Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Hive mind?
LTK:
--- Quote from: duskirises on 17 Feb 2012, 09:48 ---I would imagine that the intercranial communication would work similarly to either email or actually phoning someone, you would either get a message from someone that you could open whenever you please or you could choose whether or not to answer the com when someone calls. In the case of a message you could check it and edit it if you wished. You would probably have to turn it off in class and such, perhaps teachers (only the particularly stogy ones) would have some sort of device that would be able to see who has their com on and who doesn't, especially during tests.
If this wasn't the case and someone could send you stuff at any time then I definitely would not want one, to much constant conversation would be tiring, also I'd be terrified of the chance of someone hearing my thoughts. And the ability to sway someone's opinion this way would be so much easier. Not to mention the prospect of hacking, guh.
--- End quote ---
I think you underestimate just how dramatic the effect is of unlimited, instant, omnidirectional communication. You don't need to wait for the sound waves to move through the air, or for your eyes to move over the words. Receiving the equivalent of a text message and sending a reply may take only a second. You may never have to read another book, because the contents can be crowdsourced from a number of people who've already read it. You could get a profound understanding of any field of science just by listening to an expert for a day, after which you can teach the same things to a new person.
And not just knowledge. Imagine if you had an intimate perception of another person's feelings when you tried to do harm to them. If a mugger knew exactly how scared their victim was when being threatened with a knife, how could they go on? For that matter, if the victim knew exactly how desperate a mugger is for money to resort to robbing people, how could they deny them some charity?
Frankly, if you're scared of other people hearing your thoughts, you're just not seeing the bigger picture.
TinPenguin:
If this technology worked in the way you are suggesting (which sounds exaggerated, to say the least), it seems like humanity would just become an unwilling hive mind. That doesn't strike me as good in any way. Individuality is the cornerstone of our society, and taking away the privacy of our thoughts would not be good.
MillionDollar Belt Sander:
--- Quote from: LTK on 17 Feb 2012, 14:17 ---
--- Quote from: duskirises on 17 Feb 2012, 09:48 ---I would imagine that the intercranial communication would work similarly to either email or actually phoning someone, you would either get a message from someone that you could open whenever you please or you could choose whether or not to answer the com when someone calls. In the case of a message you could check it and edit it if you wished. You would probably have to turn it off in class and such, perhaps teachers (only the particularly stogy ones) would have some sort of device that would be able to see who has their com on and who doesn't, especially during tests.
If this wasn't the case and someone could send you stuff at any time then I definitely would not want one, to much constant conversation would be tiring, also I'd be terrified of the chance of someone hearing my thoughts. And the ability to sway someone's opinion this way would be so much easier. Not to mention the prospect of hacking, guh.
--- End quote ---
I think you underestimate just how dramatic the effect is of unlimited, instant, omnidirectional communication. You don't need to wait for the sound waves to move through the air, or for your eyes to move over the words. Receiving the equivalent of a text message and sending a reply may take only a second. You may never have to read another book, because the contents can be crowdsourced from a number of people who've already read it. You could get a profound understanding of any field of science just by listening to an expert for a day, after which you can teach the same things to a new person.
And not just knowledge. Imagine if you had an intimate perception of another person's feelings when you tried to do harm to them. If a mugger knew exactly how scared their victim was when being threatened with a knife, how could they go on? For that matter, if the victim knew exactly how desperate a mugger is for money to resort to robbing people, how could they deny them some charity?
Frankly, if you're scared of other people hearing your thoughts, you're just not seeing the bigger picture.
--- End quote ---
Resistance is futile.
Milesb:
I suspect you would have a very hard time indeed selling anyone a product which could expose them to the thoughts of others without their explicit consent. Essentially a mobile phone built in to your head (in terms of features or usage, not physical size..) would sell; you could pick up - or not - receive messages, etc.
Also there's a massive flaw with the concept of gaining expertise/understanding of science etc due to such a device - you don't merely need knowledge for such tasks - you need intuitive abilities which are well honed by experience. We can essentially go and read or listen to hundreds if not thousands of hours of academic material by using the internet, but even if you enjoy reading about it and walk away knowing more, you haven't increased your expertise because you have to carry out the studies/experiments/whatever tasks of a profession to know to do it well, as opposed to reading the results.
Does this post make sense? (I know what I'm trying to say but I'm struggling to say it)
LTK:
--- Quote from: TinPenguin on 17 Feb 2012, 14:30 ---If this technology worked in the way you are suggesting (which sounds exaggerated, to say the least), it seems like humanity would just become an unwilling hive mind. That doesn't strike me as good in any way. Individuality is the cornerstone of our society, and taking away the privacy of our thoughts would not be good.
--- End quote ---
The part about collective emotions is exaggerated, yes. But a man can dream, right? I think that, if given the chance, humanity could very well become a willing hive mind.
I don't believe for one second that 'individuality of the cornerstone of our society'. Give me one example of how humanity would be worse off as a hive mind. Don't be selfish, not you; humanity.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version