Our times are special, but not because of the Internet

As humans, we suffer from a certain amount of egocentrism. When we walk into a big room full of people and accidentally stumble, we might be worried that everyone notices and everyone cares. In reality, most people won’t notice nor care. They are busy focusing on their own self appearance. A related characteristic is that we easily think we are more special, better or smarter than the majority of other people. It’s called “Illusory Superiority” and can be found in many areas.

The egocentrism and perception of being somehow special can also contribute to the impression that humans, as a whole, are special, or that we live in special times. Just think how before Galileo Galilei, common wisdom was that the Earth represented the center of the Universe, and that the Sun orbits around the Earth. Major religions also rely on the idea of humans as very special creatures.

In line with these patterns, most of the people who are following the rise of Information Technology and particularly of the Internet most likely have witnessed themselves expressing or thinking that the world currently experiences extraordinary times, characterized by unprecedented changes which seem to rewrite history at a scale which never happened before. Continue Reading