Binary Thinking
Enter the Matrix
Before you can think it, your timeline is filled with your desires. Your once private thoughts have become a part of your publicly viewed timeline. You have been reduced to an algorithm. The computers have taken over and the world is in shambles. Dystopia has arrived.
Of course I’m kidding, but it certainly feels that way sometimes. You are constantly being watched by the very device that you view the world through. It takes all of your inputs and reduces them down to ones and zeros. And so we as humans have followed suit. We have reduced our thinking down to two choices. A or B. One or Zero. Yes or No. Left or Right. Hot or Not. It makes things simple. But it simply shouldn’t be. We have lost the nuance of human interaction. We have become the machines.
Ok. I’m kidding again. It isn’t that bad. But life does seem simpler if we have limited choices. What should you wear to work today? What’s for dinner? Life is much easier when we don’t have to make complex choices. We feel comfortable in our daily routines. We feel comfortable when we can label things in simple terms. Comfortable is where we want to be. Even that algorithm wants you to feel comfortable. It shows you similar ideas, interests, and viewpoints so you stay engaged. If we are challenged in our time of comfort, we resist.
“When I was a kid…”
You hear that phrase often from the “old people” when they describe how things were simpler. But were they really more simple? No matter your age, hasn’t it gotten less complex over time? I for one remember how difficult it was to watch my favorite shows on tv. Whether it was racing home from school to catch the start of the episode, or getting up early to watch your favorite Saturday morning cartoons. Forget about when the president was making a speech or the weather was bad. When you played a video game and died, you started from the beginning. And in some cases it cost another quarter to begin again.
Today’s generations are inundated with technology from an early age. It’s “easier” to let them watch something on the phone or tablet to keep them engaged when parents are busy. If whatever is playing isn’t engaging enough, you just “change the channel” and find something more to your liking. You don’t want what was cooked for dinner? Pick something else. We have more choices today than ever. How many video streaming services do you subscribe to each month? How many shows are there on those services? According to a recent Nielson report, there are over 800,000 unique titles in the United States alone. When we hear numbers like that, it’s no wonder why we want to declutter our lives by having fewer options.
Why Binary?
When we can reduce our choices down to only 2, then we can determine which one we’d prefer; whether we actually like it or not. Many of our choices have been reduced in such a way. I’m seeing it far too often in education. When I watch students search the internet, if it’s not one of the first hits, it doesn’t exist. Rather than problem solving, they choose to feel helpless. Raising your hand for help is easier than working through various scenarios and facing failure. I also see this as students struggle with math. There’s a right answer and a wrong answer. Seems simple until you don’t get the right answer. Persevere or quit? Which do you choose?
When you’re only given two choices, it seems simple. Until you dig deeper. Computers can complete enormous calculations with just two choices. We can express the largest sums with only two figures. Binary isn’t as small as it seems, but we often try to reduce it down to its simplest terms. It makes it easy for us. But is easy really better?
Level 256
As we begin to open our eyes to the unlimited choices that are in the world, we start to create our own things to enjoy. During the school year, there is a point when students start to realize that not only is there not just one right answer, but the things they create can be enjoyed by others and inspire them to create change as well. They can share their thoughts and ideas and in turn be inspired by others. Their viewpoint isn’t the only that exists. True diversity exists; and it’s wonderful. To see young people who didn’t know that others thought or did things differently than they do and open up is heartwarming. It makes you realize that humanity and the nuances of it still exist. Binary is a lie and so is the cake. Machines might be able to dream, but they do not posses true creativity or imagination. Maybe some day they will catch up, but for now, we will just continue past level 255 and into the future.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” A. Einstein
