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Sunday, August 25, 2013

New Babylon Arising ~ "The Knowledge Economy"


Genesis 11:6-9 ~ 6- And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7- Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8- So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9- Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Jew, and self proclaimed atheist, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and one of the wealthiest men on earth, announced his "rough plan" to partnership with nearly every internet provider on the planet to provide internet access to the worlds over 7 billion people.
 "I think that connecting the world will be one of the most important things we all do in our lifetimes, and I’m thankful every day to have the opportunity to work with all of you to make this a reality" ~ Zuckerberg Pg. 10 
According to most statistics, only 1/3rd of the world has internet access. The other 2/3rds, approximately 5 billion people, are without access or at the least very limited access. It is Zuckerberg's purpose to change all of that by claiming that internet access for all humans is a "human right". In a post on his Facebook page entitled "Is connectivity a human right?" Zuckerberg delivered the following:
"Before the internet and the knowledge economy, our economy was primarily industrial and resource-based. Many dynamics of resource-based economies are zero sum. For example, if you own an oil field, then I can’t also own that same oil field. This incentivizes those with resources to hoard rather than share them. But a knowledge economy is different and encourages worldwide prosperity. It’s not zero sum. If you know something, that doesn’t stop me from knowing it too. In fact, the more things we all know, the better ideas, products and services we can all offer and the better all of our lives will be. ~ Zuckerberg Pg. 2 
Now, the first thing that jumps out is the baseline description of communism as it pertains to how this "knowledge based economy" should be. As a reminder Dictionary.com defines communism as follows: ~ a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. It is imminently clear that Zuckerberg ascribes to the communist model to his "knowledge economy" suggesting that knowledge should belong to "all of us" and further stating that the more all of us know the better off all of us will be. The problem here is does any of his statement or aspirations in this hold true? 

Does Knowledge Equate To "Doing Better"?



Notice that Zuckerberg does not claim that "infomration" will cause us to do better. The claim is that knowledge will do this. There is a difference and he knows as much. For the benefit of this discussion, let's attempt to distinguish the boundaries. Here we go:
Information refers to data that has been given some meaning by way of relational connection. Your speedomometer, gives you information, but nothing about it tells you what to do with that information. only until you see the speed limit sign do you know what to do with the information. That leads to the next point: 
Knowledge is the concise and appropriate collection of information in a way that makes it useful. Knowledge refers to a deterministic process where patterns within a given set of information are ascertained.
To get knowledge you need some cognitive and analytical ability while for information you do not need cognitive ability. ~ Source
Zuckerman's assumption is that "knowing" something will cause not only one of us, but all of us to do better...This "knowledge" (not mere information) will dictate what path to take or a change in course that should be made. However, this assumption is not necessarily the case. Example, how many people "know" that a train will stop them on a certain day at a certain time in a certain location but fail to deviate their schedule? Why? Because having information of the train schedule and the "knowledge" that it will stop at a certain time, does not necessarily alter the actions and or the behaviors of the traveler for reasons beyond both information and knowledge. This is a variable which cannot be accounted for. People are not merely, knowledge motivated people. nations are not merely "knowledge" motivated. 

How many relationships that you KNOW exist against the knowledge of a cheating or an abusive spouse? How many individuals do you KNOW that have risked their jobs and even lives against the "knowledge" of what they knew was right? In fact the whole industry of gambling is based on people looking past information and even knowledge to make and place bets, ultimately following 'hunches". Casino after casino is built on this variable, that against knowledge, people will act in a certain way. Zuckerberg's plan at the unification of all knowledge, he says is to increase productivity, causing greater ideas to appear. In actuality this idea clumps all things together causing individual to reproduce the same thing everywhere so that in all regions everything is exactly the same as in other regions. No one can say that this is not the case nor the result.

Far Better Automobiles: The Three Wheeled Car

Although cars with 3 wheels are not new, there is currently a model produced by Elio Motors which boasts an 84 mpg rating and a $6,800 price tag. Although Karl Benz (of the Merceedes-Benz fame) is said to have been responsible for the first 3 wheeled automobile in 1885, the concept hasn't particularly caught on as the most widespread method of transportation and sales of this type of vehicle certainly don't drive the world economy.

Why is that? Do we not have both information and knowledge that a 3 wheeled care is more gas efficient and costs less? Why do cars in the range of $30,000 to $70,000 still outsell the pace of $6,800 three wheeled cars?  Why? Because humans have never been and never will be motivated simply off of knowledge and more knowledge does not assure greater or better ideas or ideals.      

Behavior & Knowledge  

We are living in a day where we have more access to information and ultimately more knowledge than ever before in history, but we live more  amorally, and rudely than ever before in history on many levels. Knowledge to the head does not change the disposition of the heart. The application of knowledge is called wisdom. Zuckerberg, blinded by his self, doesn't seem to connect that because that variable, the variable of the heart, is unaccounted for in his worldview.

Critic: OK, ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS GIVE US THE INTERNET. WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT THAT?...GEEEESH!!!!!!

Sorry..."all he wants to give us is the internet", If you say so...but I am looking at what he is REALLY saying, doing and trying to promote. I am more in tune with what he and others with his world view are attempting to do and say for a number of years. I am looking at a 'Thing" and determining the spirit behind it...in other words, my discernment is ON and since you didn't give it to me, you can't take it away...NO, not paranoia...just DISCERNMENT!

