Tuesday, February 7, 2012
What Are We?
Throughout history all great thinkers have attempted to understand what the nature of a human being is. This type of thinking culminated in Christianity with its understanding of a human person in the Catholic philosophers. In modern times, existentialism replaced this understanding. Recently a vulgar materialism has taken over (a true decline in culture as all materialist societies self destruct) in which humans are seen as nothing more than raw matter or even nothing more than monetary values. This sort of idiotic philosophy is taking over the internet in which human life is seen as nothing more than a set of numbers and monetary value. Ironically many of the people promoting this philosophy seem to maintain that they are religious, although it is obvious that they have no true understanding of religion whatsoever.
The Rise of Illiteracy.
At one time, in Europe, high languages and especially Latin and perhaps Greek, were regarded as the languages of the church, but also the languages of the aristocrats and nobility. Low languages, especially German and its derivatives were regarded as the vulgar languages of the masses (at the time in the wake of the decline of the Roman empire, Germans were seen as barbarian hordes who had raided Rome in the past). Until the Reformation, Latin was considered the language of the church and the Bible was written in language by monks who slaved over its formulations. These monks were an elite caste as well devoted entirely to knowledge while the German hordes were seen as barbaric. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press which was used by Lutherans to spread the Luther Bible, written in the vulgar language of German. This was the first attempt to steal power from the elite caste of priests and give to the masses. In later history, languages such as high Spanish and French (derived from Latinate origins) were seen as those of Spanish and French aristocrats as opposed to vulgar German and English. In modern times, all these distinct languages have been replaced by English which has become the universal language since the advent of the British empire.
In modern America, English has long remained the universal language. However, at one time, the upper class WASPs in America spoke an entirely different (and distinctly North Eastern) version of English from the rest of America. This language spoken by the WASPs was elitist and closer to the language spoken by the British elite who were also trained in Latin and Greek. The rest of the United States spoke another version of English and constituted a farming class. However, for the last half century, this language has declined to be replaced by ever further forms of vulgarity. Perhaps you doubt this, but individuals from another era would be horrified by even the highest forms of expression expressed today by our elite. On the other hand, slang and speaking English have taken over for the masses, with much emphasis on pop culture. This was the state of the world until about 20 years ago. Then with the advent of the internet and a crude mass media, even this form of speaking English was replaced by a grosser form of English often including much slang and vulgarity even of the crudest form. You can see this especially on the internet in which the original form of hackerspeak which often required some cleverness of expression has been replaced by vulgar, crude, and cutesy forms of expression including especially crude and vulgar talk and cursing which has even appeared on mainstream television. This is added to the rise of pornography that encapsulates a large sector of the internet, whereas in the past this never would even have been allowed on television. You can see the effects of this process when even theoretical physicists at Caltech, Kip Thorne and James Preskell are discussing popular culture. Further, scientists once an elite caste in early America have become populist and taken to the masses, with individuals more often than not reading their popular books than understanding their actual papers.
In America, illiteracy has taken over with perhaps 23% of the population being illiterate. As people spend more and more time on the inernet reading mere snippets of information often written by anyone in crude an vulgar form, they become further illiterate. The old elite of ancient times was replaced by a new American elite. The American elite of old WASPs who were ultra-conservative was replaced by a liberal elite who entered the elite university system. Today these elite liberals are being replaced by a crude form of culture (though their own form of culture was indeed crude). Scientists who have been replacing the traditional priestly elite for centuries are now appealing to mass culture and few people understand true science, let alone the traditions of the priestly elite which are now all but forgotten.
