The Dictator observations thread.

Politics and other such topical creams.
Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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revbob wrote:
09 May 2023, 6:51am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
09 May 2023, 6:48am
revbob wrote:
09 May 2023, 6:46am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
09 May 2023, 6:26am
Flex wrote:
08 May 2023, 10:01pm


I think there's something here rooted in America's puritan origins. Our instinct is to cast all punishment through the lens of the punishments we deserve. Besides being quite ready to condemn certain people, I think there's a basic assumption that we, by virtue of being born into sin, deserve our punishments.
Or/and perhaps it's more Enlightenment oriented, with the idea of people as autonomous beings who, Newtonian like, engage in cause-and-effect behaviours. Life isn't random, we make choices and earn the result.
And people who are rich are being rewarded and deserve that wealth.
They have a lot of gumption and stick-to-it-iveness and are willing to put in the long hours!
And probably pulled themselves up by their own boot straps being the self made people that they are.
That's why we shouldn't tax the rich. We're lucky we have people like that helping us. We shouldn't punish that!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Flex »

I've been staying with my father in law in the bay area and he's always been fairly paranoid about getting robbed (he does have an unfortunate, fairly statistically improbable, history of getting robbed in every house he's lived in and had his car broken into all his security precautions, so it's not exactly an inexplicable fear) but with all the crime coverage of San Francisco he has become almost paralyzed with fear of crime. It's actually a little sad to see. He's just being fed total nonsense. From what I can tell from area crime stats, where he lives is "safer" than where I live in Colorado - which is an extremely safe neighborhood (I have neighbors who also complain about perceived crime in our neighborhood and I think they're deranged) and he was just yesterday extolling the virtues of how much safer it is where I live than where he lives. I wasn't about to try to persuade him otherwise, but it's really striking how much the perception of safety is based entirely on vibes and almost nothing to do with, like, crime statistics or anything.

The San Francisco Chronicle has done pretty good analysis that crime in the bay area is following a pretty steady decades long decline and is only "up" over the last couple of years because their was a precipitous drop in all crime during covid lockdowns (iirc, rape and violent crime - against women, particularly - HAS had a small increase vs the trend, which is alarming, but also as far as I can tell almost totally absent as a concern from the broader discussions of crime in the area). I'm just a visitor to the area so I'm happy to stand corrected if I'm missing something, but by pretty much every measure the bay area is actually safer than when I last visited in 2019 but people seem to be having a collective meltdown about how unsafe the area has gotten.
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Flex wrote:
13 May 2023, 9:43am
I've been staying with my father in law in the bay area and he's always been fairly paranoid about getting robbed (he does have an unfortunate, fairly statistically improbable, history of getting robbed in every house he's lived in and had his car broken into all his security precautions, so it's not exactly an inexplicable fear) but with all the crime coverage of San Francisco he has become almost paralyzed with fear of crime. It's actually a little sad to see. He's just being fed total nonsense. From what I can tell from area crime stats, where he lives is "safer" than where I live in Colorado - which is an extremely safe neighborhood (I have neighbors who also complain about perceived crime in our neighborhood and I think they're deranged) and he was just yesterday extolling the virtues of how much safer it is where I live than where he lives. I wasn't about to try to persuade him otherwise, but it's really striking how much the perception of safety is based entirely on vibes and almost nothing to do with, like, crime statistics or anything.

The San Francisco Chronicle has done pretty good analysis that crime in the bay area is following a pretty steady decades long decline and is only "up" over the last couple of years because their was a precipitous drop in all crime during covid lockdowns (iirc, rape and violent crime - against women, particularly - HAS had a small increase vs the trend, which is alarming, but also as far as I can tell almost totally absent as a concern from the broader discussions of crime in the area). I'm just a visitor to the area so I'm happy to stand corrected if I'm missing something, but by pretty much every measure the bay area is actually safer than when I last visited in 2019 but people seem to be having a collective meltdown about how unsafe the area has gotten.
When I was still seeing a therapist—I’m fixed! (actually, we agreed that I was basically at an impasse and more sessions weren’t likely to be productive)—which was at the start of the pandemic, we talked about how our instinct for self-preservation could be messed up by our capacity for reason. We tend to privilege information that relates to keep us alive. And living in an age of information bombardment properly assessing information is next to impossible. But we’re still skilled at taking in information, sorting it, making abstract connections, and making projections from there. So if you already have a stronger sense of self-preservation, you overly privilege all the information that confirms, yup, the danger is everywhere.

