--- The Fool <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Fight The Future: Encrypted Screws > > Imagine a world where you cannot take apart > anything, or attempting to > take apart devices, open computer cases, install 3rd > party replacement > parts or modifying an existing device was completely > banned by greedy > corporations through technology.
I do not disagree with the fear expressed here. Certainly there are elites -- governmental, corporate, aristocratic, criminal, technological and so on -- who will want to accumulate control over our lives in the manner described. But as a contrarian it is my job to ask people to step back. In this case, The Fool needs to ponder whether his reaction to centralized control is unique. Or whether, in fact, the future he describes will creep out other people, too. Enough to ... maybe... reject the future he describes? We are all tempted to portray ourselves as just about the only people who can see nefarious plots by conspiring elites. But in fact, this is EXACTLY the theme that pervades nearly every movie and song. It is THE primary propaganda message of our era. Now, undercircumstances like that, how likely is it that people will put up with the "We control your television set" parts of TF's scenario? It is the OTHER part that frightens me... a deterioration in skill. See http://www.futurist.com/portal/future_trends/david_brin_empowerment.htm where I talk about the need for average citizens to take MORE power over their lives, not from nefarious conspiring elites, but just from the trend toward the PROFESIONALIZATION OF EVERYTHING. This may be undermined by a demolition of needed skills. My biggest example is the silent, unnoticed vanishing of any programming language from personal computers. I swear, I CANNOT GET A MACHINE WITH SIMPLE BASIC IN ORDER TO TEACH IT TO MY SON! It has taken 2 years, and I hope to get an old pentium machine soon with DOS 6.2 and BASIC aboard, so I can teach him the fundamentals of moving a dot via a simple algorithm. Silently, unnoticed, this has happened and a new generation will be able to make web pages and fancy Flash digitals... but without any grasp of the line coding underneath. Very disturbing. db PS.... I still have thos MEMBERSHIPS TO WORLDCON IN BOSTON for sale, if anyone is interested. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
