Back in school, we recited a few lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali as part of our school pledge. In these lines, the great poet envisions a utopia:
‘…Where knowledge is free,
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls…’
Sure, we aren’t there yet. The internet has caused its own set of problems. But it has also taken us closer to Tagore’s vision.
The internet lets you learn a foreign language before moving to a different country. It lets you watch 5 different recipes of Thai Green Curry and combine them as you see fit. It can teach you to code and allow you to change professions.
If that isn’t impressive enough, the internet enabled this badass Kenyan javelin thrower to win the world championship by training himself using Youtube videos.
If Tagore would be alive today, he might not be proud of the people we are. But he would certainly be proud of the people the internet enables us to become.
Observations 