I have recently recommended “The Count of Monte Cristo” to my wife, and as a result I am myself once more encountering characters that I loved like the Abbe Faria who trained Dante in prison. This extraordinary man, in the limited confines of Prison, had demonstrated the human potential for making the most of what was at hand and had created various devices for tasks like writing out of the most mundane objects.

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Developing the Human Potential for Excellence

The Abbe had a most comprehensive grasp of Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Geometry and languages, and I cannot help but wonder at the ingenuity of a man who had defied all physical restrictions and was, I feel, able to live a much fuller life than the one I am myself leading now.

It humbles me. We humans use technology as a crutch, and as a result, our faculties are dimmed. Instead of evolving, we are devolving. My contacts are all in Gmail now, when in the olden days, I would have to remember them. But in the process of not using my memory, it has become weak. “Use it or lose it” is the principle that the body functions on with regard to it’s faculties, and I’m afraid that compared to the giants of days gone by, my abilities are hopelessly atrophied.

I can’t help comparing myself to men like the Abbe Faria and realizing that even if I wanted to, I can’t reach their potential. They had the unfair advantage of necessity. Were I to embark on a course of development of my full potential, what use would it serve me? My training would break down because my common sense would reassert itself and tell me that there is no need!

It makes me almost hate my technological life that is stopping me from exercising my human potential for Excellence. Necessity brings out the best in men, and that is severely lacking in today’s world. The olden days were more conducive to the production of great men who had a grasp and understanding of the world around them in fields as diverse as politics and physics.

We have so much potential, but we never get a chance to realize it. It’s a tragic situation, and from what I can see, it’s only going to get worse. Is there no escape from a future doomed to mediocrity and atrophy of our abilities, as technology renders them useless?

Speaking of inventions, my recent article explains why you might not want to patent your latest invention. It’s rather devious though, so you’re warned in advance!