Elon Musk, one of the most talked-about names in the world with regard to the age of electric cars and space, recently shared a cartoon on social media referring to the conquest of Istanbul – a caricature of a Byzantine soldier thinking “did I lock the gate?” while resting. It is possible to attribute many meanings to the cartoon in question with reference to global and regional developments. However, the messages Musk highlights in other posts he shares just a few hours after this cartoon show that the caricature of the guard has a completely different implied meaning than the current political, regional and global issues.
Undoubtedly, it is necessary to combine Musk's posts that follow this cartoon where he refers to a fantasy documentary-style comedy film that satirizes today's world and then subsequently criticizes married couples from well-educated parts of the country for not having children. His following post, “Is TikTok destroying civilization? Some people think so,” is undoubtedly linked to the above. The fact that he took these messages and social media shares to the next level by saying “not only TikTok, maybe all social media platforms in general,” and in doing so included Twitter where he recently made a big investment move, are messages that should be read carefully.
Musk's posts and following tweets convey three messages. The first has to do with the anxieties caused by an era leading to hyper-digitalization and a new space move. The metaphor of the Byzantine soldier thinking about the gate indicates that it is not possible to prevent the coming of a new age. Compared with the military wisdom, technological leap and logistical and tactical achievements in the conquest of Istanbul, the "open gate" reference is a very unnecessary detail indeed. Also, linking the transition to a new era that opens to hyper-digitalization and a new space move with absurd reasons by ignoring the wisdom, technology, innovation, R&D and science behind it is similarly an example of the abdication of reason.
Thus, the second message in Musk's posts is that humanity must rapidly pass into the “Age of Reason” but it is being dragged into intentional idiocrasy, a global abdication of reason led and caused by the global social media platforms in an environment of mental contamination, a bombardment of disinformation. For this reason, Musk also shares his interpretation of the fictional comedy film, which refers to the anxiety he feels about the abdication of reason faced by mankind today, it's almost like a documentary “reflecting today.”
Lastly, the third message is that it is pointless for human beings to try to prevent or avoid the great transformations and new eras that await civilization and waste time on superficial questions and superstitions, such as wondering whether the gate is open or not, or simplifying or explaining it with superficial approaches. Just as the success of the Ottoman conquest was a civilizational leap, hyper-digitalization and the new generation space race are precursors of a new civilizational leap. Turkey, with all its moves, will continue to be one of the important actors in this new civilizational leap.
