EPTDisclaimer: this was originally posted on the general forum but no one replied; I then realized there maybe wasn't much to reply to. So I'm taking this to blogs to see if people have a few comments, without having to enter an actual debate.
I want to talk about this time, our time.
I have this growing interest for history, and the more I compare our era to the past, the more amazed I am at how fast things seem to go, but I'd like to focus on technology, language, and thought.
But first, let's clear a few details, a few axioms if you prefer. I will be assuming that:
+ Show Spoiler +
- Language and thought are tied together, and the creation and development of a new form of language implies the development of a new way of thinking.
- Different forms of expression like music, cinema or litterature are different forms of language. Words and concepts are specific to litterature and philosophy.
Backround
Let's see... Gutenberg printed the first book (a Bible) around 1450. This invention changed the world entirely, allowed thinkers around Europe to spread their ideas. It was the beginning of a new era. It was, indeed, a rebirth!
Time passed. The Renaissance, the Lumières. the revolutions, the end of monarchy, the rise of the bourgeoisie, the colonies. The European civilization, if Europe really ever had a sort of unity before now, became dominant (military alliances don't count). And yet, information and knowledge were kept in books. Civilization was, much like a producer's desk, on top of a pile of paper.
Image!
In 1820-1830, photography appeared. The idea had been there for a long time, but the technique was new. It was magic! You could see your grandma smile, even though she was nothing more than a polished skeleton by then. Slowly, images of the real world were multiplied through the western world. Imagine the change it was! Paintings weren't cheap, and masters were rare. But a photography could do much better than any painter, in the eyes of many. Mind you, the birth of photography killed realism and classicism. Painters turned towards what was specific to their art, and created the avant-gardes. But this is off topic.
And at the end of the 19th century, we killed death. We recorded life itself. Cinema was a huge shock to everyone, and many journalists did actually speak about this as a victory over death. Grandma was now dancing in front of everyone! People seeing the arrival of a train in a station would actually panic and move away from the train's trajectory...
And there it was. Aragon had previously said that Paris was an aquarium, where people watched each other as if everyone was on its own stage. And now, the moving pictures were everywhere. Slowly, we became eyes with small ears. Don't you see?
Language
Many have argued that there is a cinematographic language. And I agree. As Hitchcock said, messages are for postmen! Some ideas are formed and expressed with words; others are formed and expressed with images and sound: you might watch a silent movie, and understand something even though no word has been shown... this is how cinema expresses itself.
But... this means that cinema actually generated a new language, and a new way of thinking.
This was a 100 years ago.
Nowadays, we browse TL and... play games. Games are a new form of expression - well, not new, but the idea that they're a form of expression isn't that old. And games have their own language. And their own thought process.
Oh, yeah, and Internet.
So, to sum up...
-3300: writing
-400: Plato, western philosophy
1554: Gutenberg's first Bible
1826: Niepce's first photography
1895: Lumière's first film projection
1972: Pong
1972: ARPANET (which became our beloved Internet)
Is it me or is everything changing... fast? We often stress the way our society and our technology changes, but what about the way we think, as in our mind's very structure?
My philosophy teacher used a simple metaphor to explain the way we see things: it is as if we all had tainted glasses. Some will see everything red, others will see everything blue.
But this goes even further. What we consider normal, what catches our eyes, what we want, what we consider as happiness, everything... depends of how we think. The newborn child gradually distinguishes shapes, colors, movement... and our perception evolves too. Our thoughts have evolved, of this I'm sure... but how? How does our new environment shape our perception of things and the very structure of our minds?
It bugs me. Doesn't it bug you?
