Unknowns

Monday, May 13, 2024

Studying the effects of music on the human brain has also taught me about the historical development of classical music. Music has always existed among people, but the earliest was local and ethnic. Early human music-making was for singing and dancing. Formal and notated music didn’t start shaping until 400 C.E., and it achieved its greatest potential in the 1700s and 1800s. Developing classical music needed a thousand-plus years.

I started thinking about the speed of change. Everybody knows that everything happens faster than ever today. A little comparing astonishes for human creativity has become very speedy.

There’s a history of technology suggesting that technological change has become exponential, erasing our view that change is common sense or ‘intuitive linear.’ Humans once could expect a century to bring “100 years of progress.” However, at today’s rate, we can anticipate experiencing more than 20,000 years of progress in this century.

It’s all because of technology. Today’s access to energy, electricity, sanitation, and clean water has transformed the lives of billions. Additionally, transport, telephones, and the internet allow humans to collaborate globally. Emerging technologies ensure that a single innovation in one type of technology propels improvements in another.

Essentially, we’re exploring a new world. It’s forcing us to try to see ahead and rethink our old assumptions. Adjusting to an uncertain future tests how well we understand ourselves.

Dear Friends: We’re all pioneers discovering daily, and hoping we’ll all adjust. Diana