Have we outgrown our brains?

[Piggy]

OK, I admit up front to some poetic license with the thread title, so I hope folks don't get too focused on that, but here's the thing....

Consider some of the great issues of our time:

• Climate change
• Energy
• Environmental degradation
• Nuclear power and weapons
• The global economy
• Stem cell research
• Evolution
• Theism and atheism
• Party politics

Consider also what citizens of modern industrial economies such as the US are asked to deal with on a regular basis:

• Health care, including insurance and prescriptions
• Investing in the markets (or choosing not to)
• All the various forms of taxes
• Regular bureaucratic requirements and paperwork, from automobile registration to death certificates
• Public education and its alternatives

Consider the virtual inundation of media we're exposed to:

• Talk radio, docudramas, and other forms of infotainment
• Advertising
• Television, print, and Internet news
• The blogosphere

It just seems to me that we've created a situation in which it's become quite literally impossible for your average person to effectively deal with the basic requirements of modern life.

I'm single and well educated, I make a decent living, and my job affords me access to a variety of research tools, which means I have all the advantages of time and resources.

But I still can't figure out the full complexities of the tax system.

My medical bills and insurance statements often baffle me.

I don't know, in any sort of useful detail, what all the local, state, and federal laws are which actually apply to me.

I can't hope to evaluate the relative merits of scientific and medical research funded by my tax dollars -- or, equally important, the research denied funding.

I don't really know what my elected officials are doing.

I often get riled up at folks around me who deny evolution, insist that global warming is some kind of fiction embedded in a political plot, claim to be "Bible believers" while misunderstanding even the most basic facts about the scriptures, are dangerously misinformed about the current economic situation, believe that Obama is a commie, and so forth.

But, heck... what else do we expect?

I suspect that we've actually outgrown our brains. In other words, we've created this extremely complex social, technological, and bureaucratic enviroment which -- when you get right down to it -- none of us are able to navigate.

This puts us at the mercy of specialists, experts, and organizations such as parties, unions, and media outlets. Because there's no way we can figure it all out for ourselves.

And it sets us up, collectively, for eventual failure. Because how can a system endure when no one in the system fully understands what's going on?

In short, have we reached the point where technology has outstripped biology? Where our marvelous brains have finally created a network of physical and technical infrastructure, coupled with a Byzantine labyrinth of regulations and paperwork, together with an impenetrably dense info-sphere, which is fundamentally unmanageable for the brains that created it?

Or put more simply, do we now live in a world of our own creation which is beyond the ken of the average person? And perhaps even the best and brightest among us?

 

[JihadJane]

Why do you think the church monopolized Latin?

 

[quarky]

I keep mine in a jar, for nostalgic reasons.

 

[Dr. Trintignant]

Hasn't that really always been the case, though? Caveman Og really didn't understand all the dangers confronting him, like predators or the weather. Residents of Pompeii didn't perceive their impending doom. English peasants didn't understand the nature of the wars they were pressed to serve in. And so on. The world at large has always been much bigger than any individual, and I personally think that the amount of stuff we need to understand grows essentially in lock-step with the tools we have for understanding it (from religion to written language to universal education to the Internet). No one person may ever understand even a tiny fraction of what would be useful to them, but that doesn't mean no one understands it.

- Dr. Trintignant

 

[Prometheus]

OK, I admit up front to some poetic license with the thread title, so I hope folks don't get too focused on that, but here's the thing....

Consider some of the great issues of our time:

• Climate change
• Energy
• Environmental degradation
• Nuclear power and weapons
• The global economy
• Stem cell research
• Evolution
• Theism and atheism
• Party politics

Consider also what citizens of modern industrial economies such as the US are asked to deal with on a regular basis:

• Health care, including insurance and prescriptions
• Investing in the markets (or choosing not to)
• All the various forms of taxes
• Regular bureaucratic requirements and paperwork, from automobile registration to death certificates
• Public education and its alternatives

Consider the virtual inundation of media we're exposed to:

• Talk radio, docudramas, and other forms of infotainment
• Advertising
• Television, print, and Internet news
• The blogosphere

It just seems to me that we've created a situation in which it's become quite literally impossible for your average person to effectively deal with the basic requirements of modern life.

