Re: <nettime> web networks and the assault on our critical capacities

[morlockelloi@yahoo.com]

We can add this (pretty good) description of the dismal state of
affairs to the growing collection. The previous ones did not do us
much good, but one can always hope.

It seems that at the core of these issues are two very different time
constants.

One is very short, and describes the time between convenient/compliant
action and immediate gratification. Ease of login, ease of contact,
etc. We are talking seconds here. The other is very long, perhaps
on the order of a decade, and relates to the negative effects of
the pervasive communication monoculture: loss of individual power,
job prospects, cost of living, mating opportunities. It is safe to
say that most will never even perceive the existence of the latter
relationship, that these negative effects are even caused by something
they routinely do today (critical thinking will not be imposed on
anyone.)

Perhaps a possible way of dealing with this is to shorten the second
constant. Instead of begging governments and corporations not to
do whatever, the right course of action might be to help them and
democratize the abuse, speed it up, make available to everyone, and
make the effects obvious. In a way this is already happening by
publishing concentrated data caches, but we need much more.



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