In modern America, English has long remained the universal language. However, at one time, the upper class WASPs in America spoke an entirely different (and distinctly North Eastern) version of English from the rest of America. This language spoken by the WASPs was elitist and closer to the language spoken by the British elite who were also trained in Latin and Greek. The rest of the United States spoke another version of English and constituted a farming class. However, for the last half century, this language has declined to be replaced by ever further forms of vulgarity. Perhaps you doubt this, but individuals from another era would be horrified by even the highest forms of expression expressed today by our elite. On the other hand, slang and speaking English have taken over for the masses, with much emphasis on pop culture. This was the state of the world until about 20 years ago. Then with the advent of the internet and a crude mass media, even this form of speaking English was replaced by a grosser form of English often including much slang and vulgarity even of the crudest form. You can see this especially on the internet in which the original form of hackerspeak which often required some cleverness of expression has been replaced by vulgar, crude, and cutesy forms of expression including especially crude and vulgar talk and cursing which has even appeared on mainstream television. This is added to the rise of pornography that encapsulates a large sector of the internet, whereas in the past this never would even have been allowed on television. You can see the effects of this process when even theoretical physicists at Caltech, Kip Thorne and James Preskell are discussing popular culture. Further, scientists once an elite caste in early America have become populist and taken to the masses, with individuals more often than not reading their popular books than understanding their actual papers.
In America, illiteracy has taken over with perhaps 23% of the population being illiterate. As people spend more and more time on the inernet reading mere snippets of information often written by anyone in crude an vulgar form, they become further illiterate. The old elite of ancient times was replaced by a new American elite. The American elite of old WASPs who were ultra-conservative was replaced by a liberal elite who entered the elite university system. Today these elite liberals are being replaced by a crude form of culture (though their own form of culture was indeed crude). Scientists who have been replacing the traditional priestly elite for centuries are now appealing to mass culture and few people understand true science, let alone the traditions of the priestly elite which are now all but forgotten.
The Folly of Crowds.
During the Middle Ages crowds came to play a large role in the state of society. Mass warfare such as the Crusades or the revolutionary movements that occurred in the late middle ages spawned by revolutionary protestants against the papacy or against nobility illustrated perfectly the role of crowd psychology. These revolutionary movements culminated during the 18th century in the French revolutionar, a sordid and bloody affair which offended the sensibilities of traditional conservatives and was much discussed by the intellectual class. Counter-revolutionary thinkers emerged to challenge the French revolutionaries noting the violence and bloodshed that had occurred. These thinkers included Edmund Burke and Joseph de Maistre leading the Catholic counter-revolution. These were followed later by a new class of intellectuals such as Alexis de Toqueville, Gobineau, and especiallly Gustav le Bon, artistocrats who attempted to explain crowd psychology. In more modern times, following the rise of the Russian revolution, the Soviet tyranny, and later the Nazi revolution and the role of the world wars, conservative intellectuals further lamented the role of unleashing the mass mob on society. Thinkers such as Ortega y Gassett commented on these events and proclaimed the rise of the mass man (something that would only reach extraordinary proportions in the modern age). One thing to note about these early thinkers is that they were all uniformly opposed to the role of the crowd, viewing crowds as largely prone to irrationality, even insanity, and perhaps violence. Instigators played an important role in rousing crowds often towards violent ends. Warfare was seen as a culmination of crowd psychology, though as time passed on wars became more technocratic. These early thinkers praised the lone individual and the human person, the artistocrat and aesthete above the vulgarity of the mob.
However, with the rise of modern society and technocracy a new form of thinker arose. These thinkers studied crowd psychology and many came to argue that the crowd or group could achieve results not achieved by individuals. These thinkers were different from those of the past, in that those of the past had a nineteenth century understanding of science, while the new thinkers relied on calculative reasoning often bolstering their results with advanced science, psychological studies in group psychology. These thinkers maintained that groups could achieve effect results or that the "crowd had wisdom" that the individual did not possess. These thinkers were also active in the early promotion of the internet, when the internet became a mass movement. The digital crowd or more aptly as seen today the digital mob, was promoted early on as a way to achieve mass knowledge. However, if anyone looks at the internet today, as opposed to the internet of only 10 or 20 years ago one can see the net effect of this mob psychology. For one thing, by allowing entry to anyone, it has led to an increased stupifying effect in which an entropy on information flow has led bad information to overcome good. Further, the effects of the mob are all too often nasty and are becoming nastier. On social network and media sites, the mob rules absolute and individuals engage in nasty polemics against each other that would likely result in violence in real life. By promoting politics and controversial issues and then opening up "free speech" and comments to anyone with no proof of identy, the internet and media sites have allowed for a mass mob based in brutality to arise. Thus, we see confirmed again the folly of crowds as originally considered by the early crowd theorists of the nineteenth century. Further, we see another aspect of the folly of crowds in the increasing vulgarity of taste, often arising through mass illiteracy, and an excessive reliance on false forms of mass media. We also see the role that the internet has played in mobilizing recent mass movements including riots and flash mobs in America, riots in Russia, and populist movements against the financial sector (often leading to violence) in America and politicians in Russia and the Middle East.
