The Hive Mind: Cultural Digitization

In his latest book, You are Not a Gadget, Jaron Lanier emphasizes the effects of the newly emerging “open culture movement” in which ideology is dulling actual technological improvement. In today’s day and age, Lanier expresses how different technology software’s like Facebook, etc. help make us experience the world in particular ways; however, implying whole-heartedly that Facebook has indeed lost the notion of individualism. Overall, Lanier seems to be questioning the notion of the internet culture that has immersed and articulated on the fact that human beings are leaving the personal self and chaining ourselves to this world full of digital databases. Lanier’s idea of the “hive view” consisting in part of ultimately the self and the overall arching expression of the self as being most important, is sincerely being lost and hindered in today’s day in age. This ultimate loss of the notion of the self is largely in part contributing to the notion of aggregation and the mob-like mentality that Lanier truly despises amongst the new open culture movement that has immersed in the recent 21^st century of which can be seen on most social networking cites anyone encounters. However, I completely beg to differ with Lanier's ultimate perspective of who will be the most successful in the future of our world.

After reading chapters 4-8 in Lanier’s book, something that struck me the most as a college student myself, consisted of his reference to the peasants and lords of the clouds. Lanier expressed, “Rule the computing cloud that routes the thoughts of the hive mind, and you’ll be infinitely wealthy” (Lanier, 2010, p. 85) From this statement, he goes on to express that in order to be successful or wealthy today, students need to master the algorithm of turning away from something incredibly profound like the ideological courses of philosophy to instead focus their efforts in trying to develop perhaps something like “programing a hedge fund” (Lanier, 2010, p. 86). In this winner-takes-all society he portrays, as a liberal arts student I was offended in regards to the fact that he thinks the only ones who will be successful are those creative masterminds like Mark Zuckerburg, whose ability to create a profound social networking masterpiece led to the plethora of success he maintains today. As the video below portrays, the benefits of a liberal arts education, in my own personal opinion, are truly important for the student to achieve a well-rounded education and prepares them for a future of success focusing on a multitude of courses introducing them to a plethora of knowledge and areas to explore.

Ultimately, the student with a vast array of knowledge in multiple areas of expertise is going to be a better key to utilize in solving the puzzles of life and the problems that erupt throughout the world versus someone who strictly focuses on one thing, in which that one aspect is all they solely do period. I feel people like this are going to become bored and burn out losing a passion for life and their purpose as a human being. As Steve Job’s once said, we must “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” Jobs (a computer prodigy Lanier would suggest to be a prime example of one of the winners who took all in today’s society)  advice to others would be much different than Lanier’s in general. In Jobs commencement speech he instructed the graduating students not to live a life according to other people’s thinking, but to instead have the courage to follow their hearts and true inner intuitions.

 “Staying hungry and foolish means never becoming complacent, to strive and work for what you truly believe in, and to be “foolish” enough not to listen to so-called experts and authorities when it comes to what can and can’t be done” (http://www.wealthlift.com/blog/8-steve-jobs-quotes-life-business/).