Free Thinkers in the Digital Age Personal Commentary5/2/2000; 4:00:10 PM Jan 24, 2000: I know at first blush this article seems crazy, but think about it for a moment. There are two reasons it seems wacko: First, it talks about the future of cognition and how it will change the world, and second, it advocates complete freedom of cognition.Only the "complete freedom" is a candidate for "wacko-ness". After the Internet enables every possible non-mind-to-mind communication mode, the only place left to go is into the mind itself. The abuses possible in that form of communication boggle the mind. Wondering about cognition and the effects of new modes of communication that result are right in line with what this site is concerned with.The article shows the completion of the pattern I see: With each new generation of technology, from writing to print to the Internet to direct mental communication, the issues get correspondingly more complex, and the potential damage done by abuse gets higher and higher. Internet abuse "merely" means that your rights are infringed... in that era, it could mean your mind being trapped or re-written.It's too early to worry much about. Our job today is to solve the problems posed by the Internet, and there isn't much evidence that we as a species are capable of even that.

"The interface between bodies, brains, and technology is an area of daunting theoretical and practical possibilities," said Sententia, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Utopian literature and theory.