The Internet is Grass
The family of the common C4 grasses is relatively recent in comparison to the 470 million years of plant life. The Neogene Period, 20.45 million years ago during the Cenozoic Era brought about the biggest change, prosperity and diversity of land species of all times.
Grass is hard to digest and contains silica which wears down teeth. Because of its wide spread availability animals evolved complex teeth and digestion systems to live off of this plant.
Why I say the internet is grass is because no other plant has had such a monumental impact on the development of animals and humans like grass.
Aside from common grass that covers land on all continents, and can be found in every crag and crack, this family of grass is responsible for wheat, corn, barley, oats, rice and any other grain that we have today. Every creature has come to depend on grassy plants directly or indirectly.
Prior to grass the diversity and complexity of land animals and their prosperity was limited. The advent of grass resulted in an explosion of life that can be attributed to the adoption of this plant either directly or indirectly as the main food of most animal life.
Due to the pervasive nature of grass animals could migrate and fill every corner of the earth. From the tundra in northern cold climates to the, praries in the temperate regions and the tropical savannas, grasses support all life.
What does this have to do with the internet? Well it seems that in the world of interaction and the migration and availability of information, the internet is heralding monumental changes for humans and animals much like what the grasses did for our shared evolution.
Prior to the internet we had the word of mouth, books, radio, tv and the telephone, but nothing has had such an impact on human development than the internet.
Like grass in the beginning, it was hard to digest and hard to understand how it could be helpful. And even today there are concerns and questions about the benefits. Social media, fake news, hate speech, pornography the dark web. In contrast we have healthy social media that bring families together, instant access to truth and knowledge, business systems, AI and IOT. It is just the beginning.
But there is no doubt that the changes we are experiencing are still early while we adjust to these changes new uses of great benefit will herold in and take over lesser benefits.
It’s just the beginning. Like grass it has yet to reach everybody, we don’t have the corn or the rice yet, but it is on the way. What you see today is not what we will have tomorrow. In just a few years the internet has gone from a novelty to a necessity for many people.
Like grass, it is springing up everywhere, on mobile phones, smart devices and eventually in places where you would never have imagined. We tend to think of the internet as things that you see and do. But the internet is about the collection and exchange of information much of which you will not see nor be aware of.
Like grass, variations of how the internet is used and evolved will produce new and better ways of doing things. Automation in a good way. Planning like we could never conceive. Allocation of resources based on collective need. The internet can usher in real democracy in that we can serve the good of all peoples and enjoy a standard of living that uplifts every single invidiual.
It won’t happen tomorrow, but it will happen. It is still evolution and some parts of the internet will go extinct and other will improve and evolve to be better and more beneficial.
The internet is grass.
