Entry 1: Gen-X

Gen-X, a term only vaguely meaningful. Self-applying model descriptors as we had been birthed on the assembly line is amusing, if not somewhat telling.

I was born when "The Computer" was named Time Magazines, Machine of the Year.

Growing up alongside the personal or home computer was fascinating. Seeing the green screens turn to vivid colors, new sound cards and CD-ROMs, you could clearly feel Moore's Law at work. 286, 386, 486, Pentium.

One of today's great challenges lies in the growing difficulty to contextualize this increase in computing power as we move upwards on the exponential growth curve.

The older generations saw phones and computers and televisions go from inconsequential to ever more essential at the pace of quarterly product rollouts. The Gen-Y's and Z's mostly see technology as ubiquitous. The complexity of the modern handheld or wearable tech is already far beyond the grasp of the average user.

The divergence in values between pre and post computer era individuals is much greater than any previous generation gap.

Ever heard the term "Boomer"?

Of course you have. It refers to the Baby Boomer generation (1946-64) where an unusually high number of births gave rise to a powerful cohort of consumers and voters who have dominated the modern socio-economic landscape.

One might wonder if the generations who were born in the early days of the internet will in future be branded similarly.

Computing power is reaching a sort of escape velocity where humanity can no longer contain it, nor does it want to. The only limiting factor to this law might be existential risks such as the organic creator self-destructing or becoming incapable of updating and upgrading before computer autonomy is achieved.

This preface aims to highlight that as cataclysmic shifts are happening in our material world, the same is true in the digital realm. These posts will be an exercise in formulating some key principles that hopefully drives many more to take on the challenge of adapting to a life of mixed realities, exploring the many facets of value and identity.

There is great promise in the new technological frontier, especially for those who become active participants rather than passive, but there are equal if not more perils.

In the following posts we will examine how these exponential factors are impacting the human soul, also known as "The Internet".

@0xBOAS