J: So… Who would have guessed Laura’s topic of discourse would have such a strong fecal… er focal point? Me. If you’ve ever had to listen to her ramble on about Montezuma, or excessive cheese consumption, you know what I’m talking about. That aside, I believe our welcome was quite successful, Laura. I warned the people, and then you promptly demonstrated why I had to! What a team eh?

Anyway, this whole adventure into dual-blogging has made salient the whole idea of continued technology to me. It’s something I think about quite a bit, but it’s just such an interesting world… The exponential nature with which we’ve progressed in just a short while is alarming…

In 1980, a gigabyte of memory cost approximately $193,000.00. Now, it costs about 7 cents.

And that’s market value… Not even considering inflation, not considering the fact that the production cost is significantly lower. It’s just a little crazy to me. And it’s not just computers directly. I mean it’s all about what they’re doing, and how they work… We live in a world where we’re no longer concerned about a quicker way to get from California to New York, but rather, how do we get from the 4th, into the 5th or 11th dimension. But there’s a danger. The isolation is a danger. The fact that a select few are doing “science” and what they say is somehow immediately “law”. I think that our society has become so blinded by the sensory, that we often forget to trace things back to the roots. To appreciate things through their development. Just think for a second about how quickly modern technology becomes “obsolete”… You buy an iPhone, and the next gen is out in a month or so. It’s hard to settle on any one thing, because things just keep getting more complex! I think it’s great, but I also think it’s incredibly easy to take for granted.

We have anthropomorphized computers to such an extent, that it’s almost like the computers are getting smarter, and that’s the end of it. We have to remember that people are in charge of this technological revolution though… People are making smarter computers, but it involves the people getting smarter too. It’s important to keep our eyes on the progression of these things, and to do our best to understand how things are working. That doesn’t mean go out and study circuit charts so you know how a computer works, but it is an encouragement to analyze what these things really mean to you. They’re a way to connect, they’re a way to get things done quickly, they can be used to put out your thoughts, your music, your blog, etc. But they pose a real threat of replacing real interaction, in my opinion. It’s so easy to watch movies, talk with friends, play games, etc. that it’s getting harder and harder for people to really connect face to face. I realize the irony of me typing all of this on a blog, but I think you understand what I’m saying.

Of course, there’s always the other side of the coin. Our modern lifestyle has given us the ability TO connect with people instantly. There have been so many times where the instant nature of the internet and its relatives (twitter, smartphones, etc) have provided unlimited possibilities for growth and friendship. It’s changed the music industry, the film industry, the dating scene, etc. Look at Avatar for instance… It had a compelling story, and an astonishingly beautiful feel to the whole movie, but it used a “gimmick” with the new RealD 3D feature… But it worked. It didn’t get in the way and become a distracting “feature” it immersed you in the movie. It comes down to balance really.

I believe there’s more to come. I think technology will hit a wall if it isn’t used in a way that can extend our stride in the evolution of humans. I believe our next step in evolution is one of connection and spirituality. How do we build a program to extend that? One that goes beyond facebook and myspace and all that… Ok I’ve realized at this point I’m just rambling. I’m watching the NYJ-CIN game… It’s distracting… Laura, come bail me out here.

ciao.

jm

p.s. this all kind of started because i don’t know how the hell Twitter works. or what it really is… and the fact that our site looks better now than it did before, and i know that’s some digital voodoo laura did. and i’m jealous. peace.

L: Pffffffff. I feel like my head is going to EXPLODE. The wheels in my head are spinning at Mach 10 and all thoughts are flying loose like haphazardly-fired missiles, frying the nerves my cerebrum. Wasn’t it just a week ago or so that my dear-friend Sweetie Petie said something along the lines of:

Laura, what I love about you is how quirky and crazy you really are. You show off this composed, got-it-all-together air on the outside. But, on the inside your thoughts, feelings, emotions and ideas are bouncing around in a ping pong frenzy of insanity.

Oh so sweet you are, Peter. Again, we see why this blog is called Mentally Retorted. And J, how little do you know the true irony of your post. How little do you know how your post bombarded my little bird-brain. You are my mental steroid (hey! steroids… another great topic to put on the back-burner.)

Ah kay. Stay on topic, L. (Yes, Sweetie Petie, I’m talking to myself again. And I was hoping I could keep this somewhat brief. Pffff…)

Second Life

Irony. Irony. Justin you mentioned the irony of tackling this very issue of Techmologies (a subject we’ll revisit time and again) on a blog. Well, I’ve got irony for you. You’ve certainly opened Pandora’s box with this one. Oh wait. Wasn’t Avatar based on the planet of Pandora?? And, didn’t Avatar’s Colonel Miles Quaritch say:

Ladies and gentlemen, you are not in Kansas anymore. You’re on Pandora.

And just where is it that I’m pondering and publishing this scatter-brained post? From my dad’s house in, you guessed it, Kansas. (Whew… we’re not done with the ironies yet!)

J, I agree:

The next step of evolution is spirituality and connection.

