Having read the previous, you may wonder whether perhaps the computer
is a curse for humanity. On the contrary! There is nothing wrong with
computers, and certainly not with Apples. The computer is, figuratively
speaking, a gift from heaven10)
and it ultimately originates from the Word. Perhaps that
is why the invention (the finding)11)
of the computer is not as accidental12)
as we might think. We may need the computer in this day and age to start
the process of increasing the conscious functioning of our mind.
Speaking in terms of Ouspensky[29],
man is a machine, but a very special machine. He is a machine that can,
under favourable circumstances and with the proper treatment, become
aware of the fact that it is a machine. When he has become fully aware
of this fact he will be able to find means to cease to be a machine,
according to this Russian philosopher. Through a true confrontation
between the man machine and the computer machine, man may break loose
from mechanical acting.
How then does the computer work as an instrument towards Self-knowledge,
you will wonder. The physical aspects of creation4)
work like a mirror to reflect the inner aspects of our being. Through
reflecting on the physical processes, we come to know the machine step
by step. In fact, automated processes show great similarity to our own
thinking processes. On the one hand this explains the pull that was
discussed before, on the other hand it offers a mirror through which
we can, while cleaning up the automated processes, also rid our own
thinking of pollutants such as ridiculous prejudice13),
compulsive ideas and clammy emotional patterns.
The computer itself can be regarded as a primitive model of our thinking
processes, including the senses. Reflection on the working of the computer
and its software is an extra stimulant for me, personally, to look upon
the functioning of our own thinking with amazement. It seems as if the
latter will only become formulatable when we are able to
create a model that can literally be grasped. Only when
we are able to grasp something and copy it, its understandability
increases. Not to the extent of real understanding, of course, but by
(temporarily) using a model, we are able to formulate and possibly simulate
matters, which may eventually lead to understanding them.
Psychologists today try to fathom the working of the human memory by
means of models derived from computer sciences. The outside world enters
the world of sensory impressions, which have only a short span. Relevant
information is subsequently transferred to a (multidimensional) working
memory, with only very limited capacity.
After storing about seven independent items, the working memory is
more or less full. The trick we then use is to cluster items, and to
move the details of such a cluster backward a little. In modern PC operating
systems, this technique is called windowing. We are then
able to transfer the information from the working memory to an almost
unlimited permanent (background) memory. Sigmund Freud calls the operator
of the working memory the ego. The ego almost always acts
as if it is in charge of the entire human being, rather than being merely
the serving operator of the working memory. This delusion is the reason
why the working memory is often full of data, because the ego will not
let go. After all, knowledge is power.
Who is in charge of the human being then, you will wonder. You will
find the answer to that question along the negative way, using the following
questions to put matters in perspective: Am I this body, am I this mind,
am I this nature? You may recognise the analogy with the question: what
controls the working of an information system? Is it the hardware or
the electricity, is it the software, is it the user? Or is there something
else behind all of those?
The concept of software itself also provides food for introspection.
On the one hand, the layered structure of software provides a useful
metaphor for the layered structure of creation; on the other hand, building
software provides us with an insight into the conditioning process in
the mind. Within the boundaries of the system software, we are able
to build a piece of software for a certain application, which we can
in turn tailor to a specific user. This is fully analogous to the process
of a human being learning how to drive a car, which is then optimised
to a certain type of car.
The use of computers may lead to a merciless confrontation with the
often limited functioning of our minds. A good example of this is a
case I described as early as 1975 (see thesis 7 in endnote1)).
In those days, the monitors of the terminals at S.A.R.A. reflected so
strongly, that besides looking at the information from your computer
you would also be looking at your own reflection. As a result, with
every error that occurred you would be looking at your own disappointed
reflection. Again, the machine had not done what it was asked to! That
dumb computer didnt understand again! In fact, what we were confronted
with in those days time and again in a very graphic way, was our own
muddled way of thinking. The discipline of a computer is much, much
greater than the discipline of human thought. The computer mercilessly
and straightforwardly does what is asked, without considering its partners
feelings or other mitigating circumstances. The same straightforwardness,
by the way, is also required in the process of system development. For
many users, a discipline such as information analysis, for example,
is a harsh confrontation with the purpose of his working processes or
working method.
In spite of all this, the great difference between Man and the computer
is reason. Reason is the human instrument with which we should make
our decisions and which enables us to think laterally. Unfortunately,
most decisions are made by the ego, which gives them a mechanical
nature. A computer cannot make decisions, it can only support them.
If we consider this support to be the real decision, man will become
lazy and humanity will lapse to an insignificant mechanical level.
Summarising: the computer may be a useful instrument on the road to
Self-knowledge. It is only a temporary instrument, however, for know
well that there were no computers in paradise, and that heaven has no
need for hardware. The computer is after all only a substitute for the
abilities that we seem to have lost during our Odyssey here below.
The question computer a blessing? could be formulated differently,
namely: Does the computer, or does automation, help us to break
loose from our habitual patterns? Do they help us become free
Human Beings again?