1960's London was a great place to be a student. The space age had just been launched with Sputnik, rock and roll had set the rhythm and people were told that they had "never had it so good."
Like some others, I envisaged a global transformation where, somehow, people would be connected, could communicate, and a benevolent world mind would emerge. Individuals would be enhanced and find fulfillment in deeper, better interpersonal communication. It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
I started a University of London student organisation called "Psybersensorium." The word was coined from bits of psychology, cybernetics, and the notion of a sensorium. The organisation flourished for a while. Amazing people were invited to share their understandings, to demonstrate and encourage extraordinary human capabilities, to unravel intriguing mysteries.
I had no idea how the idea of a psybersensorium could unfold. It needed the then undeveloped technology of the Internet to realise it.
Since then I have pursued my life work in interpersonal communication, human development, sustainable communities and the field of complexity.
Then it dawned on me. The basic infrastructure that facilitates everything I had once imagined, was actually in place. People were communicating across the world, social networking was leading to action through meetup groups and bottom-up emergence was a fact. Like millions of others, I was part of it.
This is a special moment in history, a tipping point, where a new reality is manifesting. It is a precious moment where the freedom of the Web must be protected. It is a time for great vigilance.
The true test of freedom is "magnificence." When people work together, systems are put in place, we must ask, "Are individuals enhanced or are they diminished?" When people report that they are facilitated, enhanced, or enabled by working or living with others they are magnified. The system is magnificent.
As I write, the world is facing a full spectrum of difficult challenges. Nevertheless, I am certain that we do have a magnificent future.
