Rethinking Technology
3.25.18
Hi Friend,
We’re faced with an interesting dilemma, as brands, technology, politics and culture are all smashing up against each other in fascinating ways — as the recent Facebook debacle highlights that more than most. Our desire for more personalization contrasts with a need for more privacy. We want to be recognized as individuals but balk when technology actually targets us with ads as such. We’re struggling to apply old methods and theories of politics to new dynamics shaped by technology. But perhaps what we need is not better regulation (though its a start), but rather a true paradigm shift that reorients the way we actually think about how all these areas interact, rather than whether they’re good or bad. Maybe it’s time to reeducate ourselves rather than simply trying to re-regulate ourselves.
So, here we go.
1. 12 Things Everyone Should Understand About Tech
This article from Anil Dash is so smart, so necessary, I think it should be required reading for anyone in the modern age. In it, he brings to light important aspects of tech like ethics, authorship, and history. An imporant essay to read if you want to understand why things like Cambridge Analytica are more complex than just saying #deleteFacebook and calling it a day.
Read It
2. No One Is Normal
So much of our world is considered in binaries. I’m certainly as guilty of it as anyone. It’s interesting to see science begin to grapple with what happens when we stop understanding the world in binaries and start understanding it as a series of complex entanglements. The study referenced in this article says what many of us have been told — no one is normal — but more importantly, the author, notes the “quantum approach” to the field of psychiatry: effectively, context matters. I’ve seen quantum approaches begin to be applied to economics, politics, and other fields. It’s a matter of time before it begins to seem further into the mainstream (arguably it has with new discussions of gender and sexuality). Either way — this article is a simple example of a complex topic that will no doubt influence the way we see the world as much as the binary world shaped our current one.
Read It
3. Netflix DVD
One of my 18 for 18 this year was to watch the original Star Wars movies. Since it’s hard to rent them over streaming, I ended up resorting to my DVD player. But in the process I made an unexpected rediscovery: slow content. Resubscribing to Netflix’s DVD service (DVD.com) has brought back so much that I didn’t realize I had lost in the shift to streaming: the anticipation of the envelope, the limitation of choice (good for me as I end up spending more time choosing than watching), and the intentional nature of putting in that DVD to watch a movie. It’s not that I’m giving up my streaming subscription, but for movies, right now, the DVD is the thing. It’s made movie watching fun again. All for $6/month.
