Is universal language really a good thing?

Pretty much everyone has heard of a “universal language”. The idea is so interesting that it’s gone viral, and not just in television series like “Firefly”, but also in politics. In fact, as some of you may know, we already have a universal language: Latin. The only problem with Latin is, however, no one can speak it natively.

So we find ourselves with a problem: if we want a universal language, we’re going to have to base it off of a pre-existing one. However, before we go and decide what language to keep, we need to think about whether or not we should even have a universal language.

They are extremely useful for getting ideas across (no more translating, or language based miscommunication), decreasing racial intolerance, and many other things, but they do have a downside; for there to be a universal language, there needs to be popularity in that language, and with popularity rising in one language, popularity decreases in another. In other words: having a universal language kills off other languages, and with those languages all of their history, and culture is killed as well.

Of course, one can attempt to translate it all, but the whole cause of the language's downfall is from a lack of popularity, meaning that hardly anyone will care then, but certainly many will care later (not necessarily for that specific language, but definitely for the whole of lost languages).

So the question is: is it really worth all of the wealth of the culture and history of all of the minor languages to have a single universal language?

Why Our Brains Don’t Work Like Machines

If you have seen any more than a few science fiction movies, than you’re probably familiar with the idea of “Super-computers”, they can find and solve a trillion problems in one billionth of a second with extreme accuracy... at least, that’s what the movies say.

So where does this trend of insanely powerful and precise computers in sci-fi movies come from? In my opinion, it’s a combination of fantasy and today’s computers; they can solve almost any straight forward problem very quickly (i.e. math), which makes them seem quite a bit more competent than our brains. However, they are missing quite a few things before they can approach the Human Brain’s intelligence.

In every single piece of programming we use, the information for the program to function is either already there, or the program is given a perfectly functioning formula to make the information 100% available. Our brains, however, rarely (if ever) have all of the information needed to make a perfect decision. In order to account for this, our brains use “the power of estimation”.

In theory, our brains use emotional experience and physical experience, in conjunction with the current situation and mood to make a well calculated decision. If there is information missing (like there almost always is), the brain guesses at what that information is (i.e. you learn that your friend is buying a car, and her favourite color is purple, there for you would guess that she is going to buy a purple car).

Our brain also uses “the power of estimation” to get past those text emulators on websites to prevent spamming. However, once we develop machines that can use “the power of estimation”, what will become of the usefulness of those anti-spam text images, and the human brain?

Are we turning into the Borg?

In today’s technology we have a variety of interesting computer software, and a highly sophisticated political hierarchy. From a basic commenting system made from HTML coding that leads to interesting and potentially, billion-dollar programming, to a political system so competitive that some candidates get publicly disgraced to the point where they lose all hope.

So what does this have to do with the Borg? Before we can answer that, we have to go a little deeper; what are the Borg? By definition, the Borg are a highly advanced, and computerized race, bent on “assimilating” all other “lesser races” into themselves. They do so by killing all of the stronger—or problematic—individuals of the target race, and capturing and “modifying” all of the weaker, less fortunate.

Of course, we don’t fly around in giant cubes, shooting at the star ship "Enterprise", but we do resemble what they do, for example: larger stores can "buy out" other smaller stores so that these stores that used to compete against them, now work for them. More to the point, our government sets laws out for us, and forces us to follow them (of course, you can technically go against these in the supreme court, but if the government really wanted to, I`m sure they could get the laws in--no matter what).

Now this system does come with benefits: we get to sleep soundly without worrying about becoming slaves, getting eaten by animals, etc... but the real question is: is it worth it, and is it fair?

Racism: A Bigger Issue Than We Think

America just had it's very first black president in the 2008 election, why? Racism. Anyone who took English knows what this means; intolerance, hatred, or prejudice towards a different race, usually because of cultural background, or physical appearance (such as skin color).

However, according to the textbooks and government. We were racially unsegregated a long time ago, and we're all mixed now.

I disagree; yes we are all technically "mixed", and most of the public treats individuals who are different with the same respect as they would with another who is not, but in the larger picture I think that most people are quite significantly biased towards other races.

Think of it this way: what if the American Tea Party, Armed with Handguns and AK-47s, protesting, willing to break out into violence in the name of political revolution, were black, or arab. What would the response be? Would we really see them as Patriots, fighting for something righteous? Would we really see them as organised, and "on our side"? Sadly, I seriously doubt it.

Which is why now that we know what the problem is, we should be fixing it; putting more money into education of not only what racism is, and how to spot it, but also of why some people are racist, and why it has a very negative (not to mention prejudice) effect on the government, the news, and the people.

Anyways, tell me what you think of the situation we're in, and how we can rectify it.