Imagine, you are living in the mid 1800's.  The telegraph and electric motor are still quite novel.  The full understanding of their effects and impact on human culture are still decades into the future.  However, those with eyes to see, such as Jules Verne and Mary Shelley could see into a future where electricity pervades human culture and helps define how we think, act and believe.

So it is today, albeit at a much faster pace.  For many years three dimensional printing has been used for prototyping and as a hobbyist toy, mostly to make small objects.  However, latent in this new tech are the seeds of a new paradigm with massive implications about how we live and relate with the world we are in.  This posting is one example of many.  Many here are much brighter than I and the possibilities for exploration are almost limitelss.

In framing this as a spiritual issue we have to look at the entire scope of the change, especially in terms of unforeseen effects.  Most of you will think “printing in 3d, oh how nice, but why do you think this is a spiritual issue?"  I’m not so naive as to not anticipate the question.  Anything that changes how we perceive and relate to our environment brings a change in our consciousness.  It has to.  The internet has brought about many of these changes.  It causes us to, positively, form connections with others, previously next to impossible, and to new ideas.  Negatively, some people engage in behaviors that are not acceptable in face-to-face relationships, and there is something of a dehumanizing element.  So with that as an example to chew on, let’s dive in.

The key idea is that anything that changes how we think, act or believe changes our relationship with everything else.

The paper, freely available here, delves into the effects that 3 dimensional printing will have on the supply chain, that is the global links that gets things from one place to another.  The primary theme is disruption, and disruption on a massive scale, much like the introduction of electricity will take place.  Let’s look at a few of these, and I’ll add a couple of my own, then we can open up to some discussion.

The scope of the paper is admittedly narrow, that is the effect of 3d printing on the logistics industry.  That is a good place to start.  A trip to Wal*Mart, Target or The Dollar Store reveals to us a massive quantity of relatively cheap goods.  Everything comes from somewhere.  In many cases the somewhere is China, Singapore or other countries where labor is cheap.  When we have the ability to print our silverware, plates, pots, pans, and other common items, this chain is disrupted.  People are out of work and there is a resulting social instability.  Later, as the cost of 3d printing drops to that of a toaster or other small appliance then everyone will  have access and other sets of disruption ensue, much like what we see in global energy markets today as much of the world industrializes, as the US and Western Europe did in the 19th Century.

Everyone Has Access

When 3d printing becomes common, within 5 - 10 years we will see a massive reduction in the amount of manufactured goods moving around the world.  The value essentially shifts to two commodities:  a)  Information, that is the software used in the design of 3d objects: and, b) raw and processed materials, whose properties determine what can and cannot be printed, and their characteristics.  Where it comes to ease of use, etc. we’ll skip by those topics as they are more or less tangential to the scope of this work.

The major effect is that manufacturing moves from mass facilities to more localized venues.  A couple of examples would be that of ordering a part for your car or motorbike.  Typically a specialty shop, such as an auto parts store or a mechanic has to keep a limited supply on hand.  Otherwise their inventory would be full of parts that won’t sell for a very long time.  In addition, many nations, states and localities impose inventory taxes.  How do you tax something that doesn’t exist until the time of sale?  An entire class of taxation may be rendered obsolete.  In addition, these items are also manufactured where labor is cheap and they must arrive here by some means.  The practical effect (and the chief concern of the document) is what happens to that supply chain?  Long answer short, a lot of it goes bye bye.  The more localized fabrication becomes the less need for large fleets of ships and trains to deliver finished goods.  Offsetting that, however may be the larger need for raw and processed materials to supply printers with proper stock to create objects.

In addition, this also means that the home becomes a major manufacturing center.  Instead of going out to the store and buying a new set of dinnerware or clothing, etc. you browse an online catalog that not only can give you a design for a pair of jeans or a dress, but also determine if you have the proper materials in your stock.  Major expenditures move to making sure that the proper materials are handy for making things.

This is just some of the practical scenarios as to how 3d printing can affect our daily lives, but what about the social aspect?  The first thing that strikes me is that it is a distinct pullpack from interrelated economies.  The main purpose of the supply chain becomes the delivery of raw materials, so those countries who have the best supplies and processing capabilities are the winners.  However, what happens when you can download a design for an iPad or a remote control for your TV?  What happens when you no longer have to go to the market or store to pick up something?  The minor social interactions we have during the day, cumulatively have great effects.  This is one area where the possibility of unforeseen consequences loom large.

It seems therefore that the effect of this change, combined with many others coming down the road is to alter our perception of the world, make it much more isolated, an odd effect, considering that the trend over the last 500 years has been to shrink the size of the world and bring us together.  On the upside, we may see much stronger local communities because currency transactions become much more localized, based on the local manufacture of specialty parts for automobiles, appliances, etc.

The Environment & Illusion

Oddly enough, one of the major casualties may be the environment.  With the ability to make just about anything at our fingertips, in most people the desire to acquire runs wild.  One thing easily foreseeable is the open-source movement in people designing and creating free designs of goods for all.  It's much like this site where, due to the efforts of a number of people a great number of documents are available for free to anyone who wants them, without restriction.  There is no incentive, other than time and resources to stop anyone from grabbing everything.  Now expand this free-lunch mentality to several billion people and millions of designs freely available, then keep in mind that since everyone can make what they want, when they want, it's kind of hard to sell it off at a yard sale.

This buffet mentality, of course has the side effect of enhancing a throw-away economy.  We don't like what we have and we see something else that we want, just print it.  The old stuff gets thrown away and now you have all of this waste someone has to deal with.  Perhaps this will spur a major business in recycling printed items, reclamation on steroids.  What is certain is that there will be a lot more stuff circulating through the ecosystem than in the past at a much faster pace.

The other part of this is that wants and desires move much closer to a state of instant gratification.  The brakes come completely off when it comes to the ability to satisfy a desire.  We want, we have, just that quick. As to the ultimate effect, will people just get tired of having stuff or will it be consumption goes wild?  One of the hallmarks of our efforts is to find some way to become more aware of the effects of our outer and inner worlds, the worlds of cause and effect.

More than anything this example of environmental impact demonstrates how a change of this nature can have effect on all of us.

Conclusion

As has been noted by Krishnamurti and other philosophers, everything exists only in relationship.  Disrupt the relationship and you redefine our perception.  Just as we do not think in many of the same ways as our medieval ancestors, that is we have a much more fact-driven view of the world and we are less prone to view ourselves as victims of a vengeful god or inscrutable universe, further changes will change our views even more drastically.  The key idea here, again is that anything that changes how we think, act or believe changes our relationship with everything else.

What I ask of you is to transform yourself into a science-fiction writer for a short time and use your imagination to look at the possibilities, both good and bad and to see how our perceptions may change.  Of course, you can do this with the past, too, as is the usual course of thought in dealing with occult/mystical matters.  In using our creative imagination perhaps we can visualize and actualize a world where the effects of this and other seemingly magical technologies are brought in line with our better lights.  After all, consciousness is primary.  Imagination and will shapes the world.  Who does the shaping?

With all that being said, what do you think?