We are the Primitive Beings | Teen Ink

We are the Primitive Beings

September 6, 2013
By The_Narrator SILVER, Raymond, Mississippi
The_Narrator SILVER, Raymond, Mississippi
9 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." -J.F.K.


Several thousand years ago, people were what we considered primitive beings. Without high levels of technology and knowledge of the world around them, what else could they be? Yet, even in today’s terms, we are still primitive beings.

Allow me to digress. Many of our systems of communication and, in general, functioning, are the same as when mankind was born. We speak with our mouths, something that has not changed since the dawn of man. We still continue to hunt, we continue to farm, and we continue to function together as one group of people, or, in better terms, several groups of people with a common purpose: survival.

The technology that we have today cannot compare with that of the 1800s. Two hundred years, a small window of time, and we’ve come so far in electronics and knowledge. But: there is still more to accomplish. Knowledge has not fully been conquered. Because of that, we are considered these so-called “primitive beings”.

I’m sure you’ve heard your parents talk about VHS tapes, or maybe you’ve heard of your grandparents speak of telegraphs. The technology even that they speak about is primitive to ours. But: there is still more to accomplish.

In 1982 (that’s 31 years ago), the Commodore 64 was released to the public. This was considered in that time an incredible advancement in technology. The computer itself had only 64 kilobytes of RAM. That’s completely and irrevocably useless in this time. A Microsoft Word document contains around 11 KB of RAM, depending on how large it is. Minecraft, a game that many play on the computer, is around 128 KB of RAM, and it is the smallest game (in terms of RAM space) that I’ve ever witnessed.

In today’s terms, we have computers that can reach up to more than a Terabyte of RAM. A Terabyte, in comparison, is equivalent to over 15 BILLION Commodore 64’s. In 31 years, we’ve advanced so much. But: there is still more to accomplish.

Imagine life in 31 years. Technology will be incredible. We can’t even imagine how large a computer might be. We don’t know what life would be like. Perhaps our minds, our intelligences and personalities, will be downloaded into these massive computers, allowing us to live forever. The bottom line is, we don’t know. That, my friends, my dear readers, my colleagues, my peers, is what makes us primitive.


The author's comments:
I thought I might give my opinion once in a while.

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This article has 8 comments.


Sparaxis GOLD said...
on Nov. 10 2016 at 9:29 am
Sparaxis GOLD, Saint Marys, Georgia
13 articles 1 photo 307 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you keep on picking on me, I'll mess up again. This time, on PURPOSE."

You're not the only one who appreciates grammar...

on Nov. 4 2013 at 9:36 am
The_Narrator SILVER, Raymond, Mississippi
9 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." -J.F.K.

Thank you :)

on Sep. 16 2013 at 9:32 am
GuardianoftheStars GOLD, Shongaloo, Louisiana
17 articles 0 photos 495 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Let's tell young people the best books are yet to be written; the best painting, the best government, the best of everything is yet to be done by them."
-John Erslcine

I thought this was very well written.  I think the orginaization and the wording is very good.  I enjoyed reading your opinon and agree with you.  Very nice. :)

on Sep. 15 2013 at 11:27 pm
E.J.Mathews GOLD, International Falls, Minnesota
19 articles 2 photos 145 comments
I for one agree with your opinion in many ways, and think that you have a very well put together article. The computer geek in me wanted you to check your facts, though. RAM is used for speed in a computer, not for storage. In most cases here, you should have said something like disk space. I'm on my gaming laptop right now which has about 2 gigabytes of RAM, but 500 gigabytes of storage, kind of a big difference. Execpt for that, I think that you did an amazing job! Keep writing!

on Sep. 14 2013 at 10:27 am
LaChouette GOLD, Mount Vernon, New York
12 articles 0 photos 146 comments

Favorite Quote:
“And then there are the times when the wolves are silent and the moon is howling.”
- George Carlin

Very true. I agree with that.

on Sep. 14 2013 at 2:54 am
The_Narrator SILVER, Raymond, Mississippi
9 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." -J.F.K.

I thanm you for your feedback. Honestly, I do believe that knowledge will ultimately hurt us in the end. Even now, our knowledge of nuclear power can destroy this entire planet.

None0 BRONZE said...
on Sep. 14 2013 at 1:50 am
None0 BRONZE, Bellevue, Washington
2 articles 0 photos 96 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Believe in the ideal, not the idol." - Serra

You get a 100% on spelling, grammar, and structure. And here I thought I was the only one who obsessed so much over grammar.   Since this is an opinion piece, I'll go ahead and state my opinion too. In about 20-40 years, the human race will probably be immortal. All of our diseases will be gone, environment will be perfectly clean, and basically all of our physical problems will be solved. In theory, anyways. If you're curious, do some research into nanotechnology (especially nanorobotics).   Okay, now onto the criticism. In a piece like this, make sure you're varying your sentences to keep the reader interested. As far as I've seen, this is done well, just make sure to keep it in mind.   Just one last thing that kind of got on my nerves. As a scientist-to-be, the second to last line really bugs me. You're calling the human race primitive for not knowing things. In that case, the only race not considered "primitive" would be a race of omniscient, immortal beings of pure consciousness (which, coincidentally, appear in one of my novel series). I know that the line is only intended for effect and emotional stimulus, but it just bugs me for some reason. It might just be me though.   Anyways, good luck on your writing.

on Sep. 13 2013 at 5:36 pm
LaChouette GOLD, Mount Vernon, New York
12 articles 0 photos 146 comments

Favorite Quote:
“And then there are the times when the wolves are silent and the moon is howling.”
- George Carlin

I like your idea of humans being primitive beings because I agree; I think we still have a long way to go. Your spelling and grammar is really good. My only criticism is maybe you could conclude your work a little differently. I realize your point of being primitive and I know you want to conclude in that way, seeing as that is the point of this work. I just personally think you should include one more sentence before your concluding sentence that brings it back to the primitive idea and your introductory paragraph. (If you like it as it is, that's fine as well. You don't have to agree at all). I hope i'm not ranting or being too nitpicky. Other than that, I liked where you went with this. I only wish to ask one question though: Do you think increasing our knowledge, but particularly our use of technology will hurt us in the end?