These guys clearly weren't around for the introduction of television. If ever there was a technology tailor-made to hijack our minds with, it was TV. It wasn't the end of the world.
'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
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Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#132You children are afraid of monsters. All the problems you describe are the ones of your own choice.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think I am observing it being destructive in a family setting. I fear for what this will bring in 20 years.
this is what they said about TVm rock and roll, comic books computer games etcetera etcetera going back to the dawn of time. As Socrates's says “The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” Not mention the shocking depravity of shaving and painting statues blue
Oh, that old chestnut. I bet that was also dragging that out when someone suggested x-ray machines in shoe shops might not be a great idea.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could you expand on what you feel the goal of their hacking was/is?
Competitive pressure. Gary Taubes in his books "The Case Against Sugar" and "Good Calories, Bad Calories" mentioned the competition between Kellogg's, Post and other cereal brands. While it's hard to believe today, Kellogg's was founded by a health nut who was eager on bringing healthy grains to Americans. Once his descendants took over, they noticed how enriching their product with sugar increased sales. Kids specif…
As a (currently) flagged comment absolutely accurately notes, a major concern of the Kelloggs was matters of mental and spiritual hygiene, including concerted efforts (including surgery) to avert masturbation.
Medical historian Howard Markel addresses this in his recent book The Kelloggs, with some relevant aspects mentioned in this book-tour interview at KALW, Santa Monica:
[Dr. John Haarvey Kellogg] also was very chaste and reminded both his readers and his followers that sex outside of the marriage, of course, was not a good idea, but [that] sex for anything other than procreation really sapped the soul and sapped the spirit. And of course, he was very much opposed to masturbation of any kind, something he wrote about extensively and called "the solitary vice."
http://kalw.org/post/how-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutio...
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#135This excellent article fails to mention artificial intelligence. Facebook has recruited one of the world’s top AI teams, led by Yann LeCun. Their work and Google's are the equivalent of tobacco companies engineering cigarettes to ensure that nicotine hits a smoker's brain more quickly. Facebook and other social networks are the cigarette companies of the mind. Cigarettes blackened our lungs with tar, and social media…
Articulating social media restraint as a health practice is a powerful idea. Family legend has it that my grandmother threw out her cigarettes and quit smoking the day she heard the Surgeon General's smoking warning on the radio in 1964. Having a scientifically backed recommendation for social media would provide a foundation for adults to make better decisions about their mental health.
Infinite Jest is worth the read, it's funny but potent stuff. I'm still struck by the way it depicts the ultimate futility of addiction/pleasure-as-a-goal through the impact of the "Entertainment".
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#136Does anyone see an analogy with highly processed, sugary foods? Highly addictive, thought to be miracles of convenience, but ultimately detrimental when consumed in excess, and now we are starting to realise that and demand better. I wonder if society will go through the same rejection phase with attention-seeking media consumption. Or maybe those who grow up with it will be better able to control themselves.
The one comment on the earlier thread[1] links to a compelling podcast[2] on the biology of social media addiction, and it's parallels with sugar.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#137This seems like a good excuse to plug Beeminder but I'll try to be at least slightly less self-promotional and point to our collection of all our competitors who offer commitment device apps of various kinds: http://blog.beeminder.com/competitors
We call this the granddaddy of first-world problems.
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#138These guys clearly weren't around for the introduction of television. If ever there was a technology tailor-made to hijack our minds with, it was TV. It wasn't the end of the world.
There’s a very solid argument for TV as stunting people’s development.
There’s lack of reading, albeit not necessarily due to television (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-dec...)
There’s a direct link between television and obesity (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/75/5/807)
And more general health dangers (http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/prolonged-tel...)
Etcetera
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#139This seems like a good excuse to plug Beeminder but I'll try to be at least slightly less self-promotional and point to our collection of all our competitors who offer commitment device apps of various kinds: http://blog.beeminder.com/competitors We call this the granddaddy of first-world problems.
looks like aherk on your list might be dead?
Re: 'Our minds can be hijacked': tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
#140I, ironically, ready this article from a post on twitter, and proceeded, after having read it, proceeded to retweet and post on FB!