The Composite Human

We think of young people when we think of texting and memes, but right now, there are 60-year-olds who are meme gurus, marketing masters—gamers, even. When you look past the cliches, you’ll see mankind is constantly adapting. But what does this mean?

My parents weren’t born and trained for the dawn of iPhones. They were thrust into it, and had to unlearn and learn many things. No longer did they have to memorize phone numbers; but they did grow to learn about apps and social media.

I can’t say that ancient humans had to go through radical changes like this, and I don’t feel evolution wanted this for us.

For millions of years, humans were born into a lifestyle, got used to it, and mastered it. They could use this exceptional mastery and train the next generation. So on and so on. Legends, hunting styles, tools. Legacy meant something.

What relevant thing could I pass to my kin? Typing? We may all be using AI by that point, or texting with our minds. Any children I might have will learn the new tech on their own; meanwhile, my brain will carry obsolete info, and will be forced to constantly adapt to the next big thing.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s healthy to keep learning, to challenge your mind. But mastery in life, whether with a skill or with a type of technology, is a reward in of itself. And it’s hard to master technology when it radically evolves with each new generation.