My therapist was (hilariously, really) someone who thought covid was mostly nonsense (this was in the first few months, mind you) and that we were letting our sense of self-preservation run amok, that we were taking all the information that said the plague was going to wipe us out and sent that to the front of the processing queue. And, hell, I know that I do it, too. I’m extremely wary of going to the US again because of all the gun violence. Statistically, I know that I’m quite safe, but my aversion to guns and violence overly privileges information about gun violence in the US so that I irrationally don’t want to travel there anymore.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 10:03am
When I was still seeing a therapist—I’m fixed! (actually, we agreed that I was basically at an impasse and more sessions weren’t likely to be productive)—which was at the start of the pandemic, we talked about how our instinct for self-preservation could be messed up by our capacity for reason. We tend to privilege information that relates to keep us alive. And living in an age of information bombardment properly assessing information is next to impossible. But we’re still skilled at taking in information, sorting it, making abstract connections, and making projections from there. So if you already have a stronger sense of self-preservation, you overly privilege all the information that confirms, yup, the danger is everywhere.
Yeah, I remember a convo recently between to political writers where one said they were worried that people are basically tuned out and don't know what's going on in the world, and the other said that their concern was something of the opposite: that our media environment has made it so people are hyper aware of every piece of "if it bleeds, it leads" type story out there in the country and it gives them completely outsized sense of danger about the world. In my youth, I'd have been closer to the first person but now I think the second issue is a real problem (not that it's actually an either/or, we're indundated with news about certain things and remain ignorant on other topics, but as a bit of rhetoric it was compelling).
My therapist was (hilariously, really) someone who thought covid was mostly nonsense (this was in the first few months, mind you) and that we were letting our sense of self-preservation run amok, that we were taking all the information that said the plague was going to wipe us out and sent that to the front of the processing queue. And, hell, I know that I do it, too. I’m extremely wary of going to the US again because of all the gun violence. Statistically, I know that I’m quite safe, but my aversion to guns and violence overly privileges information about gun violence in the US so that I irrationally don’t want to travel there anymore.
It's not your familiarity with IMCT's American posters that repels you? Curious.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Flex wrote:
13 May 2023, 10:38am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 10:03am
When I was still seeing a therapist—I’m fixed! (actually, we agreed that I was basically at an impasse and more sessions weren’t likely to be productive)—which was at the start of the pandemic, we talked about how our instinct for self-preservation could be messed up by our capacity for reason. We tend to privilege information that relates to keep us alive. And living in an age of information bombardment properly assessing information is next to impossible. But we’re still skilled at taking in information, sorting it, making abstract connections, and making projections from there. So if you already have a stronger sense of self-preservation, you overly privilege all the information that confirms, yup, the danger is everywhere.
Yeah, I remember a convo recently between to political writers where one said they were worried that people are basically tuned out and don't know what's going on in the world, and the other said that their concern was something of the opposite: that our media environment has made it so people are hyper aware of every piece of "if it bleeds, it leads" type story out there in the country and it gives them completely outsized sense of danger about the world. In my youth, I'd have been closer to the first person but now I think the second issue is a real problem (not that it's actually an either/or, we're indundated with news about certain things and remain ignorant on other topics, but as a bit of rhetoric it was compelling).
Add to that the abundant anecdotal evidence of people who step back from online life and report feeling calmer, more hopeful. It's not unreasonable to think that our brains aren't evolved enough to take in as much information as they're fed and still process it all properly. The other problem with our instantaneous and connected life is that we're expected to have and offer opinions immediately. No time for consideration and reflection. Which works to evade our reasoning skills in favour of our more instinctual parts, where immediate reaction can be the difference between life and death. Why are we turning over that part of ourselves that sees the world as one of peril?