However, with the rise of modern society and technocracy a new form of thinker arose. These thinkers studied crowd psychology and many came to argue that the crowd or group could achieve results not achieved by individuals. These thinkers were different from those of the past, in that those of the past had a nineteenth century understanding of science, while the new thinkers relied on calculative reasoning often bolstering their results with advanced science, psychological studies in group psychology. These thinkers maintained that groups could achieve effect results or that the "crowd had wisdom" that the individual did not possess. These thinkers were also active in the early promotion of the internet, when the internet became a mass movement. The digital crowd or more aptly as seen today the digital mob, was promoted early on as a way to achieve mass knowledge. However, if anyone looks at the internet today, as opposed to the internet of only 10 or 20 years ago one can see the net effect of this mob psychology. For one thing, by allowing entry to anyone, it has led to an increased stupifying effect in which an entropy on information flow has led bad information to overcome good. Further, the effects of the mob are all too often nasty and are becoming nastier. On social network and media sites, the mob rules absolute and individuals engage in nasty polemics against each other that would likely result in violence in real life. By promoting politics and controversial issues and then opening up "free speech" and comments to anyone with no proof of identy, the internet and media sites have allowed for a mass mob based in brutality to arise. Thus, we see confirmed again the folly of crowds as originally considered by the early crowd theorists of the nineteenth century. Further, we see another aspect of the folly of crowds in the increasing vulgarity of taste, often arising through mass illiteracy, and an excessive reliance on false forms of mass media. We also see the role that the internet has played in mobilizing recent mass movements including riots and flash mobs in America, riots in Russia, and populist movements against the financial sector (often leading to violence) in America and politicians in Russia and the Middle East.
The Dead Worldview Promoted by Modern Computers and the Internet.
One of the earliest criticisms of the development of computers is that they resolved upon calculative reasoning (reduced to its simplest form that of binary notation) and thus could not adequately reflect the true capacities of human consciousness despite the fact that they could be programmed to perform calculative feats. As programming developed however these criticisms seem to begin to pale as computers became more advanced. However with this progress, it should be noted that computers became easier and easier to use. One no longer had to know how to program them or even how they worked (or today even much of anything) to be able to use one. With the rise of the mass internet in the 90s, the role of blogs and information sites such as amazon.com and wikipedia, programming seemed to be cast aside in favor of social networking and mostly discussion of politics. On these sites, you can see countless individuals spending days at a time arguing politics, including being excessively nasty to each other and saying things that would ordinarily likely result in fights or even physical violence all unsupressed by moderates of such sites. Facebook is an even newer innovation that is supposed to be used for social networking but too often leads to a voyeuristic type of society in which anyone can witness your thoughts and activities. This has led to complicated issues. Further, the openness of internet forums and comment sections to the entire society has led to both the role of mob behavior and mass stupidity as well as the rise of a criminal class. One thing I notice about these recent developments in computers is that they pose a dead worldview to society.