I'm single and well educated, I make a decent living, and my job affords me access to a variety of research tools, which means I have all the advantages of time and resources.

But I still can't figure out the full complexities of the tax system.

My medical bills and insurance statements often baffle me.

I don't know, in any sort of useful detail, what all the local, state, and federal laws are which actually apply to me.

I can't hope to evaluate the relative merits of scientific and medical research funded by my tax dollars -- or, equally important, the research denied funding.

I don't really know what my elected officials are doing.

I often get riled up at folks around me who deny evolution, insist that global warming is some kind of fiction embedded in a political plot, claim to be "Bible believers" while misunderstanding even the most basic facts about the scriptures, are dangerously misinformed about the current economic situation, believe that Obama is a commie, and so forth.

But, heck... what else do we expect?

I suspect that we've actually outgrown our brains. In other words, we've created this extremely complex social, technological, and bureaucratic enviroment which -- when you get right down to it -- none of us are able to navigate.

This puts us at the mercy of specialists, experts, and organizations such as parties, unions, and media outlets. Because there's no way we can figure it all out for ourselves.

And it sets us up, collectively, for eventual failure. Because how can a system endure when no one in the system fully understands what's going on?

In short, have we reached the point where technology has outstripped biology? Where our marvelous brains have finally created a network of physical and technical infrastructure, coupled with a Byzantine labyrinth of regulations and paperwork, together with an impenetrably dense info-sphere, which is fundamentally unmanageable for the brains that created it?

Or put more simply, do we now live in a world of our own creation which is beyond the ken of the average person? And perhaps even the best and brightest among us?

Sounds like Ray Kurzweil territory. I don't think we're there yet, but I expect to live to see the day.

 

[Piggy]

Hasn't that really always been the case, though? Caveman Og really didn't understand all the dangers confronting him, like predators or the weather. Residents of Pompeii didn't perceive their impending doom. English peasants didn't understand the nature of the wars they were pressed to serve in. And so on. The world at large has always been much bigger than any individual, and I personally think that the amount of stuff we need to understand grows essentially in lock-step with the tools we have for understanding it (from religion to written language to universal education to the Internet). No one person may ever understand even a tiny fraction of what would be useful to them, but that doesn't mean no one understands it.

I agree, and I've thought about that.

But the tragedy here seems to me that we've compounded the problem by trying to solve it.

And in doing so, maybe we've sown the seeds of our own undoing.

As we go forward, can we really expect the majority of people to politically support those measures which are in our best interest?

I doubt it.

Perhaps they would, if they actually grasped what was going on.

But can we expect most folks to take the time, and expend the mental energy, to grasp even the basics of climate change, gobal ecomonics, Biblical scholarship, or civics?

Probably not.

On a more granular level, can we really expect folks to make informed decisions about their retirement plans, their health care, their kids' education?

Just seems to me we were damned when we didn't, and now damned when we do.

But maybe we could start trying to simplify things.

We could simplify the tax code. The insurance system. The educational bureaucracy.

Then again, to do that, perhaps we'd need to already have done all these things in order to get that done.

 

[Piggy]

Sounds like Ray Kurzweil territory. I don't think we're there yet, but I expect to live to see the day.

Exactly, except I reckon I'm proposing that we may not need AI in order to reach that point.

Maybe we can get there by ourselves, simply by making the solutions to our most pressing (self-created) problems -- climate, energy, weapons, food and water -- socially and politically impossible to develop and implement, because the issues and the potential solutions are beyond the ken of almost everybody.

 

[CapelDodger]

But the tragedy here seems to me that we've compounded the problem by trying to solve it.

