brown2020

In 1853 when Giuseppe Donati invented the classical wind instrument he called the “ocarina” in his workshop in the village of Budrio, Italy, people tended to know the daily activities of their neighbors. When someone in your neighborhood played the ocarina in his or her home late at night, not only could you hear it, but you also might have recognized the player and the tune. Maybe you would join in on your own instrument.

You would probably have much less of an awareness of the world beyond the vicinity of Budrio, not much past the big city of Bologna. But you knew your neighbors: Their stories, their experiences, their music, their relationships, and their gossip all had a place in your brain.

In the next century people would gain an ever-expanding awareness of the world beyond their local community through the virtual experiences of mass media. Starting with motion pictures, then television, 24-hour news channels, and the Internet, the world would become a lot smaller. We now live in a state of continuous awareness of the entire world. At the same time, we have become less aware of and connected to the people in our own local communities.

There has been much written lately about brain training and brain plasticity, and how we are entering the brain fitness age. If our experiences with the world can change the wiring of our brains, then how is our immersion into the constant stimulation of digital media affecting us? Is our continuous experience with the larger world through digital media impairing our ability to socially connect with our neighbors?

The brain maps of our ancestors just a century ago probably included many more connections for the social network of our local community. Some of that map has probably been superseded and replaced by our current awareness of and pseudo-relationships with the celebrities of the mass media. Too many of us know all about the daily activities, relationships, and gossip of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, but do not even remember the names of our neighbors.

The Ocarina application for the iPhone from Smule is a deeply compelling example of how a new generation of social media technology could be the start of a new kind of community experience. The social media experience surely will change our brains, and I believe in a highly positive direction. Learning to play the ocarina on the iphone gives us yet another chance to learn new skills, which keeps our brains fit and growing. The brain training impact of individual practice is trivial, however, compared to the deep impact of connecting us to a new global community.

We might not know our geographical neighbors, but more than ever we can find and connect with our creative, intellectual and spiritual neighbors, anywhere in the world. And from our home late at night, we can hear them playing a new tune. And we can join them.