Buckle up everybody, things are about to get… different.
Can you feel it?
Things are changing. I mean, really changing, more now than ever before.
It was 1946 when the first real computer was completed. It occupied 1,800 square feet and weighed roughly fifty tons.
Now, less than a century later, damn near every single one of us owns a computer that’s more powerful, more versatile, and far more advanced.. and it fits in our fucking pocket.
The events that have occurred over the course of the 20th century and continue to occur through the 21st century are events that have transpired within a lifetime, but will impact the World for lifetimes to come.
We are approaching unexplored horizons, and we can all sense it. Humanity is staring down the barrel of a loaded future, a future where the possibility of destruction and salvation on a global scale has never seemed so prevalent, nor so equally likely.
It is a time where all of the rules are being re-written, where the current systems are being questioned and sequentially adjusted, and where the underlying fundamentality of what it means to be human is being redefined. We live in the most exciting time in human history. It is a time of innovation, contemplation, discovery, and connectedness.
It is, without a doubt, a second renaissance.
A Brief Lesson on What Defines a Renaissance
The word Renaissance is derived from a French word that means rebirth, and most commonly refers to the phase of European history between the 14th and 16th Century that signified a new age and revival of the classical art and intellect of Ancient Greece and Rome.
There was also a mass societal upheaval during this time, defined by Gutenberg’s invention of the Printing Press (1450’s), Colombus’ “discovery” of the Americas (1492), Vasco da Gama’s of a direct sea route that opened up trade with Asia (1497), and Copernicus' theories on a Heliocentric Solar System (1510's), just to name a few.
This sudden and abrupt displacement of societal structure coupled with a mass flourishing of art, science, and literature revitalized European Culture and fundamentally altered it forever.
And that’s exactly what we’re seeing today, only this time, it’s occurring the World over.
Art, Science, Literature, and the Digital Age
With the innovation of the Internet, and the further innovation of Social Media, art, science, and literature have never been so easily sharable and accessible.
Via platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Youtube, Medium, and so many others, creators, innovators, and thinkers of all types and walks of life have never and I mean NEVER had the freedom to share their creations and innovations with the world in the way that is possible today.
Musicians no longer have to be shackled to the contracts of big-label record companies to gain exposure, authors now have the capability to self-publish and self-promote without the need for publishing companies or book deals, and entrepreneurs have an open environment to connect with those that share a similar vision and complementary skills to bring their idea one step closer to reality.
This list goes on, and on, and on.
In fact, people in general have never had the freedom to share (or access) information in any shape or form in the way that is possible today.
When anything even remotely significant happens, be it negative or positive, it’s almost certainly all over the front page of Reddit or your Twitter feed within minutes of it occuring. You’re aware of everything as it happens, being fed live updates of the event by those involved or by those within close proximity as it unfolds.
Google and Youtube allow us to have the answer to nearly any question we could ever have within seconds, and with tutorials existing on damn near every single subject, skill, or trade, you can self-teach and even master almost anything you so choose.
Applications like Skype allow us to traverse borders and speak face-to-face with an individual (or individuals) halfway across the world with the press of a button.
Our freedom to acquire, share, and discuss information has become virtually limitless.
We hardly contemplate the significance of this because it’s so much a part of our daily lives, we’ve grown accustom to it. But if you just take a moment to stop and think about the significance of this, it is entirely surreal.
It’s as if each one of us acts as a neuron, transmitting signals to one another via the internet, across what is essentially becoming a Human hive-mind, or unified consciousness."
And if that doesn’t scream change and revival than I don’t know what the fuck possibly could.