The Machine is Using Us

John Battelle interviews Michael Wesch, the brilliant cultural anthropology professor who gave us this terrific video. He says --

"For me, cultural anthropology is a continuous exercise in expanding my mind and my empathy, building primarily from one simple principle: everything is connected. This is true on many levels. First, everything including the environment, technology, economy, social structure, politics, religion, art and more are all interconnected. As I tried to illustrate in the video, this means that a change in one area (such as the way we communicate) can have a profound effect on everything else, including family, love, and our sense of being itself."

I always try to maintain a holistic perspective on the inter-connectedness of the different spheres of technology, politics, economics, fine arts. If not at all times, all or some of these seemingly disparate fields seem to merge at a focal point.

For a cultural anthropologist, Michael is pretty high on the geek quotient & his video is absolutely crisp & brilliant in its quality.
Although the video shows us the evolution of how digital technology has evolved but it is his study of the correlation between the ever changing technological landscape & the human & societal barriers that it helps break that is so fascinating.

I think it would be safe to label this one as a viral video as it has become one of the most widely viewed videos on the web.

"I did not know it would reach so many people, but I had hoped that for
those it did reach it would spark some reflection on the power of the technology they were using. Because without proper understanding and reflection, “the machine” is using us – all of us – even those that don’t have access to the machine at all."

Read the complete interview.