How’s this for connection? Just last night I met an American girl who supports a life in Bangkok, Thailand entirely from a most unique Techmology way. (Yes, I met her in Kansas of all places!) Kara Jordan sells virtual clothing designs. You heard me right. She uses Photoshop to design exotic clothing like Indian saris for avatars in Second Life.

We live in a world where we’re no longer concerned about a quicker way to get from California to New York, but rather, how do we get from the 4th, into the 5th or 11th dimension.

Oh how right you were, J. So, what is Second Life you ask?

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003 and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer[1] enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world (which residents refer to as “the grid”). Source: Wikipedia.

Just like the concept of the movie Avatar, people trading one identity for another. One body for another. One life for another. Except, unlike the movie, Second Life – as compared to a planet Pandora – doesn’t actually really exist. It’s all virtual. People are trading real life, physical experiences for virtual ones. Is that not opting to become something of a robot?? Now Kara, however, is working the system. She uses the money she makes from people buying her all-virtual clothing graphics to live a most exotic and as-real-as-you-can-get life of an American Woman in Bangkok. She also uses what she saves to travel from time to time, through Couchsurfing (sleeping on stranger’s couches around the world – more on that below.) Talk about taking life by the horns! And how ironic is all that??!

But, the whole virtual reality concept gets even scarier. Did you know that people spend hours discovering and collecting special keys, guns and money in video games and then actually sell those virtual items for real greenbacks on Ebay??? It’s called virtual gold mining. I’m sorry, I just can’t get my mind around the logic of all that. ‘It’s their time‘, they say. I say, this is just pure and inarguable evidence that an alarming rate of the human population is becoming mindless robots obsessed with consumption.

We have anthropomorphized computers to such an extent, that it’s almost like the computers are getting smarter, and that’s the end of it. We have to remember that people are in charge of this technological revolution though… People are making smarter computers, but it involves the people getting smarter too.

J, I would argue that a small sampling of people are getting super smart. The rest are being dumbed-down into, as I said, mindless robots driven by consumption.

They pose a real threat of replacing real interaction, in my opinion… it’s getting harder and harder for people to really connect face to face.

Oh you nailed it buddy. That is precisely the danger. Danger of a nation of physical isolation. Not social castration but, the castration of the very idea of society. A virtual manipulation of “reincarnation” that masks a reality of utter deprivation of true human interaction. You know, possessing a strong imagination has been more-or-less upheld as a prized virtue by society… and, most admittedly, by me. But, in light of all this virtual obsession and Second Life illusion, I can’t help but wonder: Could it be that imagination can go too far? Can imagination lead to virtual (pun so intended) mummification?

I believe our next step in evolution is one of connection and spirituality. How do we build a program to extend that? One that goes beyond Facebook and Myspace and all that.

Yes, J!! And how? Answer: Couchsurfing and projects like it. Times.com listed Couchsurfing.com as one of the 50 Best Websites of 2009. It was ranked 38, in fact. Times reporter Adam Fisher explains the unique quality of the CS concept most eloquently:

The glaring limitation of most social networks is that by the end of the day, you’re still staring at a computer screen. Have you really made friends if you’ve never actually spent time with them? CouchSurfing is different because it’s only incidentally a social network. At the heart of its community is a social bargain: host a couch surfer as he or she backpacks through your country, and another couch surfer will host you.

Couchsurfing uses Techmology to promote real-life, human interaction… not kill it! J, you said it’s about finding the balance. I would say Couchsurfing has not only achieved that goal, but has capitalized upon it in the most living way.

Anyway, need to know more about Avatar? View the trailer here:

Official Avatar Movie

Download an interactive trailer by clicking here. Though you need Adobe Air.
Avatar even has a Typepad blogging community. (Really? Typepad??) 2631 members and counting…

Avatar video game coming soon.
The Avatar iPhone game is already available.
Follow Avatar on Twitter to learn where to find things like a published field guide to Pandora.

Can we say cult??? Though, I must say, I enjoyed the film nearly as much as any fanatic.

J, looks like I need to give you some virtual reality training so we can more aptly bash it through our virtual blog. Oh sweet irony.

Wow. I can’t believe I managed to make all that scatter-brained babble appear somewhat connected and coherent.

Deep breath… Whew. Well, I’ll be signing off. This post is keeping me from watching Watchmen on HBO… I’ll let you catch the double-irony of that one.

J: I may respond to the rest of this later, but the most important thing i can tell you… Don’t watch WATCHMEN! Read the graphic novel. The movie is just plain awful. I’ll retort later.

J: OK! It continues… Had a great conversation last night with a friend about exactly this topic. Avatar came up, facebook, etc. I could go on for pages about the conversation… it was that good. But I’ll shorten it to this. There is no denying that online communities have changed the way we relate to people. Some are good, some are bad… Just go for the good. Don’t be the person who forgets what people look like because you’re too busy looking at their avatar. Amen. Let’s move this train along… What’s next Laura? Bowel movements? Quantum physics? Drugs?