The Global Brain

British scientist Peter Russell's multi-media presentation given at the International Psychosynthesis Conference in Toronto in July, 1983, is a thought-provoking and handsomely produced outline of Russell's version of the Gaia hypothesis (earth as mother). In a nutshell, he believes that the Earth is steadily evolving into a social super organism. Accompanying a series of superimposed slides, Russell's well-modulated (nearly hypnotic) voice traces the high points of evolutionary development from the unicellular microorganism up to man, and then turns to the social development of humankind. Here, he seems to be moving against the grain of human nature (as we understand it) in his vision of the information age ushering in a 'global consciousness', a scenario in which political entities will be subsumed by world government. In short, a social utopia. Whether one agrees or not with Russell's theory is not really important. The fact that he raises a number of disturbing questions, combined with the low public performance price, makes this an ideal candidate for group discussions, either in the home or the library. Recommended. (Available from Hartley Film Foundation, Cat Rock Road, Cos Cob, CT 06807).