Information, People, and Community as a catalyst of paradigm shift
I am in Casablanca, Morroco now. I visited in this country for the first time. And I have many new experiences here.
There are many of information around us. But I think it's important for us to select information that we are exposed to. I basically don't watch YouTube and I don't use SNS. Instead, I take information from the New York Times, BBC, and books. And I prioritize an actual experience of mine more than information.
When I traveled to Japan, I saw people there taking information from domestic Japanese TV programs. And I realized how much the information affected people about how to think and live.
I bought and read the Japanese book "Spectator Vol. 48: Personal Computer and Hippie" (Japanese: "スペクテイター〈48号〉パソコンとヒッピー"). The price was originally 1100 JPY, but it seems the only option to buy it now is to buy used books, and the book's price is 4000 JPY now. I bought and converted it to an e-book, and read it.
A good way of learning something is to learn the history of it. And the book is about the history of the computer. Hippies who believed in technology created and developed the personal computer culture.
In this book, Stewart Brand who was an ex-biologist, and famous for their publication Whole Earth Catalog was important to develop the computer culture. The personal computer was a counter-culture to empower people against big powers.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were successors of the cultures. And now Microsoft and Apple have become the power itself in history.
And the Homebrew Computer Club, which was a group of people who want to create their own DIY personal computer, is also written in the book.
In a very early stage that something will happen, it is in a chaotic, but strong energy by people believing in something. And it happened on the west coast of the US, the new area, which is far from a place of authority such as Washington DC, and Boston.
So, my interest is where is or will be a place for bio-hacking in the world. And I bought some books to find the clue.
In the book "Personal Computer and Hippie", the community or group of people who believe in something is important to develop something in a very early stage. This is about an actual experience. Because I don't share most of the things publicly for some reason. The important things are discussed in offline private. So, relying on online information is not great to see a reality.
