Birth Of A New World

Remember That you are at an exceptional hour In a unique epoch, And that you have this great happiness,  The invaluable privilege, Of being present At the birth of a new world   --- The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram

By Ursula Mistry, [ Thursday, September 21, 2006 ]

This quote from the Mother is the introduction to Chapter 8 of The Global Brain by Peter Russell, a book that tells us how we are taking part in the birth of a new world, and that the full impact of the changes that are upon us may well be beyond our imagination.

As Peter Russell sees it, the interlinking of humanity began with the emergence of language. It has now progressed to the point where information can be transmitted to anyone, anywhere, at the speed of light. Billions of messages continually shuttle back and forth, in an ever growing web of communication, linking the billions of minds of humanity together into a single system.

The human brain, Peter Russell explains, passes through two major phases of development. The first is a massive explosion in the number of nerve cells. Starting eight weeks after conception, the number of neurons explodes, increasing by many millions each hour.

After five weeks, however, the process slows down, almost as rapidly as it started. The first stage of brain development, the proliferation of cells, is now complete. At this state, the fetus has most of the nerve cells it will have for the rest of life.

The brain then proceeds to the second phase of its development, as billions of isolated nerve cells begin making connections with each other, sometimes growing out fibers to connect with cells on the other side of the brain. By the time of birth, a typical nerve cell may communicate directly with several thousand other cells.

The growth of the brain after birth consists of the further proliferation of connections. By the time of adulthood many nerve cells are making direct connections with as many as a quarter of million other cells.

Russell compares growth of the human brain with the World Wide Web, that has become the fastest growing phenomenon in human history. And hence his question : Is this Gaia growing herself a nervous system?

That something very odd is going on here came to me years ago when one of the super-computers playing chess simultaneously against ten players mid-way dropped nine games and concentrated only on one, overriding the “program”.

The other incident burnt into my memory is the Russian air force plane that developed engine trouble and the pilot ejected. No wreckage was found where it should have been. The undamaged plane was recovered in a remote area where it had landed itself after staying aloft till the fuel tanks were empty.

From here we could divert into the intelligence of plants and stones, but let me just say one more thing: It is clear to me now why, despite my many infirmaries, I am still so tenaciously holding on to life.

Thank you who reads this for sharing with me the invaluable privilege of being present at the birth of a new world.


 

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