Inner Vs. Outer World
Thoughts on human advancements
Humans, animals, the wind, the sky. They all have natures and characteristics. It is the moments we dwell in nature that make us feel like we are a part of the universe- just one out of the billions of humans, the billions of organisms, the billions of galaxies, and the infinite number of stars we cannot help but look up to when the night falls and our minds are off the duties and distractions of the day. They all evoke feelings and last in our memories, for they are a part of who we. We are the elements of nature. The mind, however, is like a compressed universe inside a head. Amit Ray once said “The Universe is the creation of the mind. The Universe exists in the mind like a flower exists in a seed”. In the Post-Modern Age, our minds have created a vast new universe- one that springs from the biological desire to seek knowledge, innovation, and any advancement that provides a better quality of life. But this “flower” is not a typical one. It is not found in nature, but rather amidst the streets and highways, urban buildings, and dim lit homes. The innovations of the modern day have created an environment that questions the very foundation of the grounds we were built upon; whatever their use and impact they have been interwoven into our daily lives so much so that without them we would have little idea how to dwell in a world that has created new expectations and requirements for survival. Such a modern world is now like nature itself to man. If one steps out of the new “norms” put into him/her, this “nature” imposes its repercussions. Such ideas can be extracted through Ray BradBury’s short story “The Pedestrian”, in which a middle aged man ( who identifies as a writer) in a futuristic world is punished for nothing other than walking at night- a behavior atypical of someone in this futuristic society. Evidence from a New York Times article, Attached to Technology and Paying a Price, by Matt Ritchtel, suggests that whether for better or worse, the modern innovative world has put to question just how much mankind can take before it loses its balance on the scale of its own inner advancements versus the external pressure to conform to modern standards of normality. Furthermore, it points out how this “conformity” has the potential to transform into dependency, which has the power to do harm to our overall health and happiness; for it is the balance that makes us feel like human beings- unmoved and strong while full of life, knowledge, and emotions.
Technology, artificial means of knowledge such as media and TV- whatever fits into the mass craving for this materialistic commodity- has evolved into society so rapidly that it seems to have become one with our daily lives. More importantly, it has begun to challenge how we define ourselves, how we act upon our sense of individuality, and how society perceives and treats us. This conflict is evident through the portrayal of Mr. Mead in “The Pedestrian”, which is set in the year 2052. “…As good as alone, a path selected he would stride off…Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house. And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows…through a graveyard…faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows…sudden gray phantoms… upon inner room walls…whispering and murmurs…in a tomb like building…” (Pedestrian 371). This excerpt juxtaposes the state of mind of Mr. Mead, who walks through the night with acute awareness of his “superficial” surroundings, and the modern, external environment where it is considered abnormal to walk out at night often. How the story makes use of words/ phrases such as “graveyard”, “tomb-like building”, and “gray phantoms”, suggests that the character views this futuristic world as the death of human existence. To Mr. Mead, life is not the “surge of cars, the [open] gas stations…a faint incense puttering from their exhausts, or [these] highways” but rather “ a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarab-beetles… [highways that are] streams in a dry season, all stone and bed and moon in radiance” (Bradbury, 372). As the only one in the community who wanders at night when it is silent enough for his pensive thoughts, he cannot see life through the same lens as most people; he is like a hawk whose shadow sets foot on earth but whose spirit is in the sky where he can rise above to observe the confinements of human behavior in this futuristic world from the free and clear view and wonder what is down below- “Chanel 4, Chanel 7, Chanel 9?” ( Bradbury, 371). This illustration highlights the importance of Mr. Mead’s awareness and expression. “He listened to the faint push of his soft shoes through autumn leaves…whistled a cold quiet whistle, occasionally picked a leaf as he passed, examining…” (Bradbury, 371). He walks past empty streets and dim lit homes and he is aware of the external; yet how he focuses on the true forms of nature symbolizes his “defiance” towards the “normal” lives of the people in his community.
This man’s behavior is intriguing, but it evokes underlying questions: What is it about this cutting edge society that seems so “repulsive” to him and why is it that we are drawn to such environment? Matt Ritchtel, author of the article, Attached to Technology and Paying a Price, effectively tackles these questions through scientific evidence from research and applies them to the example of a true story of 43 year old Mr. Campbell, a resident of the affluent city Orinda near San Francisco, who struggles to balance his family life with his occupation involving heavy use of technology. Mr Campbell represents the near opposite of Mr. Mead. While he manages to gain a $1.3 million after apologizing to his suitor for missing an email message from a big company that wanted to buy his Internet Start-up, he continues to struggle with the effects of the deluge of data. Even after he takes a break, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic device. He even forgets basic parts of life such as dinner plans and family time. “He goes to sleep with a laptop or Iphone on his chest, and when he wakes, he goes online… [his wife] makes breakfast and watches TV news feeds in the corner of the computer screen while he uses the rest of the monitor to check his emails” ( Ritchtel, 2010) Unlike Mr. Mead, who walks with the awareness of true nature- leaves, beetles, the air, the tombs-like buildings, Mr. Campbell “…can no longer be fully in the moment” (Ritchtel, 2010). This is not only affecting him, but his whole family. His son, Connor, earned C’s in high school playing video games ( such as Super Smash Bros) with his dad regularly, while his little sister Lily would yell things like “Kill him, dad!” in the background. Just how much of this lifestyle is acceptable in the eyes and will of nature? Nature itself may or may not reserve any expectation for how to dwell on this planet. For as human beings, it is beyond our scope to rationalize why the universe works the way it does. However, if individuals are involved in technology so much so that it is going to take a toll on their responsibilities,ways in which one could be a more productive member of society, and their overall contentment with life, then it is time to reconsider the level of dependency.
