SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO

We are constantly inundated with information. It comes at us from every direction, through a myriad of sources and channels, and in a ceaseless flood of conflict, contradiction and competition. Our senses are completely bombarded... battered and besieged to the point of paralytic overload. We are no longer truly receiving coherent messages or communications -- we are being overwhelmed by noise; so much so, that we cannot find any golden nuggets of information which might be hidden amidst the continuous backdrop of screaming, flickering, flashing and pulling. Things fly at us far to quickly to clearly see, let alone catch.

We are starting to stop listening. We are starting to stop thinking. We are drowning in this low-signal, high-noise world, and it is beginning to de-civilize us. We are speaking in pop-culture staccato, trying to get the attention of (or perhaps seeking communion with) other Human Beings.

If Human social evolution can be correlated with the ambient signal-to-noise ratio, we are heading in the wrong direction. With all of our technological advances, we are working harder, and with far less gratification, than ever in the history of our species.

In this environment, the greatest struggles are: 1) to hear, and to make sense of what we're hearing; 2) to be heard and to be understood; 3) to achieve relationships and dialogues.

In the meantime, there's just too much noise to discern the signal...and I believe that the signal may well be a distress call.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
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