The Human Connection

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7583894250854515095#t

The above is a clip... well actually the entire phenomenal film that is Waking Life. There are countless philosophical theories and ideas to tackle in this piece, but what struck me truly deeply was the idea of collective consciousness (the scene around 21 mins in if you're interested).

The idea of a connection between every human being is not a new one, however what truly fascinated me in this dialogue was the use of examples to support it. I mean there are examples throughout society of similar concepts springing up at the same time completely independent of one another. The telephone is one example, so much so that it actually became a race who could patent it first.

What truly got my attention was the crossword experiment. Basically the test was that several researchers monitored the abilities of avid crossword enthusiasts for some time. One day they slipped in a day old crossword, one that had already been solved by thousands of people, and their scores increased by 20%. A dramatic jump.

But were they brave enough to use pen?

One can say that this is all philosophy so it doesn't really hold water out in the real world. That person wouldn't know a thing about "Noetic Science". It's a legitimate field of science aimed towards the human consciousness and its relationship with the physical world. It looks into questions like, "What is the weight of the human soul?" and even has experiments to research the matter. The book, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is what first introduced me to this, and although as a work of fiction it stretches the possibility of the material, the basic principles seem pretty grounded.

The reason I chose to explore this principle is because in class we focus a great deal on the idea that Being is nothing more than a figment of our imagination. While I agree that Becoming plays a gigantic role in our world there is a layer beneath that runs much deeper in our veins behind the scenes. This metaphysical line of thought of whether there is a soul or the idea of cumulative memory are such concepts. I personally agree with such thoughts and if they hold true, perhaps no human being should ever truly feel alone.

In terms of what we've been discussing lately about society, the idea of cumulative knowledge lends some element of ease that we're less likely to make the same mistakes our ancestors did. So instead of society in a constant cycle, the human race would be in a perpetual movement forwards. It also encourages the idea that individuals with new lines of thought (in terms of government) might not be the only ones.
Whether you like it or not, humans have a strange paradox of society. We enjoy the freedoms of individuality and fulfillment our personal needs, while also seeking to form some kind of community. I agree with the above clip and it forges a deep bond between all humans. The concept of this wealth of information within our subconscious is fascinating. It brings new meaning to whether we are learning how to live in the world or whether we are simply remembering. Perhaps it's both. Maybe we're taking our human past and current knowledge to explore the future. Each generation passing along the torch towards a new horizon. Just a thought.

Never stop questioning.

Links!:
http://www.noetic.org/about/what-are-noetic-sciences/ - Noetic Science
http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/id787.html -Weight of the Human Soul