(I've mentioned it before, but Joseph Heath's book Enlightenment 2.0 is a really good consideration of reason in a media-saturated world that favours gut thinking over reason.)
It's not your familiarity with IMCT's American posters that repels you? Curious.
There are can be multiple reasons for avoiding Seattle …
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Mimi »

Flex wrote:
13 May 2023, 10:38am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 10:03am
When I was still seeing a therapist—I’m fixed! (actually, we agreed that I was basically at an impasse and more sessions weren’t likely to be productive)—which was at the start of the pandemic, we talked about how our instinct for self-preservation could be messed up by our capacity for reason. We tend to privilege information that relates to keep us alive. And living in an age of information bombardment properly assessing information is next to impossible. But we’re still skilled at taking in information, sorting it, making abstract connections, and making projections from there. So if you already have a stronger sense of self-preservation, you overly privilege all the information that confirms, yup, the danger is everywhere.
Yeah, I remember a convo recently between to political writers where one said they were worried that people are basically tuned out and don't know what's going on in the world, and the other said that their concern was something of the opposite: that our media environment has made it so people are hyper aware of every piece of "if it bleeds, it leads" type story out there in the country and it gives them completely outsized sense of danger about the world. In my youth, I'd have been closer to the first person but now I think the second issue is a real problem (not that it's actually an either/or, we're indundated with news about certain things and remain ignorant on other topics, but as a bit of rhetoric it was compelling).
My therapist was (hilariously, really) someone who thought covid was mostly nonsense (this was in the first few months, mind you) and that we were letting our sense of self-preservation run amok, that we were taking all the information that said the plague was going to wipe us out and sent that to the front of the processing queue. And, hell, I know that I do it, too. I’m extremely wary of going to the US again because of all the gun violence. Statistically, I know that I’m quite safe, but my aversion to guns and violence overly privileges information about gun violence in the US so that I irrationally don’t want to travel there anymore.
It's not your familiarity with IMCT's American posters that repels you? Curious.
I'm in that camp. Social media also creates an unrealistic view of the world, and since a lot of people get their news from places like twitter or [insert social platform of choice] it's a perfect storm of gloom and doom.

Edit: I see that Doc said what I was trying to say.

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Doc...
Add to that the abundant anecdotal evidence of people who step back from online life and report feeling calmer, more hopeful. It's not unreasonable to think that our brains aren't evolved enough to take in as much information as they're fed and still process it all properly. The other problem with our instantaneous and connected life is that we're expected to have and offer opinions immediately. No time for consideration and reflection. Which works to evade our reasoning skills in favour of our more instinctual parts, where immediate reaction can be the difference between life and death. Why are we turning over that part of ourselves that sees the world as one of peril?

I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:12am
I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:33am
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:12am
I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
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Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

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Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:28pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:33am
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:12am
I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:47pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:28pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:33am
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:12am
I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
That sounds like it would be a fascinating read. Will see if I can find a copy. 😎
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Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:00pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:47pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:28pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:33am
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:12am
I know this will probably sound nuts but fuck it I'm nuts anyway. Regards all the information our brains need to process in this modern era and being able to cope with. Do you consider that perhaps this is what will cause us to evolve faster over time. So the more processing the brain does we will eventually be able to use more of the brain we can't yet access.

