Comment by matheusmoreira
11 hours ago
I understand that, I just don't like it.
Computers are world changing technology, magical runes we can bend to our will. I wanted people to care, to fully harness the power of these machines. But virtually nobody cares.
That wouldn't be a problem if this just came down to individual choice, but it doesn't. The fact they don't care has enormous impact on us who do care.
Because they don't care, we are a minority and therefore have no economic leverage. One day the big corporations will make computers that only they control. They will lock us all out. Nobody really cares, people will keep buying the locked down computers and will even defend it as a security feature as though the lockdown was for their own benefit. They could have been lords of their own digital domain, but it turns out they enjoy living as serfs in the digital fiefdoms of trillion dollar corporations.
We also can't have privacy and anonymity because of this. For anonymity to work, we need a massive anonymity set. We need lots of people using things like Tor, ideally most people if not all people. This is so that people can't tell us apart, but also so that they can't just blanket ban Tor traffic without serious economic consequences. But nobody cares, people are just fine with being spied on, so they don't use it and it weakens privacy for us who do care as well.
It's so sad, and I'm starting to actually blame these people for the sad state of things. I look at the trillionaire technocrats building this dystopian world and taking advantage of them, and I start to wonder if they were right to do so. People could have stopped this, if only they cared. They didn't... And therefore they deserve it.
How about this framing: no one person can care about everything but it's important that everyone care about something.
You pushing back on computing makes the digital world a little better for the Ikea designer who doesn't see the magic and just wants to make figure out if the pizza place is still open. In turn, that designer makes sure there's a decent baseline for the design of your home, even when you don't want to think about it. Together, you both make room for the urban planner or chef or nurse, even if you don't think much about transit or gastronomy or healthcare....
There is a mental load budget and when it runs out, people experience decision fatigue ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue ).
When that is exhausted, people are more likely to take the simple decisions without thought.
Not having to make those decisions is a privilege. Not having to worry about food prices is one such example. Not having to worry about the healthiness or preparation of the food is another.
For many people, they're fighting with the lowest levels of their needs ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs ) that the higher ones don't get much attention.
Even when one does have all the needs fulfilled and able to make decisions about things at the "self actualization - achieving potential and purpose" level, there are so many things out there that one can't make everything a personal utopia (even if they had all the resources to do so).
I'm ok with having an Ikea bed and shelving because I lack the skills and my financial priorities aren't in that direction to customize it myself. I'd love to have the perfect shelves for my game room... but Kallax is ok.
And while I've got the perfect computer setup for the things that I do... my kitchen is a mess that lets me cook the basic food things that I do. To a chef, my kitchen is dystopian. To a carpenter, my shelves are a corporate blandness. To me, their computers and digital workflows are poorly organized.
Not everyone has the capability to understand the nuances of digital security and make choices that improve (or at least don't make it worse) situation.
I can't care about all those things.
What can be done is try to contribute to a "raising tide that lifts all boats" and helps everyone more easily achieve their needs and allow others to be able to meet their potential so they can care about those things without being overwhelmed.
The minority of the population isn't "people who care about digital security" - it's "people who are able to act on realizing their potential." To say that the people who are still working on achieving their safety and physiological needs of housing and health and food and water don't "deserve it" because "if only they cared" are to blame for the world taking advantage of them and responsible for the sad state of things.
People need to be able to not worry about where their next meal comes from before they can be worried about using Tor for everything (or ensuring that people are eating healthy as a chef, or are living in houses that meet their needs as a carpenter).