Former Blackout Artist

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? – T. S. Elliot

Think about it. We have more data than ever, more education than ever, and more technical understanding than ever. And yet we aren’t really any wiser, or more grounded, or any better at discerning what truly matters in life.

After game 4 of the NBA Finals in New York Wednesday night, hundreds of people took to the streets and destroyed property. Over 50 people arrested. One young kid was attacked and beaten so badly that he almost died. And this evening, on my way home, I witnessed a car carelessly running a red-light and nearly striking a car in the process. The guy didn’t apologize – he angrily gave them the middle finger and kept going. This isn’t uncommon – I see this almost daily.

And I bring all of this up because currently we have a very heated debate going on in many small towns across our nation. But it’s not about crime. It’s not about how our culture has become so toxic and angry, or the glaring lack of respect and common decency. The debate is “the need” for more data centers. It has really got some people fired up.

And it got me to thinking:

I wonder what God thinks about man’s obsession to accumulate so much information?

Well, we know what He thought about something very similar back in Genesis 11, when man thought it would be good to build this huge tower to the heavens. That project got shut down pretty quick. Actually, the amusing part isn’t really the data centers themselves, but our growing tendency to think that more information equals more wisdom.

So what do these data centers do? I asked a guy this question the other day, someone a lot more tech savvy than myself. “Explain to me why we need more data centers. Explain it to me like I’m a 9-yr-old.”

His response: “Let’s consider electricity. In the early 1900’s, a home might have had a few light bulbs. Maybe a few other things. Today, that same home has refrigerators, computers, televisions, air conditioners, heating systems, and dozens of other electrical devices. The electric grid had to grow. The internet is experiencing something similar. More photos, more videos, more business and medical records, more scientific research, more financial transactions, more security systems, and now – more Artificial Intelligence. All of this requires storage and computing power. And that’s why more data centers are needed. All of these tasks require a computer, somewhere, to process the information and store it.

Well, as good as his explanation was… I still don’t understand much of it. But neither do I understand why there is so much debate about these data centers. Aren’t most all of us avid consumers of technology? Don’t we complain when our internet goes down, or we lose cellphone service? Haven’t we come to enjoy ordering something from Amazon and having it delivered to our door not even 48 hours later? Or grocery shopping online so that we can just sit in the parking lot and have a store clerk load our purchases in the trunk? We take more pictures with our smartphones than ever before! We want those memories saved, right? Or maybe send a few of them to a relative halfway across the country?

So where am I going with this… I really don’t know to be honest. I know that I’m living in a broken world today, and I won’t escape it until Jesus comes again or calls me home. I remember life without computers and cellphones. I also remember life without clean water, air conditioning, and reliable transportation.

But it sure seems like there was a time when most people seemed to genuinely care more about their fellow man than they do today.

I don’t think technology is bad. But it surely is a very poor substitute for God. We can build larger data centers, faster networks, and more powerful computing systems. But we’re still faced with the same fundamental questions that people faced thousands of years ago:

• How should I live?
• What is good?
• How do I forgive?
• What is my purpose?

Technology can help us discuss those questions, but only God’s wisdom alone can answer them.