Is resistance futile?

Is resistance futile? How long can you hide from Big Brother.

So you actively avoid social networking sites. You tell people to learn how to use bcc and you get upset when they send you chain mail. You've devised a witty coding system to remember all your online names and passwords. You always open new mail with the reply tag, because you want to protect your machine from viruses. Good for you, we're never too safe these days. It's important to be one step ahead of the bad guys and we all know that there a plenty of bad guys out there. But Is it worth it? Is hiding futile? How long will it take before Big Brother has a tag on you?

Chronic online mistrust?

I'm only asking because I too suffer from chronic online mistrust. If you're in the habit of creating a new email address for every new profile, if you destroy your new email address as soon as your new account is up and running, you know what I'm talking about. It's chronic online mistrust. Share no info and leave no traces. Lately it occurred to me that I'm not going to be able to keep this up much longer. Sooner of later technology will catch up to me, if it hasn't already.

Afraid of technology?

Connecting and Networking are an increasing necessity in the online world as well as in the day to day life. Gone are the days when you could do your baking face to face and receive a monthly paper statement. Today, if your not doing it online, be prepared to pay the monthly fee and face your environmental conscience. (Why do you need a paper statement anyways, haven't you heard of the important role of trees in the ecosystem.) You get my drift, either you get with the system or you're literally a threat to the planet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite, I like technology, I'm just scared of it that's it. In theory I actually approve of all these changes. They're useful, practical, and most of the time it's just plain common sense. Email is the greatest invention since... since..haaam, since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, or Johannes Gutenberg and his printed press. The benefits are great, and who would go back to the days of the smoke signals? Not me for sure! Yet the nagging voice inside of me cannot be quieted. It is ominously whispering to me: We are at the cusp of grate changes and fewer people understand the workings and the implications and these changes.

The Kardashev Scale of civilization

If you've never heard of the civilizations scale, let me share a bit of interesting theory with you. In 1964 the soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev came up with a scale of civilization to explain the future evolution of our planet and possibly the evolution of other species on planets far away. We're not talking about larvae coming out of a dirty lagoon here. We're way past that stage, were actually talking about the civilization in which we live right now and beyond. According to Kardashev intelligent civilizations can be categorized in three ways.

Civilization Type 0 – Our present state.

This civilization utilizes the finite resources of it's planet (petroleum, charcoal...) and risk great damage to it's environment and ultimately self-destruction.

Civilization Type 1 –

No longer self destructive, this civilization has learned to use the cataclysmic resources of its planet harmoniously. ( winds, tides, earth cakes)

Civilization Type 2 –

A powerful civilization able to harness the energy derived from it's sun or closest energy filled star.

Civilization Type 3 –

More powerful then anything we can imagine. A civilization capable of harnessing the power of an entire galaxy. No longer threatened by any galactic event.

Interesting, but what does that have to do with Big brother and the Internet. Well... a lot.

According to physicist and futurist Michio Kaku , the little voice inside telling you that we are at the cusp of great changes that we can neither understand nor stop is actually right on. We are apparently in a great transition phase, going from type 0 to type 1. Trust me, there is reason to be scared.

What to expect of a type 1 civilization

Once the transition is complete we can envision a world with great social and environmental advantages, but not much privacy. The ultimate fruition of George Orwell's Big Brother society will finally have taken hold. One big government and nowhere to hide. In order for these changes to take place our societies are expected to gradually merge into one unified entity. A world headed by a central government armed with a mandate and appropriate force to look after all of us, for the interest of the entire planet. A type 1 civilization cannot afford to view countries as separate entities. If the waters are being polluted in China, every Russian, Italian and American will suffer. Droughts in deep Central Africa can create wars and migrations that can affect the neighboring countries economies in ways that the rest of the world cannot ignore. A type 1 civilization understands that “no man is an island” and acts in self protection. One common language, one common culture, one common source of information. Is that so far removed from todays reality? I think not. China will soon be the premier English speaking country. Thanks to the advent of television followed by the Internet, cross cultural exchanges are so common that Klezmer hip hop, Japanese heavy metal and Russian gospel hardly sound strange anymore. As for the reduction of independent media sources, lets not even go there!

What can we do about it? The appropriate question I think is: Do we even want to do something about it? Are we happy living in a selfish and self destructive world? How long can we go on this way? Would it not be preferable to live under the stewardship of an all knowing and all capable leading authority? A Big Brother who would make the hard decisions for us. Kindly restricting some of our benefits forcing us to share for the good of the greater number. As parents we do it for our children all the time and there's nothing wrong with that? As a type 0 civilization we have not proven capable to do without a nanny. Maybe it's time we get one!

Will we even get there? If you listen to Michio Kakus' conclusion of his “3 types of Extraterrestrial Civilizations” on UTube , you'll notice that he's not that optimistic.

Changes in our personal lives are hard. planetary changes are apparently harder. In other words, we're not sure to make it. We might just destroy ourself beforehand. So if you're still concerned about sharing your personal information on the Internet and protecting yourself against intrusive viruses. Well good luck. I haven't thrown the towel just wet, but I'm just about to. What's the point. Resistance is futile.