Scientists claim that incoming information from technology changes how people think and behave. Our ability to focus is being undermined by the bursts of information. According to Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the world’s leading brain scientist, the consumption of TV, media, and email has exploded and significantly shifted our attention (Healey, 2008). In addition, Neuroscientist at UCSF, Adam Gozzaley, said that the nonstop interactivity is one of the most significant shifts ever in the human environment. Furthermore, he stated that “We are exposing our brains to an environment and asking them to do things we weren’t necessarily evolved to do” (Richtel, 2010). Although nature may not have “expectations”, the very fact that humans are bound to the confinements of evolutionary standards is enough to note that there is some limit on just how much we can go outside such bounds. Research claims that many people have and will continue to share the habits and struggles of Mr. Campbell if trends continue.
However, why do we behave in such manner form the start? Research at Stanford University suggests that there is an evolutionary rationale for the pressure the barrage of technology puts on the brain (Martin, 2010). Results from an experiment involving multitaskers and their ability to focus leads to the explanation that the lower- brain functions alert humans to danger (such as a nearby lion), overriding goals like building a hut. In the modern world, by comparison, the chime of an incoming email can override the goal of writing a business plan or playing catch with the children. In addition, Clifford Nass, a communications professor at Stanford stated that “Throughout evolutionary history, a big surprise would get the world thinking. But we’ve got a large and growing group of people who think the slightest hint that something interesting might be going on is like a catnip. They can’t ignore it” (Richtel, 2010). When there are so many surprises all at once received by the the brain by countless sources in numerous moments in a day, there is only a certain amount of time and interest individuals can place in what is truly important to their lives.
Modern technology has helped Mr. Campbell make $1.3 million, helped his wife catch up on modern news feeds, and his son enjoy the temporary happiness from winning a game of Super Smash Bros. But how has this helped define who they are? Has it helped Connor become a better student, or Mr. Campbell a more aware person and better father? Yet what would happen in the absence of all of these? They cannot survive without the money, Iphones, laptops, and TVs because such is the universe created by their minds- one that has caused dependency. Ray Bradbury’s story “The Pedestrian” portrays the outcome of going against such social norms. Mr. Mead, who is stopped by an auto police car, is arrested and sent to the Psychiatric Board for Research on Regressive Tendencies for walking repeatedly during night hours. Man’s very core and basic habit of walking is now considered abnormal and regressive- one that need not exist in this fast paced advanced society. There’s no place for such a person.
Yet the effects of a technologically innovative lifestyle, although debatable, have indeed been shown to have its cons. For instance, psychiatrist from UCLA Gary Small found from a study that people interrupted by e-mail reports and other distractions significantly increased stress compared to those left to focus on a task. He concluded that stress hormones — also caused by the barrage of innovations -have been shown to reduce short- term memory (Small, 2008).
Professor Nass from Stanford University believes that the heavy use of technology diminishes empathy, one of the most profound traits of human beings, by limiting how much people engage with one another even in the same room. That empathy, he says, is essential to the human condition. The arrest of Mr. Mead in The Pedestrian depicts the negative effect of advancements on human nature itself. As he road away and “the car moved down the empty river-bed streets and off away leaving the empty streets with the empty sidewalks, and no sound and no motion all the rest of the chill November Night”, he left behind an empty world- or rather one made by fake flowers in fake meadows. He left behind a world in which he could not accept — thus, a world that could not accept him. Although the innovations of the modern day have created an environment that questions the very foundation of the grounds we were built upon, we should strive to maintain awareness and balance that creates who we are.
References
Bradbury, Ray. The Pedestrian. Place of Publication Not Identified: Printed by R.A. Squires, 1951. Print.
Lauren.S.Martin. “The Evidence Shows That Women’s Apparent Multi Tasking Superiority Is down.” Superiority Is down. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017.
Melissa Healy | Healy Is a Times Staff Writer. “Remember This: Your Lifestyle Makes a Difference.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 02 May 2017.
Richtel, Matt. “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price.” The New York Times. The New YorkTimes, 06 June 2010. Web. 02 May 2017.
“Too Much Internet Can Ruin Your Ability to Focus on Other .. .Oooo, a New Twitter Alert.” Edward.N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017.
“Gary W. Small, M.D.” Gary W. Small, M.D. | UCLA Brain Research Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017.
