All these skepticisms and epistemological problems were because of vulnerability of human senses to deceptions. All of our senses are awkwardly limited and prone to deception and these are causing problems in establishing reality but technological advances made human able to increase the ranges of their senses by using mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves. The uses of these waves in combination with discovery and creation of new materials and their unique properties the humans have magnificently increased the abilities of their senses to penetrate deeper into roots of reality and further far away in past and future simultaneously. Besides, computing machines have drastically decreased the chances of errors. In short, aided-senses have made human able to solve much of epistemological problems by having more confidence in their observations and hence somewhat on their conclusions.
Knowing all these, you may ask, if we have become confident in establishing reality then why you are shaky? Isn’t it counterintuitive to our increasing confidence that we have gotten in our observations and scientific laws?
The answer lies in the same question. As Aided-senses made us able to become more confident, a new development is making us go reverse and that is aided-imagination. Aided-senses helped us in uncovering reality as it is but the aided-imagination will help us by making us to able to imagine in very unlikely ways or better to say to imagine in very unrealistic manners and how to make them reality. This is the basis of my shakiness.
Until now we had only few geniuses who have changed the human fate, what if we succeed in building 3D computer systems not only functioning like human brain but also with similar capabilities? Can you imagine what could you imagine with these aided-imaginations? Of course with a un-aided-imagination you can’t. Such systems in the hands of those people with high imaginative minds would change the world in ways that will blur the border of reality with fiction. Of course even people with mediocre-imaginations having access to such aided-imaginations tools would have more imaginative power than a lot of geniuses that we now familiar with. How people with aided-imaginations will change the world? That is what we only can imagine (and as there are countless number ways that you can imagine so no one can truly predict the face of future) and without an aided-imagination, I can only imagine a negligible part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment