Recently in many of my classes, the question of "action over contemplation" has arisen and I'd like to take this opportunity to comment on it...
There seems to be a pervading idea that my generation (those born between 1980-1990 ish) are those that privileged action over contemplation - a generation that leaps before it thinks, or even looks.
I can say that this is no more true now than it was for previous generations - the reason, I believe that it appears that we are so focused on speed that we miss a great deal of what we should be paying attention to.
I would argue that it's quite the opposite.
For those of us who survive in and compete in the virtual arena of the Internet - learning to sort through the continuous barrage of information we're assaulted with is critical to our ability to function within that environment as proficiently as we do. One "skill set" that is absolutely necessary is an ability to not only comprehend, but absorb, process and execute according to what we gather - the only difference between how we and our predecessors deal with that information and how quickly we are "trained" to interact with it is simply a question of speed and efficiency. If that efficiency were compromised by the speed, we would accomplish far less, learn more slowly and be generally inferior to our parents and those that came before them.
That isn't the case, however, and our generation has continued forward into what many call the next step of human evolution - one that involves a state of mind and an advancement of the human ability to think and comprehend the abstract in a way not possible before without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs.
The ideas of "cyber-spirituality" are becoming more and more pronounced - a separation from the idea that everything we feel and see is real is slowly being proven wrong. The idea of reality as being something "insubstantial" - something that exits on multiple levels as versatile and ever-changing as our own states of consciousness...
Even the question, "What is real?" is something discussed avidly beyond the realm of the traditional philosopher.
Everywhere, we find representations of the "cyber-prophet" - those mystical few who have the knowledge to transverse the enigmatic realm of the Internet - and I have to wonder why.
Is the Internet that frightening to older generations that they dare not even investigate it? Take classes to learn how to use their computers and educate themselves on the positive and negative aspects of this "parallel" realm that so greatly influences their every-day lives?
If that's so, then their fear is born of the ignorance they accuse my generation of... an interesting problem if ever there was one...
A generation gives birth to something the majority don't understand... and then refuse to engage with it, while ostracizing the following generation for the same reasons...
There seems to be a pervading idea that my generation (those born between 1980-1990 ish) are those that privileged action over contemplation - a generation that leaps before it thinks, or even looks.
I can say that this is no more true now than it was for previous generations - the reason, I believe that it appears that we are so focused on speed that we miss a great deal of what we should be paying attention to.
I would argue that it's quite the opposite.
For those of us who survive in and compete in the virtual arena of the Internet - learning to sort through the continuous barrage of information we're assaulted with is critical to our ability to function within that environment as proficiently as we do. One "skill set" that is absolutely necessary is an ability to not only comprehend, but absorb, process and execute according to what we gather - the only difference between how we and our predecessors deal with that information and how quickly we are "trained" to interact with it is simply a question of speed and efficiency. If that efficiency were compromised by the speed, we would accomplish far less, learn more slowly and be generally inferior to our parents and those that came before them.
That isn't the case, however, and our generation has continued forward into what many call the next step of human evolution - one that involves a state of mind and an advancement of the human ability to think and comprehend the abstract in a way not possible before without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs.
The ideas of "cyber-spirituality" are becoming more and more pronounced - a separation from the idea that everything we feel and see is real is slowly being proven wrong. The idea of reality as being something "insubstantial" - something that exits on multiple levels as versatile and ever-changing as our own states of consciousness...
Even the question, "What is real?" is something discussed avidly beyond the realm of the traditional philosopher.
Everywhere, we find representations of the "cyber-prophet" - those mystical few who have the knowledge to transverse the enigmatic realm of the Internet - and I have to wonder why.
Is the Internet that frightening to older generations that they dare not even investigate it? Take classes to learn how to use their computers and educate themselves on the positive and negative aspects of this "parallel" realm that so greatly influences their every-day lives?
If that's so, then their fear is born of the ignorance they accuse my generation of... an interesting problem if ever there was one...
A generation gives birth to something the majority don't understand... and then refuse to engage with it, while ostracizing the following generation for the same reasons...
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