Humour me.
Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
That sounds like it would be a fascinating read. Will see if I can find a copy. 😎
Lasch is on the dense side in terms of prose—he was an academic historian, after all—but I like him more and more because he was a leftist who was curmudgeonly and turn most of his grouchiness on what the left had become since the 60s. For that reason he was often seen as a conservative, which isn't altogether fair. Which isn't to say I agree with what he argued, but, well, I tend to be some seen as curmudgeonly and much of the time my grouchiness is at the left (esp. the academic left and the online left).
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:25pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:00pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:47pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:28pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 11:33am


Well, yes, given enough time, that's how evolution works—those people whose ability to assimilate and take advantage of more information will be more likely to survive to pass on their genes to offspring. But we'd be talking about a fairly lengthy time frame for that genetic make-up to become dominant or common (hundreds, thousands of years). In the meantime, the destructive aspect of media saturation makes for an increasingly dangerous society. Maybe that speeds up the timeline some—more people dying before reproducing—maybe not, but in the here and now it's anxious.
Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
That sounds like it would be a fascinating read. Will see if I can find a copy. 😎
Lasch is on the dense side in terms of prose—he was an academic historian, after all—but I like him more and more because he was a leftist who was curmudgeonly and turn most of his grouchiness on what the left had become since the 60s. For that reason he was often seen as a conservative, which isn't altogether fair. Which isn't to say I agree with what he argued, but, well, I tend to be some seen as curmudgeonly and much of the time my grouchiness is at the left (esp. the academic left and the online left).
Found a site who has a PDF. So when I'm little less busy it will be on my list.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:59pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:25pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:00pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:47pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:28pm


Yep definitely. I grow concerned at the rate of information being thrown at us. With our brains simply not being able to advance quick enough. So maybe those who turn their back on the information highway etc have the right idea.
There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
That sounds like it would be a fascinating read. Will see if I can find a copy. 😎
Lasch is on the dense side in terms of prose—he was an academic historian, after all—but I like him more and more because he was a leftist who was curmudgeonly and turn most of his grouchiness on what the left had become since the 60s. For that reason he was often seen as a conservative, which isn't altogether fair. Which isn't to say I agree with what he argued, but, well, I tend to be some seen as curmudgeonly and much of the time my grouchiness is at the left (esp. the academic left and the online left).
Found a site who has a PDF. So when I'm little less busy it will be on my list.
You and James, reading the kinds of books grad students are forced to grind thru. Absolutely nuts.
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Marky Dread
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Re: The Dictator observations thread.

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 2:03pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:59pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:25pm
Marky Dread wrote:
13 May 2023, 1:00pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
13 May 2023, 12:47pm


There's a really provocative book that I should probably reread, Christopher Lasch's The True and Only Heaven, which explores intellectuals who opposed to idea of progress. That is, that our material condition must constantly improve, that we must develop and use new technology. The idea was multi-pronged, from it being unsustainable, that it alienated people from each other, that created greater social stratification. There were also the Luddites, who were, fundamentally, anti-industrialization radicals whose argument was that this technology was being embraced without any thought of the social consequences. It wasn't an anti-technology stance, as Luddism is popularly treated today, but of slowing down, adopting technology gradually to measure the social consequences before proceeding. It's akin to the common North American indigenous notion of making choices with the effects on those seven generations hence in mind. All those attitudes run contrary to our faith in technology and the urgency of the present—everything we do is because we must. It's an admission that we're not in control, that the idea is at the wheel and we're locked in the car.
That sounds like it would be a fascinating read. Will see if I can find a copy. 😎
Lasch is on the dense side in terms of prose—he was an academic historian, after all—but I like him more and more because he was a leftist who was curmudgeonly and turn most of his grouchiness on what the left had become since the 60s. For that reason he was often seen as a conservative, which isn't altogether fair. Which isn't to say I agree with what he argued, but, well, I tend to be some seen as curmudgeonly and much of the time my grouchiness is at the left (esp. the academic left and the online left).
Found a site who has a PDF. So when I'm little less busy it will be on my list.
You and James, reading the kinds of books grad students are forced to grind thru. Absolutely nuts.
I'm not in the same league as James. But there was once a time when I was voracious reader.
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