A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
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Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#2It was an interesting read anyways. The answer should be obvious...
"The very fact that his book exists, he wrote, is the equivalent of tossing his cards face down on the table: If society had in fact collapsed, there would be no books, self-published or not. “So let me just admit that I was wrong,” he wrote. “But ... not by much. And not totally.” "
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#3It was an interesting read anyways. The answer should be obvious... "The very fact that his book exists, he wrote, is the equivalent of tossing his cards face down on the table: If society had in fact collapsed, there would be no books, self-published or not. “So let me just admit that I was wrong,” he wrote. “But ... not by much. And not totally.” "
That's such a silly way of measuring the answer. Books existed in the Middle Ages (e.g. Dark Ages, yes people will say we don't call it that anymore but still). Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books.
They should have a measure by which to mark this bet's conclusion. Arguments can be made for both sides.
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#4It was an interesting read anyways. The answer should be obvious... "The very fact that his book exists, he wrote, is the equivalent of tossing his cards face down on the table: If society had in fact collapsed, there would be no books, self-published or not. “So let me just admit that I was wrong,” he wrote. “But ... not by much. And not totally.” "
...And not enough to cough up the thousand bucks, the welcher. :-D
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#5He may have lost his bet, but maybe he came close.
2020 was the closest I’ve come to feeling that society was collapsing.
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#6It was an interesting read anyways. The answer should be obvious... "The very fact that his book exists, he wrote, is the equivalent of tossing his cards face down on the table: If society had in fact collapsed, there would be no books, self-published or not. “So let me just admit that I was wrong,” he wrote. “But ... not by much. And not totally.” "
That's such a silly way of measuring the answer. Books existed in the Middle Ages (e.g. Dark Ages, yes people will say we don't call it that anymore but still). Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books. They should have a measure by which to mark this bet's conclusion. Arguments can be made for both sides.
>Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books.
There would not be a new book printed about this topic if society had regressed as you described.
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#7It was an interesting read anyways. The answer should be obvious... "The very fact that his book exists, he wrote, is the equivalent of tossing his cards face down on the table: If society had in fact collapsed, there would be no books, self-published or not. “So let me just admit that I was wrong,” he wrote. “But ... not by much. And not totally.” "
That's such a silly way of measuring the answer. Books existed in the Middle Ages (e.g. Dark Ages, yes people will say we don't call it that anymore but still). Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books. They should have a measure by which to mark this bet's conclusion. Arguments can be made for both sides.
> They should have a measure by which to mark this bet's conclusion. Arguments can be made for both sides.
They're not in the science game. They're in the selling content game. In that, all three (let's not forget the person writing the article) appear to have succeeded, gaining exposure (and payment for the article writer) thanks to the bet, regardless of rigor.
One could perhaps forsee more books and articles forthcoming as a result of this bet?
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's such a silly way of measuring the answer. Books existed in the Middle Ages (e.g. Dark Ages, yes people will say we don't call it that anymore but still). Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books. They should have a measure by which to mark this bet's conclusion. Arguments can be made for both sides.
>Tech could have regressed our society in manifold ways and destroyed and rotted away many many institutions and there would still be books. There would not be a new book printed about this topic if society had regressed as you described.
I'm pretty sure you could destroy a lot of the fabric of modern society and still have a publishing house and a printing company able to produce a few thousand copies of a book.
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#9He may have lost his bet, but maybe he came close. 2020 was the closest I’ve come to feeling that society was collapsing.
The bet was that it WOULDN'T be close. The fact that it is means he lost. Pay the man.
Re: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
#10It's definitely impacted some more than others. There's now an entire class of men who can no longer have romantic relationships because they've been cast out of the dating market as technology altered dating dynamics not in their favor. For these men, their world, their society is destroyed.