The human condition in a nut-shell.

 

[CapelDodger]

Caveman Og really didn't understand all the dangers confronting him, like predators or the weather.

Og understood the dangers he faced all too well, which is why we're here in vast numbers, sabre-tooths are entirely absent, and wolves survive on sufferance.

 

[Prometheus]

Exactly, except I reckon I'm proposing that we may not need AI in order to reach that point.

Maybe we can get there by ourselves, simply by making the solutions to our most pressing (self-created) problems -- climate, energy, weapons, food and water -- socially and politically impossible to develop and implement, because the issues and the potential solutions are beyond the ken of almost everybody.

In which case AI might turn out to be the only thing that can save us.

I think, also, that there's a case to be made that it became inevitable we'd eventually outstrip ourselves from the advent of written language, both because our brains aren't wired for reading and writing (we have to be specifically taught, whereas children will learn to speak on their own just by listening to others), and because writing pushes the limits of memory far beyond ourselves.

 

[Roboramma]

I suspect that we've actually outgrown our brains. In other words, we've created this extremely complex social, technological, and bureaucratic enviroment which -- when you get right down to it -- none of us are able to navigate.

When you say none of us are able to navigate it, do you mean navigate it perfectly, or simply well enough?
Because it seems to me that most people not only are able to navigate that that system, but do, albeit imperfectly.

This puts us at the mercy of specialists, experts, and organizations such as parties, unions, and media outlets. Because there's no way we can figure it all out for ourselves.

But why should we figure it all out for ourselves? We, as homo-sapiens, have never been independant of the skills, knowledge, and resources of our fellows. Why would we want to limit what we do to only that which we can fully understand individually?
I think specialization is pretty damn useful.

And it sets us up, collectively, for eventual failure. Because how can a system endure when no one in the system fully understands what's going on?

Because every part of the system, and the way that part relates to the whole, in understood by some specialists, who will usually notice if there is a problem.
Clearly recent events show that this is imperfect, but just as clearly if, for instance, we restricted the economy to only things which everyone could understand completely, we would be much worse off.

In short, have we reached the point where technology has outstripped biology? Where our marvelous brains have finally created a network of physical and technical infrastructure, coupled with a Byzantine labyrinth of regulations and paperwork, together with an impenetrably dense info-sphere, which is fundamentally unmanageable for the brains that created it?

No, because we are managing it. In any way that the systems we have created have outstripped out biology (in complexity perhaps?) they did so a long time ago.

Or put more simply, do we now live in a world of our own creation which is beyond the ken of the average person? And perhaps even the best and brightest among us?

If you mean that no one individual can fully and completely understand the world economy... that was true when what we were trading was spearhead and animal hides.

Ants seem to do quite well without any individuals knowing what's going on. We do better because we have some models of the bigger pictures, and a lot of people who understand a great deal about the fine details.

 

[CapelDodger]

In which case AI might turn out to be the only thing that can save us.

In which case we're screwed.

I think, also, that there's a case to be made that it became inevitable we'd eventually outstrip ourselves from the advent of written language, both because our brains aren't wired for reading and writing (we have to be specifically taught, whereas children will learn to speak on their own just by listening to others), and because writing pushes the limits of memory far beyond ourselves.

Our brains have betrayed us. Good for some things, they just don't know when to stop. When they recognise the problem they try to design a solution - and that is the problem. Handing it off to AI, or equality under the law, or the Age of Reason just gets us to the next wrong place to start from.

 

[Neverfly]

I agree, and I've thought about that.

But the tragedy here seems to me that we've compounded the problem by trying to solve it.

It seems to me that this is the most fundamental problem with our intellect and our awareness.
As the saying goes- Ignorance is bliss.

The natural evolution of humanity has led us to become what we are today. Much of what we are today, however, is in conflict with our awareness.
For example, in evolutionary terms, bad genes will get you dead.
In human terms, we have the technology to keep that person alive and even enable him to breed, Usually... with OTHER bad genes...
And who wouldn't approve of that? You would have to be a cold heartless monster not to. And yet...