I am looking at an attempt to usher in the "kingdom of man" with a unified language and communications method. Where differences don't matter and all the world shares out of one pot called "collective" knowledge. only who is it that places this knowledge in? How is this knowledge validated or authenticated? This knowledge is the "source" evidently, but from what source is it? 

This happened before, thousands of years ago, and it is happening again now with new methods such as the internet and connectivity for billions. Let's proceed with the other half of the motivation to unify the language and knowledge of the planet?
"The world economy is going through a massive transition right now. The knowledge economy is the future. By bringing everyone online, we’ll not only improve billions of lives, but we’ll also improve our own as we benefit from the ideas and productivity they contribute to the world. Giving everyone the opportunity to connect is the foundation for enabling the knowledge economy. It is not the only thing we need to do, but it’s a fundamental and necessary step" ~ Zuckerberg Pg. 3
This "fundamental and necessary step" of getting everyone online, not only delivers "knowledge" to all, but it also directly impacts the "world economy". What can this possibly mean? This sounds not like a unified currency, but a unified system under which currency is exchanged amplified by the proliferation or access to "knowledge". Paul instructed Timothy that it was the "love of money" that is the root of ALL evil. (1 Tim. 6:10 ) Jesus stated that money can be served, but service to it was contrary to service to HIM:

Matthew 6:24 ~ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Whether wealthy or not, the unregenerate mind places its needs at the pinnacle of priority and seeks to serve itself above all things. Money is simply one tool that must be preserved. In Zuckerberg's mind, the world economy is suffering because of a lack of communication or ability  of everyone to partake in global knowledge and connections. If we had the same knowledge, we would have similar or the same money, or at least wealth would be more evenly distributed. Once again, another concept of communism to say the least. Nonetheless, the focus here is on the preservation of money. 

Well why wouldn't he want to preserve money? He has enough to buy a few countries outright at a net worth of over $13.3 billion (Forbes March 2013 Billionaires...he's also 66 on the list of the world's wealthiest) some say he is worth up to $19.5 billion currently. As a Harvard dropout before the age of 30, Zuckerberg serves his money and demands that his money serves him.  

More of "The Plan"

Now the basic plan in part is to cut the cost of delivery of data and at the same time provide more efficient and less costly apps to provide internet access leading to doing what is currently being done over 100x better over the next 5 to 10 years.
"Overall, it seems reasonable to expect that over the next few years we can deliver many of the same basic services using at least 10x less data than we’re using today. If we can do this, then these services will become at least 10x cheaper for people buying pre-paid data plans in developing countries. Again, doing this by itself will go a long way towards making internet access affordable and available to all." ~ Zuckerberg Pg. 9
Zuckerberg believes reducing data (aka: making data more efficient) is a chief way to reduce costs and that business should drive the development of new business models to help people access the internet and the "White Spectrum" costs of data to countries can be can come down, and the networks used more efficiently. All of these things and more will lower the costs of internet access to all people in Zuckerberg's analysis.

Conclusion 

John Hammond
This whole subject reminds me of a conversation in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park, between the characters John Hammond (Lord Richard Attenborough) (aka: the monster maker), Dr. Ian Malcom, (Jeff Goldblum) and Donald Gennaro. This is how that conversation went:

Dr. Ian Malcolm: Gee, the lack of humility before nature that's being displayed here, uh... staggers me.
Donald Gennaro: Well thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little bit different then you and I had feared...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, I know. They're a lot worse.
Donald Gennaro: Now, wait a second now, we haven't even seen the park...
John Hammond: No, no, Donald, Donald, Donald... let him talk. There's no reason... I want to hear every viewpoint, I really do.
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet's ever seen, but you wield it like a kid that's found his dad's gun.
Donald Gennaro: It's hardly appropriate to start hurling generalizations...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: If I may... Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now
[bangs on the table]
Dr. Ian Malcolm: you're selling it, you wanna sell it. Well...
John Hammond: I don't think you're giving us our due credit. Our scientists have done things which nobody's ever done before...
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
Zuckerberg assumes exactly what Dr. Malcom points toward. There is no discipline in attaining knowledge through the internet and certainly no way to assure that the knowledge is accurate. more information satisfies certain needs but it does not change the heart. The evolution of man has been surprisingly inferior in his hearts conditions which is something that the internet can't begin to fix and or address.

The Spiritual Perspective

Zuckerberg's  effort is actually is an effort to reunify the language of the world causing a new dawn and age called the age of man, where man feels superior and in control of his own destiny. Only this time the effort for man to rise is done through and by technology. However, a tower built by anything other than brick is still a tower. To claim that man will be and do what they haven' been able to do and be previously is the aim.  

The question arises, am I saying that the internet is inherently evil? Absolutely not...BUT man is!

Man without God is especially subject to evil and has an evil heart. He may be able to do good things, but he is in need of a savior.

Although there can be many interpretations of Zuckerberg, I believe his acts and intents should be taken seriously. From the enemies that he has made and is continuing to make, to his new friends, he is rising from the people (the sea) from one of the 7 heads (7 continents). One little caveat, for those who don't know and or take this seriously, Zuckerberg has what appears to be a harmless page dedicated to his wife and dog called BEAST.  

Revelation 13:1 ~ 1- And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Is Zuckerberg the anti-Christ? read what I am saying and read nothing more into it. There is a spiritual reality to all things. Zuckerberg can do no more than what the Lord allows him to do, whether he doesn't believe that god exists or not. What the church must do is WATCH and PRAY!

Blessed!

10 Things you may not know about Mark Zuckerberg

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