Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

m.nautil.us

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 523 posts

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#181

Post by snerbles »

anigbrowl wrote: post #169
snerbles wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has to be one of the most heavily-couched calls for Marxism I've seen all week. "Democratic deployment" will still suffer from well-applied demagoguery, the people themselves are still prone to manipulation - even when their choices are abstracted away in a command economy.

The foundation of Marxism is public ownership, not a centralized command economy. Other approaches exist, eg participatory economics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_economics

One can argue that public ownership necessitates central planning in practice.

My cursory searches have failed to find a sovereign state that has successfully implemented parecon. Feel free to cite a counterexample.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#182

Post by endgame »

senko wrote: post #128
tribune wrote: post #34

I've been coming to resent my smartphone more and more, essentially because of this. I recently quit using tobacco. I remembered all the warnings from my school health classes about how hard it was to quit once you start, how there's a physical dependence and all that. It was uncomfortable at times, and there were plenty of cravings to get over, but I was ultimately successful. I can compare this to the couple of tim…

Here's how I (try to) keep the Internet-based distractions to a minimum: * Uninstall twitter, facebook and other social apps from your phone; only use the computer (or other device that's not constantly in your pocket). * Even on your computer, log out of twitter, facebook and others. Only log in when you want to look into something (eg. check the social events, send a message), and use private/incognito mode for thi…

One thing that has helped me: beeminder (I don't work for them). I have a goal that tracks reddit(etc)-free days, of which I need to do several each week or they take some of my money. This has been pretty effective, in that I've been doing more than strictly required and coming back here to write this feels weird.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#184

Post by greymeister »

beaverkiwi wrote: post #170
tribune wrote: post #34

I've been coming to resent my smartphone more and more, essentially because of this. I recently quit using tobacco. I remembered all the warnings from my school health classes about how hard it was to quit once you start, how there's a physical dependence and all that. It was uncomfortable at times, and there were plenty of cravings to get over, but I was ultimately successful. I can compare this to the couple of tim…

Here's what i did (nuclear option): Ditch your sim card/mobile plan, get a voip number, phone only works on wifi like a home phone. When out and about you only have the media you pre-downloaded (podcasts, mp3s, audiobooks, offline maps) no more staring at the screen in public. Move all personal communication to email/signal, check it in the morning after your routine (exercise, meditation etc). Ditch instagram/twitte…

I switched back to an old Nokia, use Garmin for GPS and an old iPod touch for music. Limiting my usage on my home desktop sounds like a good next step, I like the idea of limiting Internet crawling as part of time management.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#185

Post by quickthrower2 »

Modern Media is definitely another addictive thing that one needs to manage.

As an older git, I try to remember what it was like in the 80's with no phone, no distractions. Even watching a movie is an event that needs planning in advance.

But how do I convey this to my kids, growing up with this?

The only way I can think is we do holidays where we go offline for the week, and maybe set an example at home by limiting the device usage.

I like the idea of a purpose-driven use of tech. You go on the computer and think 'I need to do a, b, c' then do it and turn it off. Usually Facebook won't be in that list. But it might be e.g. "I need to ask a question on this FB group, reply to a message ... then sign out immediately"

It is like have a list for the supermarket, which is trying to pedal sugary snacks to you as well as "special offers" that make you spend more money. The list (and going after a meal) is your defense against this.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#186

Post by [deleted] »

MarkPNeyer wrote: post #161
JepZ wrote: post #18

> Choice is such a messy thing to dive deep into, because then you realize that nobody knows what it means to choose. Actually, I think I do know what it means, but I have the feeling that many people do not like the idea, that their decisions are based on past experiences and that their free will is actually just the evaluation of their perceptions (of their truth) and therefore, it is nothing that comes from some s…

Choosing means: a) evaluating multiple possible outcomes b) selecting from those the outcome with the highest desired value c) taking the action with increases the likelihood of the desired outcome That's it, end of story. No "spiritual nonsense" necessary. This definition lines up with human intuition, and it also applies to determinstic things like machines. For example, Using this definition we can say things like…

[deleted]

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#187

Post by kunimu »

ucaetano wrote: post #162
wffurr wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they? European social democratic countries (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germnay), Britain (e.g. the NHS), Costa Rica, Mondragon Spain, etc. Lots of workers' blood was spilled to ensure the capitalist systems we see in the US and other countries, too. All sides in the history of politics and economic systems are bloody-handed monsters. It might, just might, be possible to learn from history and not repeat pr…

All of those have the same political and economic systems as the US. With minor customizations, but they're all capitalist democracies, with varying levels of government regulation and control. The world has never been in a better place, and has never improved as fast as in the last 60 years. If that's your argument to try something different, your argument doesn't make any sense. > It might, just might, be possible…

>Every single time, over dozens of times, it resulted in bloody dictatorships.

It is very much worth studying why this has happened and what kind of methods can be used to avert it. Not only is Marxism-Leninism not the only form of Socialist praxis (neither is Marxism the only Socialist theory for that matter), but it's unwise to dismiss "failures" for the reason that they were authoritarian. Allende, Sankara's Burkina Faso, the Paris Commune, revolutionary Catalonia, and most recently Rojava are examples of the Socialist project experiencing some faults but not nearly as uncharitably as you are painting them here.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#188

Post by graeme »

tammer wrote: post #131
senko wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's how I (try to) keep the Internet-based distractions to a minimum: * Uninstall twitter, facebook and other social apps from your phone; only use the computer (or other device that's not constantly in your pocket). * Even on your computer, log out of twitter, facebook and others. Only log in when you want to look into something (eg. check the social events, send a message), and use private/incognito mode for thi…

I follow a similar protocol & find it very helpful. The missing link for me was the events function of Facebook, which I find endlessly useful. Luckily FB now has a standalone app specifically for this, Facebook Local. Its no-nonsense, no ads, just relevant events. Plus, the feed it gives you actually ends!

Oh wow, dod not know about facebook local. Does it let you manage events you’ve been invited to, amd host events? I could avoid facebook entirely with that. Friend’s birthdays would be tye only thing i’d miss.

Re: Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will

#189

Post by anigbrowl »

ryandrake wrote: post #42

Ironically, the first thing you're greeted with on this site is an attention-grabbing ad, if you choose to browse without protection. If modern media a DoS attack, it's not very sophisticated since it can be easily avoided by non-participation. Install an Ad blocker. Browse the web in private mode. Turn off notifications. Treat everything you read with skepticism (assume it is trying to manipulate you). And never, ev…

First, there's a cost to gaining such technical knowledge, and many people are not literate enough to deploy all the technical measures you suggest.

Second, 'never ever interact with social media' is just a way of avoiding the problem. People like social media because we're social creatures and there's value in being able to communicate with other people of like mind. It can also be a trap if one only ever does so, but 'never use it' is just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Why shouldn't people be able to socialize in a virtual context without any sort of legal privacy protections or tools that allow them to selectively filter out commercial information?

You might as well advise people to avoid having their telephone calls monitored by never calling anyone. Well, sure, but that's an elaborate way of saying you don't know what to do about the problem other than avoid adopting useful technologies.

Post reply on HN