The early criticisms of computers which became more expressed as computers became more complicated and thus perhaps capable of challenging our absolute superiority, are now no longer expressed. These early critics would today appear as unkempt luddites. However, with the advent of the internet, the role of television (and the increasing similarity of the internet to television on a mass scale), and other issues, the criticisms of the early luddites may become more important. I notice that the internet poses a dead world view. Human life is reduced to that of money when politics is argued. Further, comments reduce individuals to words on a screen and their entire being becomes stored as a comment in a social networking site. Many of the comments are violent and would likely result in physical violence in the real world. On sites such as amazon.com reviews for books not only reveal the contents of old and important books, but have become disgraceful, nasty, uncouth, and a chance for anyone to pursue a hateful agenda or campaign. Peoples reputations have been ruined by these events. This further adds to the disgraceful climate of the internet. But worse, I believe these internet companies are promoting a dead worldview. With the rise of atheism and materialism which seem ubiquitous on the internet, we can see how the dead worldview has become encapsulated. Further, most mainstream internet sites seem to be promoting a form of Social Darwinism and human life is no longer a main value for modern society. Challenges proposed by issues such as war and overpopulation are no longer addressed. Traditional Christian beliefs of mercy and justice have been replaced by stone cold and hard beliefs allowing for no deviation from set norms and no tolerance for abnormalcy.
The early criticisms of computers which became more expressed as computers became more complicated and thus perhaps capable of challenging our absolute superiority, are now no longer expressed. These early critics would today appear as unkempt luddites. However, with the advent of the internet, the role of television (and the increasing similarity of the internet to television on a mass scale), and other issues, the criticisms of the early luddites may become more important. I notice that the internet poses a dead world view. Human life is reduced to that of money when politics is argued. Further, comments reduce individuals to words on a screen and their entire being becomes stored as a comment in a social networking site. Many of the comments are violent and would likely result in physical violence in the real world. On sites such as amazon.com reviews for books not only reveal the contents of old and important books, but have become disgraceful, nasty, uncouth, and a chance for anyone to pursue a hateful agenda or campaign. Peoples reputations have been ruined by these events. This further adds to the disgraceful climate of the internet. But worse, I believe these internet companies are promoting a dead worldview. With the rise of atheism and materialism which seem ubiquitous on the internet, we can see how the dead worldview has become encapsulated. Further, most mainstream internet sites seem to be promoting a form of Social Darwinism and human life is no longer a main value for modern society. Challenges proposed by issues such as war and overpopulation are no longer addressed. Traditional Christian beliefs of mercy and justice have been replaced by stone cold and hard beliefs allowing for no deviation from set norms and no tolerance for abnormalcy.
Further Signs and Indications That We Are Approaching a New Dark Age.
One of the interesting effects of the internet is that it has led to an entropic loss of information. Good information and good content has been driven out by uniformly bad content. By allowing masses of people to post anything to the internet, and allowing for a dumbed down mass of people, good content is quickly driven out. This can be understood as the heat death of the internet, in that originally the internet was used by physicists for exchanging scientific papers, but today is used by hoodlums to harrass and heckle innocents.
The excessive reliance individuals now make upon tools such as google and wikipedia is another sign of a decline in knowledge. Whereas in the past individuals had to commit large amounts of material to memory, including learning multiple languages and difficult mathematics, today individuals can simply rely on google or wikipedia to achieve these same feats. The mass communication throughout the world between all kinds of individuals has not led to an increase in knowledge or learning. Instead, it has led to the triumph of ignorance in which the mass mob and the crowd blocks out any true understanding.
The decline in knowledge may further be seen in the mass media which is not only bland and insipid, but also features brutal, disgusting images. These violent images spawn mental disturbance in the weakest individuals. The mass media is irrational and constitutes the role of a surveillance society.
The decline in general knowledge is perhaps best illustrated by the events of a recent French tv quiz show. A contestant was asked whether the moon revolved around the earth. Unable to answer this question, the contestant turned to the audience who answered the question incorrectly. The contestant then maintained that the audience was also wrong and responded with an indepedent incorrect choice. While many educated people may scoff at this contestant, very few educated people would actually be able to demonstrate that the moon revolved around the earth given that they have only "learned" this fact from text books and teachers. Examples such as this illustrate a further decline in general knowledge.
