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Technopoly Alert
How technology contributes to technopoly. A blog of warning and explanation. Acknowledging and honoring the pioneering work of Neil Postman.
Monday, February 14, 2022
Friday, April 9, 2021
A Look at the Future: The Aliens Are Us
Swiftly --
The future is beginning to come into better focus with an article in the latest Astronomy magazine.
Researchers are working diligently to solve technical issues with a proposed mini-spacecratf, dubbed StarChip, which will be sent on its way to the nearest star system by blasts of light from an array of lasers here on Earth. While this is still a proposal, recent very small spacecraft called Sprites have been sent into space and at least one Sprite was able to communicate back to earth.
This goes to show that mere mortals can be consumed by deeds of great evil and darkness, yet our better nature still triumphs in individuals of brains and braver character.
Friday, February 19, 2021
The Danger of Democracy
Neil Postman, in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, makes a good statement about the belief of the great figures of the legal profession -- men such as John Marshall, Joseph Story, and Daniel Webster -- who saw a danger in democracy, along with its virtues. Says Postman: "They believed that democracy, for all of its obvious virtues, posed the danger of releasing an undisciplined individualism."
Our task as citizens is to re-establish some form of reason as a foundation for our Republic. Certainly, unbridled passions are intolerable, though rigorously disciplined true passion can be a needed accompaniment to intellect.*
*See the list of Fifteen Opposites, broadside by Eli Siegel. Definition Press.
Photo; John Marshall, first Supreme Court Chief Justice
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Democracy "Zucked"
In every country with internet access, platforms have transformed society for the worse. We are running an uncontrolled evolutionary experiment, and the results so far are terrifying.
-- Roger McNamee
In his book "Zucked," Roger McNamee tells the tale of democracy under attack. He says, "In Myanmar, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the United States, your life might have been threatened." He is referring, of course, to killings planned and co-ordinated over the Internet.
But there are more insidious effects, as well. Democracy itself is under attack in Turkey, the United States, and to some extent in the United Kingdom, Germany, and certainly in Russia. There is more to this story than the Internet actors such as Facebook and Google to which McNamee refers, and he is aware of this. Yet he is also right in describing a vast social experiment. The Internet, says Roger McNamee needs to be reconstructed from the ground up in order to preserve democracy. Bold statement, indeed. Yet true?
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Our Shift from Products of Value to Making Buyers Feel Valued
What the advertiser needs to know is not what is right about the product but what is wrong about the buyer. And so the balance of business expenditures shifts from product research to market research, which means orienting business away from making products of value and toward making consumers feel valuable. The business of business becomes pseudo-therapy; the consumer, a patient reassured by psychodramas.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Twitter Has Announced a New Policy Regarding Abusive and Harassing Speech
Presidential "Twits" Included
New Twitter (R) Policy Addresses Hate Speech, Other Abuse
N. B. I have always felt that a TWITter post should be called a TWIT. Here's hoping you the reader don't mind a certain sense of humor on this.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Computer Companies Engaging in Addictive Design Methods
[Children] have 10 times the amount of screen time they did in 2011....
According to this article at Vox, designers in the computer and technology fields are working assiduously to create products which encourage repeat, even addictive, behaviors. Psychologists and other childhood experts are increasingly concerned about this activity on the part of computer professionals.
I very much share the concern. Read more at the link below.
Psychologists Concerned About Addictive Behaviors Regarding Technology
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
The Dangers of the New Cellular Network
The article was in The New York Times of February 21, and dealt with the Chinese Huawei company. This company, it seems, would like to build a 5G network in the United States.
For those who do not know, 5G is the planned next-generation network of the cell phone system. This will allow all kinds of devices to be connected to the network. But whether such a network is truly needed is open to some debate.
In coming days, I plan to write more about the 5G network as it portends a further escalation of our Internet-dominated business life. What is being lost in the debate is the voice of the average American. Like so many new technological developments of the past, the average citizen -- not having the scientific background to make his own judgments -- is at a distinct disadvantage to control his own future.
Please stay tuned for more.
Photo Credit: TechSavvy. com
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Scientism vs. Realism
This has implications, you see, for our society in important ways. For instance, human motion science attempts to increase productivity by controlling human movements.
It makes for fascinating reading -- and useful reading.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Potentially Dangerous New Technologies on the Horizon
Google Insinuates Itself Deep in Lives
Coming soon
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[Children] have 10 times the amount of screen time they did in 2011.... According to this article at Vox, designers in the computer an...
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News Quick Connection -- Presidential "Twits" Included New Twitter (R) Policy Addresses Hate Speech, Other Abuse N. B. ...
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Coming soon