”All culture is being sold down the river by the sorts of people who want to turn the entire planet into an international airport arrival concourse.”—Terence McKenna
Life before the technological blossoming of the 20th century—electricity, cars and airplanes, penicillin, microelectronics, and the Internet—and even more so before industrialization challenged humans in ways that, while making life more difficult, made those that survived greater.
A counterargument is that having less information available and living in a less scientifically advanced society might have put a cap on people’s potential. However, I do not believe in that because having less printed, produced, or peer-reviewed information does not mean living with less information overall.
Before industrialization (ie. pre-18th century), people relied on hunting, gathering, fishing, and early agriculture for survival, which involved a lot of information. People studied nature’s rhythms, like bird migration, fish spawning, and herd movement. Survival depended on knowing salmon’s return times and caribou’s migratory routes. Coastal peoples tracked tidal patterns for fish.
Acute senses and keen observations were key. Reading tracks or foliage predicted game’s direction and timing. Subtle signals like bird flocks or forest stillness indicated game presence or hiding. Wind, cloud, and temperature changes signaled animal behavior. Frost drove game to lower altitudes, while a dry spell concentrated fish.
Adaptation was crucial. If game grew scarce, people switched prey, fished more heavily, or moved to new territories. Anticipation included preparing for failure. Drying meat or smoking fish preserved surpluses for bad days.
Designing and building all kinds of things required skills and knowledge. Fish weirs were built to exploit predictable spawning runs. Spears, bows, nets, and traps relied on knowing animal behavior.
Hunting or fishing required group coordination—driving game into kill zones or encircling schools of fish—based on anticipated movements. Survival depended on passing down detailed knowledge through generations. Elders taught young about elk habits, fish spawning, and seal hunting, often embedding it in stories and songs that still today are the true treasures of whatever is left of culture.
So, it can be argued that the information environment was richer when there was more visceral connection to the things that sustain life. All this artificiality leaves us thirsting for meaning and culture. We have a lot of information whose value is analogous to the calories from our highly processed foods—they get you stuffed and lethargic, but lack essential ‘nutrients’.
(And that analogy closes the Ouroboros loop that I began with a little observation in Brainrot, Part 1. I do fervently hope that you stay here in a loop, perusing this and the preceding piece on brainrot forever. Because why not? That would be great for engagement.)
I’m writing a book on… eh, let’s call it social innovation. This blog expands on it, reflecting on news stories and current events, often heading to surprising directions. Subscribe to stay tuned—it’s free.
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