Our awareness makes us want to SOLVE the problems and oftentimes, the resolution can be destructive simply because it's against our nature.
Although this is politically a major issue, it expands into every single aspect of our lives. Our brains outgrew us when we first asked if Og should be allowed to smack Cronk.

And in doing so, maybe we've sown the seeds of our own undoing.

This, I must disagree with. In spite of how enticing the thought seems.
Given time, we should be able to achieve equilibrium- just as in evolution.
IF anything will be our undoing or downfall, it's going to be genetic defects.
And that may be fixable as technology advances.

 

[Dr. Trintignant]

On a more granular level, can we really expect folks to make informed decisions about their retirement plans, their health care, their kids' education?

But the question is: does it really matter? Take child-rearing as a narrow example. Look at how much time people spend on it: what music to play to the infant; what methodology of preschool they should use; the role of physical punishment; and so on, ad infinitum. Thousands upon thousands of studies have been done; so much that no one parent has any hope of following all the research, and therefore having no hope of raising a child optimally. But for virtually all of humankind, people had access only to their own instincts for raising children. And guess what--they must have done all right, because we're still here.

Will humans continue to make mistakes? Sure--there may even be catastrophic ones, like causing severe climate change. I just don't think it's anything we haven't faced before, nor do I think it represents a long-term threat to humanity's survival.

If anything, I think the opposite is true. The only hope we have of surviving civilization-threatening disasters (like a large asteroid impact) is to continue expanding our scientific, engineering, and economic capabilities as quickly as possible. You need to run to win the race, even if you might trip along the way.

- Dr. Trintignant

 

[Dr. Trintignant]

Og understood the dangers he faced all too well, which is why we're here in vast numbers, sabre-tooths are entirely absent, and wolves survive on sufferance.

Og understood saber-tooths the way I understand the tax code: with unbridled fear. Not coincidentally, that's also how Og and I survive our respective threats.

- Dr. Trintignant

 

[Miss_Kitt]

I agree, and I've thought about that.

But the tragedy here seems to me that we've compounded the problem by trying to solve it.

And in doing so, maybe we've sown the seeds of our own undoing.

As we go forward, can we really expect the majority of people to politically support those measures which are in our best interest?

I doubt it.

Perhaps they would, if they actually grasped what was going on.

But can we expect most folks to take the time, and expend the mental energy, to grasp even the basics of climate change, gobal ecomonics, Biblical scholarship, or civics?

Probably not.

On a more granular level, can we really expect folks to make informed decisions about their retirement plans, their health care, their kids' education?

Just seems to me we were damned when we didn't, and now damned when we do.

But maybe we could start trying to simplify things.

We could simplify the tax code. The insurance system. The educational bureaucracy.

Then again, to do that, perhaps we'd need to already have done all these things in order to get that done.

Piggy -- Look at it this way: Yes, health care decisions may be complex and confusing, but that's because we have a lot more options than just dying from infections, heart attacks, influenza, etc. We have an educational bureaucracy because there is a well-intentioned (albeit wrong-headed IMHO) desire to have the State provide education to everybody, whether they can handle school or not. We have the chance to get amazing amounts of valid data and BS from the Internet, because we have access to information and entertainment on a scale unknown in history. These are really good problems to have!! By the standards of history, we are richer, healthier, smarter, freer, and have more options in our lives than anyone, any time.

(Now, the tax code is stupidly complex due to political favor-paying, and I'm all in favor of moving to a 10% flat tax (possibly with a mild adjustment for the lowest incomes) and no tax breaks. You'd have to phase it in over a decade to not screw people who have been using the system to protect their money and now need to change their strategies, but it would end up fairer and save both taxpayers and the Feds a lot of time, money, and hassle. )

It's true that most people don't understand How Things Work; but then, most people never did. All the knew was whom to turn to for help understanding, or to empower to decide for them. That really hasn't changed at all. Even the Sturdy Pioneers used guns, knives, nails, yeast, cloth, oxen and clocks that they didn't make themselves. They often relied on rail or ship transportation to get things from the "civilized world" to a trading post or store that they came to from their homestead.

