Improving Humanity: Complexity and the Digital Age
Humanity has continually improved itself through the formation of societies and the emergence of civilizations. These entities become the most powerful on Earth, offering increasing wealth, security, purpose, and sanity to a growing number of citizens. However, as Adam Frank, an astrophysicist at the University of Rochester, notes, civilisations are only as strong as their founding religion and when they falter, humanity often reverts to a Dark Age of poverty, chaos, and futility. This cycle repeats until a new civilization emerges with a new religion.
Telltale Signs of Improvement
Improvement is not constant or guaranteed. An example to illustrate this is my cousin, who, despite sharing the same phenotype (British and Irish heritage, ethnicity, and DNA), would be viewed very differently in a 1920s English formal ballroom compared to a factory floor or dockyard. The differences lie not in her phenotype but in the societal context and the changes that have occurred through time.
For instance, in the early 20th century, she would fit in because she resembled the old Norman-descended elites who ruled England for centuries. I, on the other hand, resemble the humble British peasant stock. If I were to manage myself well in a social setting, I might be seen as a successful Vaudeville actor, but on the same factory floor, my soft face, lack of calloused hands, and full set of teeth would raise eyebrows as I would likely be perceived as a tool of management sent there to monitor labor output.
This scenario highlights the complexity of societal changes. Improvement does not come from a set blueprint but is a result of a multitude of societal changes over time. The Reformation, inadvertently, contributed to changes in social conventions and relations, and technological advancements greatly enhanced levels of innovation. By the early 20th century, a variety of unanticipated advances had altered the nature of society: advancements in agriculture, water treatment, industrialization, democratization, public schooling, and access to higher education.
Unintended Changes and Technological Advances
Other sweeping changes included immense technological advances such as indoor heating and air-conditioning, which dramatically altered daily life. There was a cultural emphasis on daily bathing and hygiene. Advances in medical and dental sciences also played a significant role. While some of these improvements were the result of government policies and planning, the liberal democratic ideology from which they sprang was an attempt to describe what was unfolding. It did not start as a blueprint.
The irony in all of this is that while we have fostered a complex society that has grown increasingly complex since the advent of the digital age, some argue that no amount of planning can keep up with this level of complexity. In a recent Big Think article, Adam Frank observed that 'we seem to be driving strong changes on timescales that are less than a single generation. Is this too fast for the distributed cognition that occurs over our social and political networks to handle?' This raises the question of whether humanity can manage the pace of its own evolution.
Concluding Thoughts
As we navigate the complexities of the digital age, the challenges of managing the rapid changes in our societies are immense. While there is no blueprint for improvement, the changes that have led to our current state are a result of a combination of societal shifts and technological advancements. The future of humanity depends on our ability to adapt and manage these changes effectively.