Saturday, October 04, 2014
"A flawless, perfectly, digital ethical society would be too well drawn, and would not be good for individuals. A little noise, not too much, is needed if there is to be creativity or individuality.
The very idea of "digital" fights that necessary noise. Recall that the motivation of the invention of the bit was to hide and contain the thermal, chaotic aspect of physical reality for a time in order to have a circumscribed, temporary, programmable nook within the larger theater. Outside of the conceit of the computer, reality cannot be fully known or programmed.
Poorly conceived digital systems can erase the numinous nuances that make us individuals. The all-or-nothing nature of the bit is reflected at all layers in a digital information system, just like the quantum nature of elementary particles is reflected in the uncertainty of complex systems in macro physical reality, like the weather. If we associate human identity with the digital reduction instead of reality at large, we will reduce ourselves.
The all-or-nothing conceit of the bit should not be amplified to become the social principle of the human world, even though that's the lazy thing to do from an engineering point of view. It's equally mistaken to build digital culture, which is gradually becoming all culture, on a foundation of anonymity or single-persona antiprivacy. Both are similar affronts to personhood."
Fragment taken from the book: "You Are Not A Gadget" by Jaron Lanier.
(Thoughts on personhood and digital culture)
The very idea of "digital" fights that necessary noise. Recall that the motivation of the invention of the bit was to hide and contain the thermal, chaotic aspect of physical reality for a time in order to have a circumscribed, temporary, programmable nook within the larger theater. Outside of the conceit of the computer, reality cannot be fully known or programmed.
Poorly conceived digital systems can erase the numinous nuances that make us individuals. The all-or-nothing nature of the bit is reflected at all layers in a digital information system, just like the quantum nature of elementary particles is reflected in the uncertainty of complex systems in macro physical reality, like the weather. If we associate human identity with the digital reduction instead of reality at large, we will reduce ourselves.
The all-or-nothing conceit of the bit should not be amplified to become the social principle of the human world, even though that's the lazy thing to do from an engineering point of view. It's equally mistaken to build digital culture, which is gradually becoming all culture, on a foundation of anonymity or single-persona antiprivacy. Both are similar affronts to personhood."
Fragment taken from the book: "You Are Not A Gadget" by Jaron Lanier.
(Thoughts on personhood and digital culture)
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