Neurosphere: The Convergence of Evolution, Group Mind, and the Internet

Dulchinos, a manager in the cable television industry and longtime participant in the WELL, one of the first online communities, sees communication technology leading humanity toward global consciousness. Questions of whether the Internet might constitute a ""group mind"" have been newsgroup fodder for years, supplying a range of online material excerpted here. Dulchinos is also inspired by Teilhard de Chardin, whose concept of ""noosphere"" has been reworked into ""neurosphere"" to represent ""a mature religious view commensurate with the evolutionary stage at which we find ourselves."" Rather than developing a single line of argument, the text presents a collage of metaphysical speculation, punctuated with a touch of whimsy: ""We may very well be on the verge of a consistent and simultaneous human experience... the ability to act with a single will. Hitler, among others, exploited this. Consider, on the other hand, that perhaps apparently benign 'personalities' like Madonna and Barney the Dinosaur likewise wield a perverse influence on large populations."" Yet Dulchinos maintains the courage of his convictions, hoping to convince others ""that each of them, even the most miserable and destitute, is an equally important part of this massively parallel, loosely affiliated, but still cohesive 6-billion-parts-strong Being. All of us together, we are God.""