Flanners and I have been having some talks, and I think I am ready to begin part two of this adventure. I have spent two weeks trying to best organize a "kick off" piece for what will likely become a very long, long winded series of my writings. The subject at hand will likely continue to be analyzed for the duration of this blog, depending on when I finally get sick of it and want to start my second subject blog, "Staffordshire Terriers and You". But what is the subject at hand? Well, that's what I have been trying to answer for two weeks now. Lets see if I can pull it off.
Moore's Law states that when..... dammit.
Alright. How about a focus on some imagery. We, and I am using the royal "We", are standing on the precipice of great changes to our human race (Platitude, platitude, sit tight, it gets better, maybe). Picture a group of human beings standing on some geographical vantage point. Amongst others I consider myself, as well as you, the reader, in this group of people. Presented before us is a sloping plane of water rapidly rising and heading our way. It isn't a lethal threat so much as it is an omen that nothing in our world will remain the same; a realization that we fight tirelessly in our daily lives to ignore.
It is true that we have always lived in the presence of this great wave of change, and likewise the flood that accompanies it. But never before in our existence have we experienced or been faced with the rapidity and voracity of the changes before us. Furthermore, we who stand here are all being afforded an opportunity that has never been available to such a large group of individuals. We, like all of humanity, have taken part in creating this flood of change. But never before have so many people been given a chance to actually see it coming, to pick and guess at its body, and to prophecy what is to come. The builders of the pyramids could not see the effects they would have on the world, much like the butterfly whose wings flutter into existence the birth-winds of a hurricane.
These writings will be a small piece of that picking, guessing, and prophesying. Prophesying is a word that makes people feel a little weird. An encounter with this word leaves one with simultaneous feelings of excitement and distrust, likened to feelings when one hears a religious perspective. To this, I say that all this future talk IS a religious perspective of sorts. Look at the chaos in our universe! There is no way to be certain that any of this will exist tomorrow. Likewise, there is no surety in the continuity of the wave of change in its direction, speed, or existence. It would be nice if it all stopped; I could finally feel slightly optimistic about my 401k. But there is no sign as of yet that it will or even can be stopped. So until something halts this flood, I will prophecy about this religion of what is to come. You will play the part of the crowd, and I will be stinky ol' John the Baptist. hmmm.... I wonder....
I bet John the Baptist was gettin' all fresh in the woods with heavy odor, and when he was speaking to a group of people, someone was all like "ew, John the Baptist. You smell like hell. Take a bath once in a while!" And then John the Baptist is all like "eureka!!!".
Ahem, where was I?
It is important to note the impending change as being comprised of both a wave and a flood. The curvature of the wave signifies the exponential growth of the changes we are experiencing. Technological advancement follows this curvature of change and is best explained by Moore's Law, which I attempted to mention earlier. While social and cultural changes don't follow Moore's law to a tee, we can look back and realize that the change in these arenas that has occurred over the last 100 years has incredibly dwarfed progress in the 1000 years before that. Social and cultural change is as well increasing exponentially. One could call this all progress, but I would say that depends on whether you prefer being wet or not. The flood shows us that change itself is likely to be permanent. Water, unless frozen does not stand still. Unless evaporated, water remains. As long as humans exist, and we neither freeze to death or nuke the entire planet, the change stays. Revolutions are eternal, if you will. The relationship between the two signifies that the height and curvature of the wave combined with the force of the flood variably determine our future of change. With the outlook of things as they are now, the rate of change is likely to reach the speed of a fired bullet sooner than we may expect. Here is a good illustration: http://picasaweb.google.com/107875569835796136230/ApresMoiLeDeluge#5495872831598686898 (it's actually a terrible illustration, but I like it. Notice I'm throwing up in the picture? Hah, yeah that's great!)
With this outlook you can expect to see in the future missives on everything you can imagine in our human world, as long as it is changing. This rules out charleston chew, which has never changed its recipe, nor does it have the capacity to undergo physical or chemical changes. See for yourself, it's scary. I think you get the picture, and I will be delighted to see you return for a peek or two. Just don't bring charleston chew.
