My reaction to one of this morning’s New York Times articles was an astounded “Wow!”.

After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause By Katie Hafner.

“Government efforts to compel companies to turn over records on users’ search queries have put some Internet users on edge.”

And, please let me explain my astonishment…

It isn’t that I haven’t thought of the “give some pause” notion that is related to this issue. It is because I have, exactly, thought of the “give some pause” notion and I can’t quite believe that rather than “giving pause” we aren’t standing up yelling “No! Stop! Wait! We need to figure out what’s at stake here before we’re boxed into an amazing loss of freedom of thought (and an incapacitated intelligence)!”.

One of the most interesting speakers I’ve heard over the last bunch of years was during a keynote speech given by Danny Hillis at SIGGRAPH 2001. The speech was about evolution. The premise, basically, was that if we step back and look at the steps and speed of evolution, we can see that we are now at another turning point.

To vulgarize Mr. Hillis’ eloquence on the evolution of intelligence in the context of “technology” (where notably the steps of this evolution were presented as having exponentially grown closer together over time)…

• A long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time ago: a blob, no intelligence.
• A long, long, long, long time ago: a blob with DNA meaning now containing internal intelligence about “self”.
• A long time ago: some more refined blobs that are able to communicate intelligence about “self” (i.e. speak).
• Not so long ago: beings that are able to store intelligence about “self” outside of themselves (i.e. the written word).
• Sort of NOW: beings that are able to have intelligence outside of themselves (i.e. with computers).

And, of course, in my mind I didn’t just stop at technology but thought of the intelligence of, yes, other “collectives”. And, yes, this included some much talked about “terrorist” organizations. And this includes a recounting of how American naval ships are “run”. And… but… yes! These are examples of, exactly, sytems that need all bits and parts in order to function. These are examples of where the collective whole has an intelligence that not any of the parts alone carry. These are examples of “intelligent design”.

And… all of that written… how extraordinary to begin to understand and explore and name this! What an amazing time in our history. What an absolute beginning. And what a shame if this exploration were stopped before it even started with subpoenas presented to Google and Google agreeing to cooperate.

And… all of that written… have we truly come to a place where we need to confess to our nearest and dearest that we have looked up “something” that might not be “majority acceptable” on the web? Isn’t searching on the web an extension of our thoughts? And, yes, of course we will meet up with like or not-like or non thinkers. That’s sort of the point isn’t it?

And of course I agree that we need to discuss what happens if these collective thoughts turn into “action” (gee… like electing a “new” government, like going to war, like not buying into green business practices, like issuing Google a subpoena to turn over search data, like, like, like…) and/but we certainly need to discuss notions of freedom of thought even if or particularly when “collective”.

I can be a bit more generous if I look at “us” as newborns just learning that “we” “are” but I will defend my right to my thoughts with a fury! And I will defend the notion of “collective intelligence” with a passion. And I will continue to comment on instances of “being” that have not yet found their “place” in our current and always behind “systems”. (Check out this story — “Helping son die was ‘gesture of love’” for completely gut and soul wrenching food for thought on our legal system and the place that “spiritually right” has in that. Notably with respect to this “court case” my thinking is that as a mother I think that I understand this woman. And, I think and feel that I would have done the same. And, I think that I am glad that I am not the judge who will pass sentence tomorrow. And I think that “we” ought to take our share of the responsibility, the load that these singular people are carrying.)

And, yes, all of this is my thinking. It is my opinion. Yes I am throwing it “out there” and I do have to accept responsibility for my “pitching”. But, think I will and feel I will and sometimes pitch I will and… sometimes search I will.

So… yes we certainly ought to “give pause” but we definitely shouldn’t “give in” or “give up”. And, in this entry I have a whole bunch of words that are ‘questionable” and I did a bunch of web searches that could me mark my being as somehow questionable in our society. To that end, yes!!! I do question! I do think. And my point is that I will shout as loud as I can IF “we” don’t question action that turns my questioning (and slightly opinionated :o) thinking and nature into something “subversive” yet “we” detach ourselves from our systems and “we” continue to let individuals carry amazingly impossible loads that “we” through our systems have given them.

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