Some individuals of the Darwinian persuasion seem to now argue that doubting Darwinism amounts to heresy and that those who doubt Darwin are responsible for the decline of Western civilization. It is to be noted though that these arguments are rarely or never used for those who doubt other aspects of modern Western science such as atomic or germ theory. Further, the Darwinian foundations appear to be weakening which may explain the over-enthusiastic zeal of such people. Finally, there is the opposition to religion and the recent rise of a militant atheism among certain individuals. Very few of these atheists however discuss science and mostly focus their ire on ridiculing all religion. Alternatively, the advances in cosmology (the rise of the Big Bang theory pointing to a point singularlity as origin of the universe), quantum mechanics (the role of the collapse of the wave function and the interaction between physical reality and the conscious observer that takes place there), neuroscience (the understanding of the human brain and its relation to mystical states of consciousness), and finally mathematics (the role of the Godelian incompleteness results and the understandings developed behind the notion of a Turing machine) all seem to point to a refutation of a strict physicalist viewpoint. Further, developments in the field of parapsychology add to this understanding, though this field remains controversial. All of these developments plus the apparent decline of the Darwinian account seem to strengthen the idea that the nineteenth century view of materialistic and mechanistic science is false. Unable to deal with these facts, its proponents have become zealots and rabid atheists. The rise of this militant atheism (which denies not only a creator deity but all morality) actually is a problem for Western civilization in that it allows for the rise of dictatorship and mass immoral behavior (which is best illustrated in the behavior of atheists such as these as witnessed through their actions and comments).
The excessive reliance individuals now make upon tools such as google and wikipedia is another sign of a decline in knowledge. Whereas in the past individuals had to commit large amounts of material to memory, including learning multiple languages and difficult mathematics, today individuals can simply rely on google or wikipedia to achieve these same feats. The mass communication throughout the world between all kinds of individuals has not led to an increase in knowledge or learning. Instead, it has led to the triumph of ignorance in which the mass mob and the crowd blocks out any true understanding.
The decline in knowledge may further be seen in the mass media which is not only bland and insipid, but also features brutal, disgusting images. These violent images spawn mental disturbance in the weakest individuals. The mass media is irrational and constitutes the role of a surveillance society.
The decline in general knowledge is perhaps best illustrated by the events of a recent French tv quiz show. A contestant was asked whether the moon revolved around the earth. Unable to answer this question, the contestant turned to the audience who answered the question incorrectly. The contestant then maintained that the audience was also wrong and responded with an indepedent incorrect choice. While many educated people may scoff at this contestant, very few educated people would actually be able to demonstrate that the moon revolved around the earth given that they have only "learned" this fact from text books and teachers. Examples such as this illustrate a further decline in general knowledge.
Some individuals of the Darwinian persuasion seem to now argue that doubting Darwinism amounts to heresy and that those who doubt Darwin are responsible for the decline of Western civilization. It is to be noted though that these arguments are rarely or never used for those who doubt other aspects of modern Western science such as atomic or germ theory. Further, the Darwinian foundations appear to be weakening which may explain the over-enthusiastic zeal of such people. Finally, there is the opposition to religion and the recent rise of a militant atheism among certain individuals. Very few of these atheists however discuss science and mostly focus their ire on ridiculing all religion. Alternatively, the advances in cosmology (the rise of the Big Bang theory pointing to a point singularlity as origin of the universe), quantum mechanics (the role of the collapse of the wave function and the interaction between physical reality and the conscious observer that takes place there), neuroscience (the understanding of the human brain and its relation to mystical states of consciousness), and finally mathematics (the role of the Godelian incompleteness results and the understandings developed behind the notion of a Turing machine) all seem to point to a refutation of a strict physicalist viewpoint. Further, developments in the field of parapsychology add to this understanding, though this field remains controversial. All of these developments plus the apparent decline of the Darwinian account seem to strengthen the idea that the nineteenth century view of materialistic and mechanistic science is false. Unable to deal with these facts, its proponents have become zealots and rabid atheists. The rise of this militant atheism (which denies not only a creator deity but all morality) actually is a problem for Western civilization in that it allows for the rise of dictatorship and mass immoral behavior (which is best illustrated in the behavior of atheists such as these as witnessed through their actions and comments).
Interpretations of History.