Humans are, and have been for millenia, a social animal. We live in colonies for our mutual benefit. Ever watch Meerkat Manor? The sentence Nature deals to those that truly cannot function in the troop is usually a sudden and unpleasant death. Social animals need a group to distribute the functions that everyone needs to survive, but that cannot effectively be done by each individual for his/her self.

To redesign the old saw, "Modern society is the worst system of survival in the world--except for everything else that has ever been tried."

I am cautiously optimistic about our future. It seems to me that there is a lot more death and suffering from refusing to think than from not understanding all, but thinking from what you do know.

There is a crying need for those who can clearly explain the complex to those who have the ability and responsibility to make decisions; that need has always been there. If anything, we now can have a single clear proponent of the Truth (or at least, of the Valid Choice) reach many, many more people.

It's a good time to be alive; and I think we're in decent shape.

Just my thoughts, MK

 

[Wauthan]

There are some omnious undertones in the OP that I have a hard time understanding. What do you mean by "setting us up for failure"? Yes, there's a lot of information around, and it's being produced at a very high rate. Most of it is completely rubbish - at least on an individual level.

But this is what created the need for people like myself, a science journalist, not to mention all the other careers in 'information management'. Yes, you are being lied to and mis-, dis- and pseudoinformation is everywhere. Even the most caring information outlet can't tell the truth because the truth would be to long in the telling.

But as other posters have pointed out this is hardly something new. If anything it's your own amazing grasp of the situation, and will to grasp it, that is the cause of your worries. What is it you fear will happen? That decisions made in ignorace will have devastating consequences? That our civilization seem to run so fast that the resulting wreck will leave no survivors?

 

[athon]

Interesting way of phrasing it. I wouldn't say we've 'outgrown' them, but I would say that society is presenting a new selection of pressures on us that our brains didn't evolve to cope with.

Humans have always been a social species, hence that's what our brains evolved to deal with. In fact, they evolved more under the selective forces of social environments than the wider environment, primarily because we fare better against nature when we act as a collective.

What's different today is the nature of the social collective. It's extended out beyond the small group, meaning now we interact with unfamiliar personalities. We also are forced to deal with information that comes from unfamiliar sources. The accuracy and usefulness of that information has become more important than the individuals we associate with.

Other forms of technology have allowed us to collect and build on this information in order to improve its usefulness and share in its availability. The converse of all of this, as you've pointed out, is that we need to become savvy browsers of information rather than store-houses for it. It's becoming less important to know everything, and more important to have a good grasp of many things and an understanding of how to locate the details when they become important.

Hence critical thinking is the skill people will need to have in the future. We'll get there, but social evolution always seems slow when you're in the middle of it.

Athon

 

[Soapy Sam]

No.
Yes.
I didn't understand the question.
(But I feel your pain).

 

[Cuddles]

In short, have we reached the point where technology has outstripped biology?

Short answer - no.

Slightly longer answer - no, we haven't.

Long answer - all you appear to be doing is recognising that as we increase the total amount of knowledge in the world, each individual can only learn a smaller proportion of it themselves. Not necesssarily due to lack of capacity, but simply because of lack of time. This doesn't mean anything has outstripped anything else, it just means that our roles become more specialised. This may be a problem in the event of a zombie apocalypse, for example, since many people will lack the general knowledge base necessary for survival without the support of the current system, but that says nothing about how well we can live within, understand and control, the current system.

To be perfectly honest, I think the whole question is rather silly. Clearly people do understand and manage our infrasctructure and taxes, so wondering if it's impossible to do so is just pointless. Yes, we can and do. Next question please.