A follow-up on the social pathology lecture. Radical sociologist David Harvey asks: is it time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order that would allow us to live within a system that really could be responsible, just, and humane?

An interesting critique of the market system by the people involved in the Zeitgeist Movement.

Three intense short movies from French director Romain Gavras. Enjoy them...

by James Harrison

It might surprise you to know that there are a group of Christians who believe god to be something of an antagonist in The Book of Genesis. In other words, he's the bad guy. This group, called the Gnostics, still survive today, though in small numbers in Southern Iran and Iraq where they have remained, quite remarkably, left to their own business.

The Gnostics rivaled Christianity as we understand it today. Their greatest divide was in their conception of God and Christ. While today Jesus the Christ is a vicarious redeemer of the human race, the Gnostics saw Knowledge itself as the great redeemer of man. The Book of Genesis in the Gnostic tradition is retold with "God" (whom they called Ialdabaoth) as being one of many lesser gods. You could say that the Gnostic saw Ialdabaoth as being a "god of matter" who during his unauthorized acts of creation traps the light-spirit of man in the darkness of matter. Adam and Eve free themselves by eating from, yes... The Tree of Knowledge.

Regardless of our spiritual or religious persuasions (if you have any at all), it is an interesting "spin" on the creation myth. Or perhaps, the creation myth is a "spin" on the Gnostic perspective. Whatever the case, that word "Knowledge" has been spinning around ever since, ultimately to the point where that word "Knowledge", as it is used in Modern Civilization, holds little semblance to its Gnostic ancestry.

Consider this passage from Alvin Toffler's seminal book "Future Shock.":

"If technology is to be regarded as a great engine, a mighty accelerator, then knowledge must be regarded as its fuel. And we thus come to the crux of the accelerative process in society, for the engine is being fed a richer and richer fuel every day."

Toffler has placed Knowledge at the "crux" of our society. However, he is clearly not referring to Knowledge as the Gnostics understood it. Instead he is using an engine-fuel analogy that makes Knowledge more industrious than intrinsic.

Before the Technology Age, Knowledge seemed to be the aura that surrounded the humanities and social sciences. While it may have lost its Gnostic roots, it had not yet lost its philosophical and intellectual currency.The expression "Knowledge is Power" was an offspring of the days when Knowledge was its own reward. That expression was used as a mantra to motivate school children to expand and ripen their character. In this context, Knowledge wasn't just about filling their heads but rather "expanding their minds". Knowledge was more visceral than vocational.

That was then.

The copyright date on my copy of Future Shock is 1970 – an interesting period for that word Knowledge. It is still the early stages of the Technology Age and the people responsible for this technology seem to have a lot of "Knowledge." At this point in time if we say "Knowledge is Power" it is not a point of poetry, it is literal. Knowledge was practical, not just intellectual. The "Power" derived form Knowledge has also begun to change in meaning. The early expression of "Knowledge is Power" once implied an intrinsic power – a self-enriching, self-developing and self-actualizing state – a power over one's self. The Technology Age seemed to shift Knowledge-Power away from ourselves and directed it on our influence over machines. This is, perhaps, the kind of Knowledge and Power that Toffler envisioned as being the fuel of the Technology engine.

The leap from Gnostic Knowledge to 70s Knowledge is, admittedly, a huge one. So how about making the jump from the 70s to now. What is knowledge today?

Seth Lloyd, in his book "Programming the Universe", comes right out of the gates in Chapter 1 of his book with the assertion that "Life, language, human beings, society, culture – all owe their existence to the intrinsic ability of matter and energy to process information."

He didn't write "process knowledge" but information.

Little wonder then that between the time of Future Shock and Programming the Universe we have not dubbed ourselves as standing in the Age of Knowledge, but instead the Age of Information.

Let us now upgrade Toffler's Engine to be more in keeping with The Information Age:

"If technology is to be regarded as a great engine, a mighty accelerator, then Information must be regarded as its fuel."

There. That's better. Now there can be no confusion about what kind of "Knowledge" keeps the engine of Technology running smoothly. "Knowledge" is really supposed to be an all encompassing term, like the word "Diet" which does not necessarily mean losing weight. But words are malleable to the speaker and very few people use those terms with any real neutrality. I, for better or worse, am still hanging on to an older, more romanticized meaning of the word "Knowledge", one that has nothing to do with a fuel engine. Not that I am looking for Knowledge to grow on trees, like in the days of Adam; but I am still a product of those days when Knowledge was Power. Not imperial power, but inspiring power.

The last time I heard "Knowledge is Power" it came from a school teacher. I wonder how she would react to such an expression today. Would she still believe it? For instance, Librarians are very knowledgeable. But they are not exactly archetypes of power. For that, business executives, politicians and celebrities come to mind – none of whom are necessarily required to be "knowledgeable" people. Or, at least, not the kind of "Knowledge" I'm thinking of. Now that I think about it, not even scientists or engineers come forward as archetypes of Knowledge. For them, the words "Intelligent" and "Information" emerge.

Perhaps the last vestige of "Knowledge" in the 20th Century can be found in the business world. It was here that executives began contriving such terms as Knowledge Management, Knowledge-Based Systems, Knowledge Repositories, Personal Knowledge Management and Chief Knowledge Officers who, apparently, oversee Knowledge. For my own sanity I try not to keep my ear to the ground with business-speak so I can't be sure when I say that these terms didn't seem to survive into the 21st Century.

Nor can I be sure when I say that Knowledge, period, didn't survive into the 21st Century. If it did, I sure as hell don't hear too much about. I mean, the word is still in the dictionary, sure. But not so much in the self-schemata of society. We are not a Knowledge Society, but an Information One. In an age of Information Knowledge, like Wisdom, will become hopelessly anachronistic. Wisdom, unfortunately, does not fuel technology. We would all be much better off if it did, but it does not. And I think we are steps away when the same will be said about Knowledge. Computers and robots are more involved in the manufacture of technology than humans. Computers have no use for "Knowledge" or "Wisdom" but know better than humans on what to do with "Instructions" and "Information". When instructions and information are not enough to keep Toffler's engine running, human Knowledge intervenes, but only as an alternative fuel. Sort of like ethanol. The real stuff continues to be Information. That's our oil.

That's our oil spill.

Information leaks everywhere. It both empowers and pollutes our minds. There's too much of it. Our entire society is overloaded with it. We don't necessarily grow from this abundance of information. Our minds don't expand. That's not what the Information Age or Technology Age was ever about. Toffler might have been correct in saying that Knowledge/Information is fuel for Technology, but for humans it is simply a drug. Machines take them in bits and bytes. Humans take them in hits and sound bites. As an addiction Knowledge is synonymous with Information. Information is our new drug, and Knowledge is Powder.

Reprinted from sniffcode.com