Here's a perspective from 1998, warning of "the slow loss of the human imagination":
"No longer is anyone affected only by local events--instead our lives are both indirectly and directly impacted by events from around the world. A train derailment in Siberia impacts the interdependent economic global market; a mudslide that kills hundreds in Uganda finds relatives and friends grieving across the world; a food shortage in Mongolia due to changing climate conditions is a sign of a global environmental problem; a civil uprising brings in international military forces; and millions watch, helpless, via 24-hour underwater camera, as BP's oil pours into the Gulf of Mexico. Have we reached our limits yet?
With the Blogosphere feeding us a 24/7 supply of real and horrific events from places far away from home, and with over half of our waking hours spent online ingesting it, what is the impact of all of this toxic tabloid information on our minds? Surely the human brain is not wired to keep track of every event within the massive geography of the earth, yet we are bombarded day and night with media stories and video imagery from places many have never heard of and most of us have never seen. How does this onslaught of world news wreak havoc on our minds? An unintended result is again the slow loss of the human imagination. Not a loss in the ability to use the mind to view what is not in front of us, but the loss of our basic need to imagine anything at all. After all, who needs to imagine if the flood of overwhelming information and its images are already there?"
Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack. A Field Guide to Demons, Vampires, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits. (1998) Arcade, 2011.
The fictional people on the Planet of the Apes, in a 1963 novel, were said to be "roused to fury by objects. Things that were manufactured provoked their anger as well as their fear." (Are we so different from them today?)
"There were now at least a hundred of them on the edge of the clearing. Those who were farther away then fell upon our launch with a fury comparable to that which had induced them to pull our clothes to pieces. In spite of the despair I felt at seeing them pillage our precious vehicle, I pondered on their behavior and fancied I could discern an essential principle in it: these beings were roused to fury by objects. Things that were manufactured provoked their anger as well as their fear. When they seized an instrument, they held it in their hands only long enough to break it, tear it apart, or twist it. Then they promptly hurled it as far away as possible, as though it were a live coal, only to pick it up again and complete its destruction. They made me think of a cat fighting with a big rat that was half dead but still dangerous, or of a mongoose that had caught a snake. I had already noted the curious fact that they had attacked us without a single weapon, without even using sticks."
Pierre Boulle. Planet of the Apes (1963). Translated by Xan Fielding. New York: Vanguard Press, 1964. p. 25. [Narrator, an intelligent human, is describing the unintelligent humans on the Planet of the Apes.]
We must cultivate imagination.
"So many things in our culture are there to take the place of your imagination. Have faith in new ideas."
Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, in an interview with Ann Powers, "The Power of Music," The Nation, January 13, 2003. Posted online December 23, 2002.
See also: "Darned If I Can Tell You How Magic Works". It's a 3-minute read on Medium. Medium lets you read a certain number of stories for free every month. You may also consider a paid membership on the platform.
By the way, on Twitter, does a tweet benefit more from being "liked" or "retweeted"? As of 2023: @AlexandraErin
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