[Krimel] > All this while virtually ignoring the emergence of real expanded awareness > and consciousness that is booming around us in the form of cell phones, > instant messaging, e-mail, Google Earth, GPS, webcams, Alternative > Intelligences, the expansion of identical shared memory in the form of > film and voice recording and the sum total of human knowledge instantly > available at the touch of a button. All of this higher level consciousness
> emerges specifically from the direction of rational thinking suggested by > Piaget... [Platt] ... I couldn't help but point out in your description above of "expanded awareness" that you cited only the means by which awareness has spread horizontally but nothing about the meanings or depth of understanding of this broader dispersion of data brought about by technology. There is precious little evidence that the new gimmicks of communication have made us any wiser or brought us to a "higher level of consciousness." Expansion in breadth doesn't promise penetration in depth. Flatland is not conducive to insight. [Krimel] How would you measure depth? Most of the scientists, philosophers, theologians who ever lived are working today. There are most doctors, teachers and students. Would you say the shear number of them and their proportions in the population at large are factors? How able the percentage of people operating at the various levels of Maslow's hierarchy of need? Or the percentage who or literate or the average number of hours per week available to pursue depth? Are these just gimmicks? Cell phones? Can anyone forget the recorded calls of victims saying their goodbyes from the World Trade Center or those hijacked planes? We and anyone living henceforth can share identical memories of those voices. Doesn't something in that count for depth? Wiki? How many times has Wiki been cited on this forum? Most of us rely on it instantly to provide information about everything from global warming to the Ramones. Don't you think that your use of it has increased the depth of your understanding and expanded your consciousness? Mp3 and video compression allow you listen to or watch everything from the BBC's In Our Time to the programming on Wilber's Integral Naked site. Surely this is only further evidence that I do not understand the problem but even if you factor in pay-per-view webcams and off shore virtual casinos the range of options represented is more than simply horizontal. There has never been the promise of increased depth either from spiritual practice or academic discipline or shear hedonism. But writing, printing and now all of these "gimmicks" have made the acquisition of depth easier and therefore more probable. But I could be wrong. How would you measure depth; even enough to say it isn't there? moq_discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
