Thoughts on "The Dread"

As a fan of Ancient Egypt, the Great Sphinx is by far one of the symbols that has most resonated with me throughout my life, even more so than the pyramids. This multiplied tenfold when I started reading hypotheses that date it as older than the pyramids and other constructions throughout the ancient world. This multiplied again even more so when I learned that the Great Sphinx was buried up to its neck for most of modern history, and yet its symbolic influence and power were just as impactful.

The Great Sphinx is referred to as The Father of Dread through its Arabic name, and I think that is appropriate. In all transparency, I really, really, enjoy the hypotheses for its construction (as well as the pyramids and many monuments around the world) that date its creation and methods of construction significantly differently than the official narrative. This is another "talk to me 1:1" topics though.

What isn't disputed though are the grand majesty of such constructions, the fanciful mental images they conjure when one considers that the pyramids and likely the Great Sphinx were covered in gleaming white limestone sanded down to a mirror-like shine, and that while we see great buildings today they don't really reach the level of those of our forebears. I hold a similar opinion of the great churches of Europe that took multiple generations to complete. The long-term planning, coordination, and communal desire that led to their construction are truly amazing to me. I still hold this view when factoring the more unseemly aspects of their development, for the record (and in many cases - especially regarding those of the Egyptians) I maintain that research and logic require a significant change in understanding of the populations involved in their construction...but I digress.

Why do I bring up the Great Sphinx? Because its naming as the Father of Dread really resonates with me when I visualize what it might have been like to be around in those days and compare it today. Imagine coming across the Giza Plateau for the first time before the internet, photos, or paintings of it were widespread. It wouldn't be like discovering a new food, meeting a new culture, or hearing a new language. Those are different, but familiar. These are unlike anything else completely. Perhaps the Colossus of Rhodes could give some sort of frame of reference, but even then that was 33 meters (est.) and the Great Pyramid is over 140 meters. 

I am reminded of a quote from my favorite movie, The Fountain: "Death is the road to awe." A meaning of it being that the true wonder of the universe is discovered after death. In order to feel awe, one must feel there is a sense of greatness so vast that there is nothing to be done about it except to experience and enjoy. I see dread as a mirror to awe. I see this in that one can feel a similar sense of greatness, but that something can be done about it and perhaps must be done about it. 

However, when one contemplates the Great Sphinx and Great Pyramid alone (especially in the context of a historical visualization), what in the world can be done about it? Is the entire historical record from the time of their construction until today a story of attempting to reach a level of greatness that they already reached? Are our entire species' best days behind us? What in the world keeps happening for huge portions of us to fall to times like the European Dark Ages? I find these questions interesting to ponder, and feel they are important to come back to regularly. Every generation is handed down a human story infinitely more vast and deep than one lifetime or one person can embrace, yet we must try to do so while building upon it. It puts a lot into perspective to consider the historical record, similar to seeing the size of the known universe. We don't know and can't know it all, and therefore our actions will necessarily always have unintended consequences.

 I feel the same about the advent of the Spatial Web. The impacts of our digital tools that are operating now, along with those that are to come, are immeasurable. Our wildest imaginations are limited by our imaginations, and our imaginations are fundamentally rooted in what we already know to varying degrees. I am thrilled to dance on the edges of what the world is building, and all I can say is that it's truly awesome. Not "wow that's awesome" in everyday speech, I mean the feeling approaching awe where I look at some work being done and am just so excited to watch it happen. 

The rub here is that I can not just sit back and watch the work being done. I need to get involved, and I am involved. Thus, I get a strong sense of dread. For every new technology that is created, there are benevolent and malevolent uses for it. For a somewhat (thankfully) absurd example: a robotic surgeon at the same time holds the potential to be the most efficient life-saving tool along with being the world's most efficient executioner. This is a drastic example, but the same tools that are used by digital marketers to track your exact keystrokes on a website can be used to track your exact keystrokes on a website by nefarious actors.

I choose to engage with the world of education in the pursuit of creating a system for unhindered abundance for all, but there is nothing except my ethics and belief that I'm on a path of Good to stop me from creating a path that leads in an entirely different direction for a very select few. I try my best to hedge against my shadow potential, and I am encouraged that most of those I see and interact with while dancing on the edges are doing the same. However, I am truly concerned by how large of a gap there is between those who are significantly farther down the path than me and those who never seem to get out of troubleshooting their computers. 

The solutions to many problems facing this world are right around the corner, but so are more unpleasant scenarios on a scale even the most twisted sci-fi stories only scratch the surface of. The most concerning aspect for me is that there's almost no need for the average person to notice which one of the two is being worked toward. As an example, there wasn't a large global conference to decide that Wikipedia transitioned from a research resource to never be used because it is so far from canonical to being the first place to check for quick information. All I can say is thank those above that it's headed by a nonprofit. I take the polar opposite approach via a hyperfocus on wealth creation that is transparently so, while embracing the criticisms that come with being that way while in education. 

Ok this post has gone long enough I think. My point is, just as the Great Sphinx can provide a sense of existential dread about what happened to the humanity that built the monuments of Giza Plateau along with what might have been lost since then, I feel that same dread about what will happen to the humanity currently building the Spatial Web and what might be lost along the way. I hope it is not humanity itself. 

As always, Life is Good

- CK