Saturday, February 28, 2015

Literacy

We find that there is a lot of speak about the cloud lately. What does this mean to society? Is it the latest advancement or just scrambled eggs.

Thousands of years ago the story tellers passed on knowledge through parables and myths. They sat around the table or campfires and told these stories with frowns and laughter. Human warmth and expression were often even acted out. The first original form of literacy was in essence acting. The original point of acting was not just for entertainment, it was to deliver a message. It was charismatic expression there was an audience and an enlightened.

Where two or more are gathered , I am there amongst them. There was warmth and a collaboration of ideas. There was love for one another.

Then hundreds of years later came book literacy. We received knowledge from books and it was passed on from paper to mind. The acting , the laughter , the frowns were removed. Though some will say this was a great leap. We invented a system of degrees that was a measure of the books read. We had some write holy books and others books of science all of this was considered literacy. The illiterate were counted as being dumb or penalized by their lack of degrees. They may have learned a trade from their father or from experience, the illiterate were subjugated.
Then the books became more important than the purpose, actually the purpose was forgotten.
We had replaced our love for each other with a love for books.

Then came an age of computing. If you could not use a computer , you were computer illiterate. You could not obtain a degree or be successful without this new degree of literacy. Every facet of society was based on information stored or transferred by computer. This was the an age of personal computing. The first trillion dollar corporation would be the Apple company, inventor of the modern day personal computer. The software companies would go head to head as the next wave of literacy moved society. Information technology advanced so quickly a single PC was more advanced than all the mainframes combined on earth fifty years earlier.
We had replaced our love for each other with a love of the PC.

Then came a new and the latest form of literacy - the cloud. PC's were networked, mobile communications were networked. The massive storage devices that held the knowledge of the aeons were created. People were no longer even needed in some instances just a cloud. We find our children tied to tablets that have no computing ability , they just communicate with the cloud. All computing and storage is done in the cloud. Governments are regulating the cloud as the newest utility. Cloud literacy will soon be the newest form toward a degree. Cyber schools will replace the public school, no buses will be needed, no school buildings or even teachers. All that will be needed is the cloud.

What is the cloud?
If you go to the store and get a carton of eggs. Processed and packaged stick it in the fridge. In the morning you wake up you choose a few eggs, crack them open , scramble them in a frying pan and have scrambled eggs. You may add a few pieces of toast for your breakfast or bacon and the protein and starch will provide a high energy meal to kick start your day.
So the cloud is very similar to scrambled eggs ideas come to the plate, it is quick and easy. High energy is perpetuated throughout society. We sometimes become overcome and addicted to it. There is an impersonal identify formed with the cloud. Love toward one another becomes a lost art. We can can act out our feelings in the cloud through social networks. We know longer meet in person with employers or recruiters. Just send me your resume over the cloud word or PDF format preferred. We can have the initial interview over the phone. In fact it doesn't really matter if you are a real person maybe even work from home or another country.
We can be sure all forms of entertainment will be received from the cloud. We may even take a virtual vacation no need to fly to a destination. Perhaps even a virtual wife or husband that we find on the cloud. We are seeing that web meetings are the preferred format, there is no need for the heart, it is all about the mind. People become impersonal - the purpose is forgotten. We have replaced our love for each other with the cloud. A formless entity that just returns what is browsed for whether it has any merit or is right. We no longer a need a book or printed format or even a PC, only the cloud is needed.

If you are not attached to the cloud you cannot be educated, cannot find a job or even hold a degree. Without a cloud degree you may be again illiterate those who control the cloud will control society.

Instead of people meeting together touching and smiling- you will get an emoticon smiley face. Instead of eyes sparkling you will get a screen of pixels.

The egg will no longer be given warmth allowed to grow into a beautiful bird to fly toward heaven. The spiritual essence that came in the form of a dove will be lost. All the eggs will be scrambled into cryptic languages for a quick meal.

When this occurs and we get to the final stage of what we call literacy, and you feel the loneliness. The yearning for human touch, a real smile remember this - my favorite book is you. Our purpose is to love one another.

Peace,

Earl.





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