History is seen as a vast panorama in which world events play out their course. From ancient times, one particular view of history regarded the world as in a state of decline from a past golden age. In a prehistoric Eden, mankind had vast powers (including psychical powers) and unlimited freedom. However, something occurred which caused mankind to fall from grace and to be passed off into a never ending historical cycle. This cycle was to culminate through successive stages in the destruction of the human race in an apocalypse. In the late 1980s with the advent of chaos theory, various methods were used to try to understand historical development through cyclical history. History ebbed and flowed according to chaos theory which explained its underpinnings. According to chaos theory small perturbations in initial conditions could give rise to large perturbations in final conditions. Thus, small events in local historical time could lead to large macro-events in later times. Examples of this were seen from history in which small determinations led to large scale wars or intellectual developments. These furthered the course of history. In the book _Hamlet's Mill_ it was explained how the ancients understood the precession of the equinoxes which played a large role in the development of their myth. These precessions allowed them to understand history in terms of cycle. In modern times, this view has been largely forgotten. However, it should be noted that even in ancient times it was well know that the earth was round and not flat. The modern myth of the flat earth was incorporated later in the nineteenth century when "science" came to be seen as an all-encompassing worldview over the dark ages of superstition and medieval mysticism.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Changes That Have Taken Place in Society and Education.
Jim Marrs notes several interesting alterations that have taken place in American society since 100 years ago and explains how he sees these as creeping trends towards socialism. To begin with, he explains that 100 years ago an individual was born as a person. Today an individual is a person but carries with him a set of numbers which must be presented to authorities. This reduction of a human person to a set of numbers which follow him throughout life marks the incursion of socialism. In the socialist and totalitarian societies of the past, individuals were deprived of their individuality by the state. The individual became subordinate to the state and all individual activity was controlled by the state and elite controllers (those who occupied positions within the state). Thus the entire form of human existence became subordinate to the state and all human activity was initiated by the state. This collectivist hell (ironically termed collectivist paradise by its expounders such as Marx) gave rise to a grey world syndrome in which creativity, diversity, and inviduality was stifled by the state, so that the individual existed solely for the purpose of maintaining the state.
Marrs also considers the role of state education and the continuing mediocratization of society through education. Marrs notes that 100 years ago, education involved much more difficult exams that relied on heavy usage of memory. Students learned difficult languages like Latin and Greek and exams consisted of difficult mathematics problems. This type of education had existed since the Middle Ages when the schoolmen were required to commit large biblical passages and passages from other text to memory. (With the internet, reliance on memory has become even more outmoded than it was just 20 years ago before the advent of sites like Wikipedia). This reliance on memory and difficult feats of mental calculation kept the mind sharp. Further, the language spoken by persons of years ago was much more refined and sophisticated. Today's language is choppy and written in short paragraphs. But the language of back then was long winded and relied on excessively abstruse philosophical terminology even for everyday conversations. Language continues to decline in polite conversation and individuals resort more frequently to slang and even foul language (which is increasingly becoming just a familiar norm in our society). Further, computers continue to erode language even further in which individuals have reached a point where they cannot even think and express thoughts by means of texting and superficial code terms which differ from original hackerspeak in that original hackerspeak involved clever usage. Marrs explains how education today is designed to produce effective employees (usually for large corporations) and workers not thinkers. Thinkers pose a problem for society so must be shunned and corporations offer a standardized form of political correctness that exceeds that imposed by the government.
Marrs notes the stifling effects of education and the continued development of a new dark age. In a recent broadcast on a French quiz show a contestant could not even explain that the moon revolved around the earth. To add further irony to this, he asked the audience who did not know this either. In honesty though, while educated people do know this fact, very few even educated people would be able to tell you how this fact has been derived. In other words, they just accept this fact as knowledge based on teachers and textbooks (or more likely a quick look towards wikipedia) without ever considering how this fact came about. Examples such as this illustrate our continued decline into further idiocracy and irrationalism.
Marrs further sites examples in which quakery has now become accepted practise. If one watches television one quickly notes the many quack cures peddled on there, including ads for medicines promoted by pharmaceutical companies. These types of ads illustrate the lack of standards in medicine and the decline in medical power, to be replaced by pharmaceutical corporations that appeal to mob psychology.
