Darkness At The Edge Of _______

It seems that the more we learn about complex phenomenon, the more we discover that there are vast areas about them of which we are totally unaware.

We call these areas, "dark _____." Here are three examples:

1. Dark Matter - physicists tell us that the overwhelming mass of the universe is comprised of "material" that is invisible to our instruments. We can only infer its existence from the gravitational force it exerts on visible objects. Dark matter (and its partner, "dark energy") is estimated to make up 90% of the universe.
2. Dark DNA - OK, most scientists prefer the more "precise" term "junk DNA" (!) to describe the 98% of the DNA molecule which seems to have no apparent function. Recently, geneticists are hypothesizing that perhaps there's more going on than meets the eye. 
3. Dark Web - Now, here's the area that's been most interesting to me of late. What percentage of the Internet does Google index? Turns out that question is unanswerable. We do know that when we search currently available information on the Internet, we are merely skimming the surface of this vast ocean. It's not surprising that Anand Rajaraman (founder of Kosmix), would use a familiar metaphor to describe the describe the situation: "The crawlable Web is the tip of the iceberg." Think not only of all the databases that are locked behind corporate walls, or the worlds of nefarious maldoers and hackers of all kinds, but also of a more mundane, but, to me, even more fascinating dark zone: gamers in World of Warcraft, The Sims, etc., etc., etc. 

Lumping gamer activities in with the contents of corporate databases and the operating mechanisms of inheritance might initially seem crazy like a stretch, but, hear me out. 

For decades, we have been explaining the universe, DNA and the Internet based on the structures we can see. This makes sense, of course; it's hard to begin investigating anywhere else. But the temptation to generalize from these structures is tremendous. Like flatlanders of all stripes, we come to believe that the world we perceive is the world that exists. We simply cannot imagine worlds that are radically different than our own.

So, a universe in which the behavior of the massive galaxies, globular clusters, nebulae, stars and other objects we see are influenced (governed?) by the universe's unseen 90% stretches the imagination of even the most far-sighted amongst us.

Similarly, appreciating that the precise operation of the genomic sequences that we have painstakingly mapped over the last 20+ years may be dependent on the 98% of the DNA molecule that we've categorized as meaningless vestigial remnants calls into question our confidence in making meaningful breakthroughs in genetic engineering.

But what about the Dark Web? What could be going on there that could force us to re-think our understanding of the sociality of the Internet as we know it? Well, what about last week's news that someone paid, at auction, 330,000 USD for the Crystal Palace Space Station in the Entropia Universe? The shocked response we saw among inhabitants of the conventional social media space included this one by the very smart kids at Mashable. Most of us were skeptical, incredulous or just blown away.

And, as it turns out, this transaction wasn't even all that dark, as we can see by this intriguing bid history report via the site, Entropia Planets. Imagine what else is going on that we have simply no notion of whatsoever. 

So, why what does this matter?

Just as in the case of our explorations of the outer and inner cosmos, we can pretty well expect that the conclusions we are coming to regarding digitally mediated human behavior based on our observations of what we see on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are only a very small part of the whole story. Off the Internet's well-beaten paths, people—predominantly young people—are exploring entirely new ways of relating to one another. Those explorations are very likely to have as much of an impact on global social interaction as the effects of dark matter and dark DNA will ultimately have on their respective worlds. 

What most of us need, then, are scouts: pioneers who are ready, willing and able to venture off into those 'Net nethercorners and report back about the goings on there. That's the only way we will be able to understand the implications of the edges for those of us who choose to live where the lighting is better.

Comments

[Ken G.]

The more we know, the more apparent it becomes that we know nothing at all.

[Josef Ralt]

Hi Tom
My great hope that artists and all the creative people will come forth in the new era that's closing in on us fast and will be once again the mediators.The tricky part is to learn to speak the new language which is the language of cognitive emotional thoughtforms.
Josef

[Tom Guarriello]

Boy, you've got that right, Ken. Especially true when we think we know things!

Josef, I think creatives are the source of energy in our culture. Your cog/emot language observation is crucial. Fact is, I think I see creative people becoming much more well-rounded than at any other point in my lifetime. It's as if it's now OK for artists to be thinkers too. That didn't used to be the case.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, guys.

[دردشة]

Thank you for this beautiful theme I wish you more such fascinating topics
Thank you

[Penny Auction]

Hi

Good tips in this post and the crawlable Web is the tip of the iceberg.the only way we will be able to understand the implications of the edges for those of us who choose to live where the lighting is better.

[FitzpatrickKeisha32]

Don't you know that it is the best time to get the credit loans, which can make your dreams come true.