WHY a New Age? 

BECAUSE it seems like every 2100 years or so, I seem to be needing a system reboot, and invent a new way to deal with the material world, and work really hard to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes on my body! 

The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age or the Digital Age) is the era when I shift from traditional industry to an economy based on information computerization. The definition of what digital means (and thus, of what information means) continues to change over time as new technologies, user devices, methods of interaction with human and artificial intelligence enters the domain of research, development and market launch. I’m curious: what is the definition of “information?”

Information: the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence.

Communication is a paradox, esp. as I use my phone device to be together and not be together, to hide from others and to be seen by others. Do I text rather than talk? Do I even know anymore how to have a real conversation, where I listen, reflect, and maybe even check my assumptions? In the age of connectivity, it appears that no one is listening!

Might my fear of “into-me-see” leading me to bypass the demands of friendship by creating an illusion of companionship via texting, social medias, gaming, etc.? Ouch!

WHY Identified?

BECAUSE I think I’m the body, and if that wasn’t enough, that I am the doer, responsible (heavy word) for bringing in the dough! When in my “every man for himself” mind, I don’t know that there is a Symbolic Power – an “IT” – and that, in ITS great kindness, IT walks me, breathes me, sleeps me, sits me down: I just have to let IT be!

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. […]
And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself.”
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II:2.  

Hear, hear: this is not a pipe. This is what I call a pipe. My name is my last attachment, and my attachments, the cause of my suffering. If I am so passionate about being heard and seen, it is because, deep down,  I know the Truth: for you to hear me, I must hear myself.

I must find out what is behind my Name: what am I called to do? What is my purpose? Where do I come from? Who am I? That’s a lot! When, however, I stay in the fire of the inquiry, I eventually find that ALL questions (BIG, and small), including the most cosmic question of all – what’s for dinner? – are answered by answering one simple question: who am I?

This is also when I let go of my last attachment: my Name!

WHY Data & Watson?

BECAUSE reality is transcending fiction: I have all sorts of electronic toys to show me what light is: the miracle behind the Divine Birth, and the scientific principle of least action (same)! I begin to feel how data is sentient, and become conscious of how what I say and do matters, as IT is what forms, informs and transforms matter. This is what being on the cusp of the Age of Information is, when I realize that numbers and letters are non-human sentient animals! 

First the word and name “Data:” I am living at the extraordinary time when my psychic iPad is downloaded with the belief “you create your reality,” and where quantum science gives me the proofs of how I do it, by being the observer of my reality! I simply need to learn from “artificial” intelligence, e.g.; when my network has low bandwidth, might I be in a contraction? To this, Data – Star Trek’s Data – would say: “interesting creation!”  

“Our data is becoming aware, and we are becoming aware that our data is becoming aware.” Dr. Anthony Scriffignano, Chief Data Scientist

When I accept that the forms of formation, information, and transformation live in the emotional real, I am not far from accepting that the data on which I rely to make decisions feels and has sensitive secrets, which adapt to mine.

“I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations.
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection,
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.”
Excerpt from a poem recited by Data in the “Schisms” episode.

As for how elementary my dear Watson is:

• In 1943, Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, offered: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
• In 1953, Watson & Crick discovered the DNA’s double helix, making a milestone in the history of science.
• In 2011, the world witnessed the IBM development of Watson from a modest machine to a formidable Jeopardy! contestant. After a remarkable leap forward in data analytics, the Watson technology is likely to impact greatly business and industry.

Imagine… What if a system was designed that applied advanced data management and analytics to natural language in order to uncover a single, reliable insight and this, in a fraction of a second? And here is the pix…

♫ This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius… Age of Aquarius…”