The Internet, a new Rosetta Stone.

The Internet, a new Rosetta Stone.

The internet has changed much more than our way of writing. It has changed substantively the very manner in which we think and express ourselves. No longer can we confidently proffer definitive positions and ideas from the splendid philosophical isolation of geography. Every written comment that we make on the internet is observed, noted and reviewed by billions of others with diverse cultures, languages and patterns of thought.

We now must first consider the impact of our thoughts on individuals who may see things radically different than we do. The effect, perhaps subtle, is none the less profound. No longer can overt nationalism or geographical parochialism color and direct our comments exclusively. Notions once put forth so confidently are now subject to ready review by others who may think them silly. That thought alone will temper the substance of even the most didactic professions. Few writers wish to have themselves thought silly by a potential audience. I think the corollary, in science, is the "Heisenberg Principle, wherein the process of observing a phenomenon alters its behavior.

The net effect, if I may coin the idiom, will be to help us all give voice to comments with a greater degree of perspicacity that considers their effect on a world wide audience. That sounds simple enough, but consider if you will how few philosophers throughout the ages have indeed spoken to us all in meaningful ways that were universally understood. Those few who tried were usually scorned or thought eccentric or perhaps feeble minded.

The simple admonition of a Thomas Acquinas to "look at things as they are, not as they should be will have new meaning because our comments will be challenged by an audience that seeks relevancy in terms of a universal frame of reference. It may indeed even hasten the arrival of a planet-wide, written language, that has references and idioms that have universal meaning to everyone on the planet.

The implications of a universal understanding medium are staggering. Wars, economic negotiations, requests for assistance, gracious compliments and a thousand other complex expressions of human thought and feeling would be more readily understood by a planet wide populace, much in need of developing a greater degree of understanding for those around them. Xenophobia, bigotry, and plain and simple misunderstandings might lessen and bear fruit to help us understand each other a little better.

This may seem like a grand leap from a simple premise, but consider that everything that we think, feel and indeed experience in life is translated into written words at some point. If these expressions are constructed in a more uniform fashion, considering the impact on a widely diverse audience, can the actual understanding of that phenomenon not have an impact on our actions beforehand as well as our written thoughts afterwards? It is a positive and consciously affected Heisenberg effect, that we use to seek greater understanding of our thoughts and ideas.

The only real weakness of this concept is that professional advertisers will soon tumble to the concept and seek to sell underwear and deodorants in the same fashion to a greater and more understanding world wide market place. Once you are able to construct the new infrastructure for the transmission of ideas, any one is free to utilize it to whatever purpose they choose. I guess commercials will be a way of life in any medium that we are able to construct.

In summary, the "net effect will hopefully be expressions of ideas that are more relevant to a world-wide audience. It hopefully will promote greater understanding among diverse peoples and make it easier for all of us to "see things through the other guys eyes a bit better.

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Joseph Xavier Martin