Visualizing Humanity

            Technology’s impact on our society is undeniable.  Most people can’t go a day without turning on the television, using the computer, or checking their cell phone.  And despite its importance, technology often gets a bad reputation as being a dehumanizing force in our lives.  In his TED speech Aaron Koblin helped prove just the opposite, showing how technology can actually create new opportunities to showcase the wonders of mankind. 

            The portion of Koblin’s speech where he talked about the Johnny Cash Project was especially emphatic in making this point.  By allowing fans to each create a single frame of the music video, Koblin was not only able to create a tribute to Cash, but to the human race.  Each frame served as an opportunity to express the feelings of an individual and what Johnny Cash and his music meant to them. This amazing piece of technology essentially acting as a bridge between people, allowing them to connect and express themselves in ways never thought possible in the past.

            In the first portion of Koblin’s speech where he talked about the air traffic, he was able to provide another glimpse of humanity, albeit from a totally different perspective.  As he put it, “It’s one thing to say that there’s 140,000 planes being monitored by the federal government at any one time, it’s another thing to see that system as it ebbs and flows.”  The visualization of that system really allows us to take a step back and marvel at the amazingness of our world.  It’s a totally different perspective of humanity than the Johnny Cash Project, more looking from the outside in, than the inside out.

            Overall, Koblin’s projects help create a picture of us as a society, using technology to show what makes us, us, and what amazing things we can do individually and as a whole.