Category Archives: Long Reads
Google’s ban harms democracy, but is that democracy worth our dependency on information?
In a world filled with immense noise and distraction, what could be more harmful to political discourse than limiting what can be said and how? Twitter has banned political ads outright and now Google is cutting off all data targeting in its political advertising — a misguided move that will merely make all political advertising more expensive,…
Perpetual consciousness and how we abuse abstraction (Reflections on leaving Twitter)
Returning home in the 1920’s, Romano Guardini reflects on the paradigm shift afflicting the southern Italian countryside. He is saddened by new technologies and manufacturing growth which threaten to break his fellow countrymen who lack “the grim seriousness, violent power, and inner alertness to the monstrous that is demanded.” (What social platform does that sound…
Foreshadowing an internet health crisis
On Thursday, I will be in attendance as the White House gathers technologists at a social media summit to discuss the growing concern of major tech companies and their role in online bias. While I agree that prejudice against conservative outlets is occurring, I do not believe the crisis is a concerted or purposeful effort….
The Cam-Bridge to Nowhere
Rereading Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle The strangest thing about…Cambridge, Facebook, Donald Trump, the Russians, and all my friends who milked 2016 for everything it was worth…is that no one really did anything wrong — not from a technological standpoint, at least. And none of it is even new technology. And yet, everyone innately senses that something…
Does the internet make us better?
You’ve had the internet for 20 years now. Are you smarter? It’s a worthwhile question — given the huge increases in time spent online and the shrinking time spent doing literally anything else. Mobile usage has exploded, data is limitless, and technologies have disrupted many of the ‘old ways’ of doing business (i.e. Uber, Bitcoin) in exchange…
Silicon Valley’s Obsession with the Future Is Older Than You Think
In 996 AD, a Benedictine monk named Father Gerbert, who would later become Pope Sylvester II, created the first modern mechanical clock. It was a weight-driven device, likely powered by water. Sundials and water clocks were built in ancient Egypt, Asia, and Greece, but the technology had scattered after the fall of the Roman Empire. In Technics and Civilization…
The Telegraph Changed How You Spend Your Time
Technology was supposed to usher in an age of infinite connectivity and ever-deepening relationships. Sold on that promise, we’ve spent the past century accelerating toward instantaneous communication without any hesitation or discussion of its effects. The increasing volume of media and tools has absolutely increased opportunities for connectivity. There is no debate. But has the sea of noise…
You’re not distracted. You’re entertained.
Stop blaming the media, fake news, and click bait. Statement: The purpose of media is no longer to inform but rather to entertain for as long as possible. You find yourself at a confusing moment in history — with frightening events unfolding. Lots of bad information, lots of bad people, and lots of choices being…