Shift Happens

Alright. I've got something to say.
I watched this:

And there was something that bothered me about it.
It misses the point, and sets the wrong tone about technology. Our strength does NOT lie in Solving Computational Problems. I can't do multiplication or division in my head to save my life and even have a hard time with addition. Why are computers named computers? That's what they're built for.
Our strength, as The Human Race, lies in our inaccuracy, our mistakes, and our ability to correct and work around them. Our robustness, if you will, our ability to adapt. We are biological beings. We make mistakes, and we learn from them. We're also social beings. We learn from Other people's mistakes. And mistakes aren't always undesirable. Natural selection applies not only to our genes, but also to our thoughts and ideas.
Ever played the game telephone? Ever played a game where the message doesn't come out distorted on the other end? Was the message coherent anyway? Why does that happen?
The point in telephone is twofold. The first is that mistakes and misinterpretations happen all the time. We are apparently incapable of understanding the intent or meaning of something all the time, and we rarely understand perfectly even if we "get the gist" of it. The second point is that we are able to work around those misunderstandings and still produce something other than gibberish. Our brains find meaning in simple sounds, in contextual clues, in abstract symbols like the written word, musical or mathematical notation. But if I mispell a word, are you likely to notice? Not really.
Culture is simply a collection of memes. Of simultaneous, coordinated understandings. How would you begin to explain to a computer what humor is? Or a stereotype?
Sure. All of what's in Shift Happens might be true. But it's no wonder people are so terrified of being taken over by our own technology. If we continue to keep such a narrow-minded view of mistakes and theory continues to ignore original ideas while practice uses them, we're going to continue to be frightened and foolish.