Smoke and Bounce

11:52 pm EST

"THE UNNATURAL WORLD"

What is wrong with this statement: "Airplanes have been invented; therefore I am intellectually superior." For the record, the man who said essentially that to me was attempting to discredit the theory of biological evolution by means of natural selection which would include the evolution of primates. His argument stands as so ridiculous that I am not going to waste my time or yours addressing the issue as a question of science. The basest problem implied by his conceit is the vanity; the narcissism.

Why do the multitudes of "humanity" always want to give themselves credit for the technological innovations of the cognitive elite? This is a consistent, widespread phenomenon; and it exacerbates ignorance with haughtiness and stupidity. Not only could the vast majority (understatement) never invent an airplane -- or even a toaster -- if their lives depended on it; but also the technologies themselves most typically do more harm to the generations than help. I mean, where do I even begin with the examples?

OK, let's try an old invention: writing. Did it improve the epics of Gilgamesh? Beowulf? The Iliad? The Aeneid? Does it surprise you that the Amerindians of pre-Columbian North America were intellectually capable of producing a written language to crystallize their traditional narratives, but did not bother to do so, opting instead for song and dance? And let's take the Bible: have you suspected that the reason for the rise of modern atheism is because people are reacting to a theology that is "official"; brittle, static, religiously torpid; dogmatic? If nothing else, what enables dogma but the written form? By contrast, the oral tradition constantly revitalizes spirituality by adapting to fresh contexts and environments. And to those who would argue that the symbols and images of sacred texts are immutable, I would say: "Put your money where your mouth is and let them be!"

In other words, may the best symbols survive. What is timeless speaks for itself -- timelessly. And a symbol once put under a yoke is no longer a symbol. Likewise, technology ceases to be as such once it is transformed from a tool to a pseudo-organismal host of human parasites. Just as we forfeit our ability to participate in communal spirituality when we defer to a man of letters and stop dancing, we forfeit our right to trek the Americas on our feet when we subsidize the automobile industry and retreat to the treadmill.