Posted: 21 December 2004 at 1:44am | IP Logged

... I was contemplating something recently, well I do that a lot these days, but normally forget what it was because I get stoned a lot and have random discussions with mates.

But something that stuck with me was how communication will change in the future. Obviously the internet is the biggest and fastest growing form of communication ever, and will continue to hold that place for hundreds, thousands of years.

So will there be any use for books in say.. 2 thousand years? Will there actually be an English language as we know it. I reckon the alphabet will gradually shrink to less than 15 characters for example, because we can spell and pronounce words using only a few letters.

And people seem to be so wrapped up in the internet these days that its as if there's no longer any reason to meet and talk to people because it can all be done online.

Work, pleasure, shopping, talking, living... it's all a click away, so why should the next couple of generations of kids need to know anything about spelling, langauge and linguistics? Mobile phone text laungage consists of dodgy characters and "lol".

It seems that education will evolve to suit the way communication is changing and I'm convinced all schools will deliver the lessons and teaching through computers at some point.

Lets suppose everything I have mentioned is what will roughly happen; in 10 thousand years, will the human body have evolved so that we no longer have vocal chords, because we no longer need them, because everything we do is type/word based using our 7 digit alphabet.

Maybe by this time no one will know what the alphabet is, and we'll be able to communicate using telepathy and be permanently wired to cyberspace because we can electrically process signals with our own brains.

That may be the biggest load of bollocks anyone's posted in a while, but it still interests me greatly. Sometimes it makes me go off on tangents and forget the original discussion, but now that it's written and posted its a point of focus.

Lets discuss how communication will change in the next 100, 1000, 5000, however many years. What current forms of communication will be phased out?

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:09am | IP Logged

what the hell.....ease off the pot. definatelly not good for you

it is a pretty deep discussion...it almost convinced me....but i think earth will no longer exist in 5000+ years as all the pollution would have killed all the species on it so u would have a large land mass jus floating around with no life....ok i better get some sleep now...too much for one night.

good night

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:11am | IP Logged

There have always been down-to-earth oldschoolers.  No matter what, they always have been there.  So if "internet being the main resource of life" becomes a normal and predictable revolution, and down-to-earth oldschoolers always being there is normal -- then no, not everyone will be part of the internet craze.  I see myself becoming one of these people, because I can't imagine a world without books.  I'd rather hold the literature in my hands that have to stare at a screen.

There will be many other people like me who will grow up to have children and may even go more oldschool and forbid their children from using the internet.

There is, however, another issue.  Terrorists (I'm assuming) target things that we take for granted to get our attention.  If the internet becomes a revolution in the way we live, I can imagine a lot of terrorists being oldschool and not taking part in the act.  They will then notice that while everyone's faces are glued to monitors, they've forgotten the "real world" and only think inside the "cyber world."  In this case, terrorists will find that people are taking the "real world" for granted; living in the "real world" without even thinking about it so they can connect to a "cyber world".  You might see where I'm getting at.

Here's a rather off-topic/yet sort of related scenario to ponder also:
(assuming the Evolutionist theory) We have developped from monkey to human.  Somewhere during this evolution, we had a choice as to how we were going to develop communication.  It's my philosophy that ORAL speech was just one out of many possible outcomes, and that ORAL speech just happened to be the one we developped.
Imagine if the apes were led into a different direction.  Mental communication?  Imagine how strange the modern day world would be.  There would be no radio.  No music.  No such thing as language.  No telephone.  Over time, our mouths will have turned into small holes only meant for feeding.  Think about it.

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:25am | IP Logged

Jono wrote: It's my philosophy that ORAL speech was just one out of many possible outcomes, and that ORAL speech just happened to be the one we developped.

But don't you think that humanity has developed to the point where WE control the Earth, rather than the Earth control us, which explains your idea.

We pollute this planet, we start wars, we're supposedly in control and can choose our own destiny. Evolution and communication has pretty much done its own thing for a few million years, then we suddenly turn the whole thing on its head.

In a way, we are a disease (someone above said that), we have ruined it all, yet we still choose what to do. Therefore surely we can choose how to develop communication methods, one of which has been digital - the Internet

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:40am | IP Logged

lol...is this a serious discussion? cuz it is more like a serious joke

its good though

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:49am | IP Logged

And also, monkeys have vocal chords. To me that seems fairly deliberate in terms of the anatomy, it must mean they were intended to use and develop voice of some kind.

Some animals don't make any sound whatsoever. It could well be that they're the one's who speak to each other mentally, and they're what we're supposed to be in another million years. Naturally because we have managed to harness the power of technology, and are the dominant species, it's as if we are the most advanced species, and so take it for granted. Certain animals are probably above us.

We worry about work, about life, about survival; we worry about the kind of education our children recieve, we worry about money.. we buy TVs, stereos, dvd players, expensive clothes and gimmicks.

What does a badger do all day? What car does a badger drive? Animals just chill out and live a simple life. Have they been enlightened in way that we are only beginning to understand?

We have interfered with our own evolutionary process. Technology has reached a commendable but critically dangerous point where someone can choose what sort of baby to give birth too. If we decide what kind of human being too create, then we can choose how it lives.

Surely technology will dictate what happens in the future both deliberately and naturally.

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:52am | IP Logged

Maybe the human race is a serious joke. While we self indulge in what is possibly a fake world (like The Matrix), something bigger and better is out there while we remain a spec of dust in an infinite universe.

The ending to Men in Black is the best ending to a film. Made me think a lot.

Posted: 21 December 2004 at 2:59am | IP Logged

I know Howler Monkeys make sound, to make close females "Funky"


Just like we whistle "whit whoo"

?just a thought?