It Is A Brave New World

Image provided by www.ecards-passion.net apparently.

I use the expression “Brave New World” in two different situations. Both metaphors originate from the book.

Aldous Huxley primary objective when writing “Brave New World,” was to write a response to George Orwell’s “1984.” Huxley was evidently a big fan of Orwell’s “1984” but thought it lacked certain realism. In the letters Huxley wrote to Orwell he comes off equal parts excited and condescending. I do not think Huxley meant to talk down to Orwell in anyway but he belaboured the point that “1984” was unrealistic and Huxley was so sure of himself and that his “Brave New World” was a much more believable future. I think one of the major reasons Huxley came off this way was because he was genuinely excited about his own work of fiction and he could not contain his joy when sharing his wit and insight with a man who man have been a hero of sorts to him.

“Brave New World” is brilliant in world creation. The world Aldous Huxley describes to us in the opening monologue a very bizarre, complicated and fascinating world. In his work of fiction Huxley succeeds brilliantly at creating a fantastic setting that provokes the reader to imagine what large variety of consequences must exist, however Huxley fails to create any kind of engaging narrative. His characters are flat and do not experience any kind of arc or growth and the plot feels like it’s going nowhere and then the book ends without any sort of climax or proper conclusion. “Brave New World” still qualifies as a good book because the politics and science fiction invested into the world building are so interesting it makes up for the utter failure of a story.

When talking about a story with a strong setting but weak story I often deliver the metaphor “it’s a brave new world” in reference to the conditions present in the fail story structure in Aldous Huxley’s classic.

Huxley did not believe mankind would succumb to the constant boot kicking our spirits down, rather he believed if mankind were to succumb to thorough political mind control it would have to be done through manipulation, not force. In Huxley’s future world, propaganda was just one of many tools used to dupe the civilians of his “Brave New World” into conformity; there was also biological and chemical manipulation.

Biological manipulation - no one is born in “Brave New World” everyone is manufactured in factories and raised in communal schools. Everyone is biologically engineered to fit one of five major arch-types Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta or Epsilon. Alphas being the smartest and Epsilons being the dumbest, and from birth everyone is coaxed into not only accepting their role as one of the five archetype but to be happy to be what they are. Thus a biological and social reinforcement is constantly present to keep people in their respective roles working away.

Chemical manipulation – the drug “soma” keeps everyone sedated and content with their lives. This drug is so popular and is highly marketed as a one cure all drug for any sort of negative emotion, and everyone is addicted to it. The interesting thing is that the people in Huxley’s “Brave New World” are not just being controlled there is a serious effort to make sure they are happy at all times, the opposite of the oppressor’s boot.

Propaganda does exist in “Brave New World” but it is not the extreme other works of fiction would often imagine it as. In “Brave New World” there is an information overload. Lies are everywhere in the media, but so is the truth, and there is no effort made to hide the truth, the very nature of their media buries it. The difficult thing now is to find the truth within the ocean of information. In regards to realism Huxley has very accurately predicted this outcome. In the modern world information sharing is enormous. Advances of television, radio and telephones have made communication and the distribution of information excessively convenient and fast. With the creation and popular use of the internet this phenomenon has exploded beyond any previously predicated expectations, including Huxley’s. In this way Huxley was correct, more so than he predicted, more so than he could have possibly guessed. Right now in the real world there is an abundance of propaganda being thrown at us and at the same time freedom of speech is rarely being stifled. The truth is out there but it is difficult to find amongst the seemingly infinite amount of information available to us.

From this I have adopted the expression “it’s a brave new world” referring to the information age and our struggle to find truth in our media. The best thing about the internet is that it has given everyone a soapbox to stand on and express themselves. The worst thing about the internet is that it has given everyone a soapbox to stand on and express themselves. For every one educated person discussing the topic of their expertise we have dozens, maybe hundreds, possibly thousands of people with no true qualifications posturing as if they did and adding their voice to data pool. It is not just lies we grapple with in this information age, it is also the misinformed, the ignorant, the impatient, the bold, and the jokers, and the trolls who speak whatever comes to mind without thought of accuracy or truth.

It is frustrating searching for the truth these days when so many misinformed and broken opinions swarm around the intelligent and true research of free thinking individuals, but there should be no doubt to anyone that the positives of this scenario infinitely outweigh the negative. Everything posted in any social medium online are part of the public record and the forces of peer review from the public forum will challenge every idea put worth. The bad ideas will be criticized and slowly stamped out of acceptance and the good ideas with be discussed, spread and shared.

The best way to fight bad ideas (lies) is with good ideas (truth).

And now this little essay is now part of the ocean of information. It’s a brave new world.

- Colin Kelly