Marrs discusses the role of psychology noting its origin in ancient philosophies, but its more modern development in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth century through psychoanalysis. Marrs explains how psychiatry was incorporated along with the field of eugenics and the role it played in Nazi and Communist tyrannies. Marrs notes that in today's world psychiatry is commonplace and a given, though just 20 years ago it was first being popularized when it reached mainstream tv in the form of talk shows and self help books. Former generations would have seen such open confessions as shameful. These types of shows also illustrate our increasing loss of privacy in which all concerns are aired before the public. In the Victorian era, sex could not even be discussed, soon perhaps pornography will be shown on mainstream television. Pornography has become mainstream through the internet and pornographers now are even beginning to play a role in politics disturbingly.
Marrs also notes the role of a surveillance state, in which cameras occupy every corner of society. The corporate media has become omnipotent and it now reveals our inner flaws for all to see, including the military secrets we once guarded so closely during the Cold War.
Marrs also considers the role of state education and the continuing mediocratization of society through education. Marrs notes that 100 years ago, education involved much more difficult exams that relied on heavy usage of memory. Students learned difficult languages like Latin and Greek and exams consisted of difficult mathematics problems. This type of education had existed since the Middle Ages when the schoolmen were required to commit large biblical passages and passages from other text to memory. (With the internet, reliance on memory has become even more outmoded than it was just 20 years ago before the advent of sites like Wikipedia). This reliance on memory and difficult feats of mental calculation kept the mind sharp. Further, the language spoken by persons of years ago was much more refined and sophisticated. Today's language is choppy and written in short paragraphs. But the language of back then was long winded and relied on excessively abstruse philosophical terminology even for everyday conversations. Language continues to decline in polite conversation and individuals resort more frequently to slang and even foul language (which is increasingly becoming just a familiar norm in our society). Further, computers continue to erode language even further in which individuals have reached a point where they cannot even think and express thoughts by means of texting and superficial code terms which differ from original hackerspeak in that original hackerspeak involved clever usage. Marrs explains how education today is designed to produce effective employees (usually for large corporations) and workers not thinkers. Thinkers pose a problem for society so must be shunned and corporations offer a standardized form of political correctness that exceeds that imposed by the government.
Marrs notes the stifling effects of education and the continued development of a new dark age. In a recent broadcast on a French quiz show a contestant could not even explain that the moon revolved around the earth. To add further irony to this, he asked the audience who did not know this either. In honesty though, while educated people do know this fact, very few even educated people would be able to tell you how this fact has been derived. In other words, they just accept this fact as knowledge based on teachers and textbooks (or more likely a quick look towards wikipedia) without ever considering how this fact came about. Examples such as this illustrate our continued decline into further idiocracy and irrationalism.
Marrs further sites examples in which quakery has now become accepted practise. If one watches television one quickly notes the many quack cures peddled on there, including ads for medicines promoted by pharmaceutical companies. These types of ads illustrate the lack of standards in medicine and the decline in medical power, to be replaced by pharmaceutical corporations that appeal to mob psychology.
Marrs discusses the role of psychology noting its origin in ancient philosophies, but its more modern development in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth century through psychoanalysis. Marrs explains how psychiatry was incorporated along with the field of eugenics and the role it played in Nazi and Communist tyrannies. Marrs notes that in today's world psychiatry is commonplace and a given, though just 20 years ago it was first being popularized when it reached mainstream tv in the form of talk shows and self help books. Former generations would have seen such open confessions as shameful. These types of shows also illustrate our increasing loss of privacy in which all concerns are aired before the public. In the Victorian era, sex could not even be discussed, soon perhaps pornography will be shown on mainstream television. Pornography has become mainstream through the internet and pornographers now are even beginning to play a role in politics disturbingly.
Marrs also notes the role of a surveillance state, in which cameras occupy every corner of society. The corporate media has become omnipotent and it now reveals our inner flaws for all to see, including the military secrets we once guarded so closely during the Cold War.
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