James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
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James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
1–10 of 46 posts
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#2"Seeing Like A State" is a superb book, but I'll always remember Scott for "The Art of Not Being Governed." I was a history major in college, and seeing history from the point of view of non-state peoples was revelatory for a young student. I greatly enjoyed it, truly one of those experiences in life where my mind was opened and expanded in a new direction. I'll forever remember him for that, and be grateful for his contribution to my way of viewing the world.
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#3Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#4I met him once but never took a class. I wish I had because I enjoyed listening to
him. Deeply knowledgeable and great intellect. We spoke mostly about the Making of the English Working Class by E. P. Thompson, which is worth reading by everyone in the US and UK (and elsewhere). The other great book by James C. Scott is Weapons of the Weak.
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#5Seeing like a state is a very though-provoking book which I thoroughly enjoyed. I should give it a re-read.
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#6The concepts in Seeing Like A State are very relevant to programmers and to anyone trying to “change the world” with technology. One of the main points is that for a state to manage many people it tends to use power (hard and soft) to homogenize the populace. My belief is that tech necessarily does the same thing. Everyone in your app has permissions defined by some enum, a limited number of actions available, content moderation machinery.
This has effects that are inescapable, especially in the fields of medicine, mental health, education, social engagement. Tech makes our levers to move the Earth more efficient, but at the cost of a lack of diversity of thought, lifestyle, and value.
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#7The concepts in Seeing Like A State are very relevant to programmers and to anyone trying to “change the world” with technology. One of the main points is that for a state to manage many people it tends to use power (hard and soft) to homogenize the populace. My belief is that tech necessarily does the same thing. Everyone in your app has permissions defined by some enum, a limited number of actions available, conten…
Diversity in [the featuresets of] software systems has led to reduced security. The only systems without the “rails” to keep the user on-track and out of danger zones are those that provide the user with the ability to program it themselves.
Must it be this way? Can we provide the complexity of flexibility while protecting our users’ finances and other important information? I don’t know if we can, but our track record isn’t good.
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#8"Seeing Like A State" is a superb book, but I'll always remember Scott for "The Art of Not Being Governed." I was a history major in college, and seeing history from the point of view of non-state peoples was revelatory for a young student. I greatly enjoyed it, truly one of those experiences in life where my mind was opened and expanded in a new direction. I'll forever remember him for that, and be grateful for his…
+1. I had simply never considered that one reason to not be a user of the dominant technology (writing, agriculture) was that adopting would mean losing control over one’s group’s destiny.
Gives you a different lens on enterprise software adoption and implementation!
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#9Two Cheers For Anarchism was a book that challenged my priors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Cheers_for_Anarchism
I'm not an anarchist, but it's a wonderful read and includes a quote that has shaped my life ever since:
> “One need not have an actual conspiracy to achieve the practical effects of a conspiracy. More regimes have been brought, piecemeal, to their knees by what was once called ‘Irish Democracy,’ the silent, dogged resistance, withdrawal and truculence of millions of ordinary people, than by revolutionary vanguards or rioting mobs.”
Re: James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State, has died
#10The concepts in Seeing Like A State are very relevant to programmers and to anyone trying to “change the world” with technology. One of the main points is that for a state to manage many people it tends to use power (hard and soft) to homogenize the populace. My belief is that tech necessarily does the same thing. Everyone in your app has permissions defined by some enum, a limited number of actions available, conten…
Diversity in [the featuresets of] software systems has led to reduced security. The only systems without the “rails” to keep the user on-track and out of danger zones are those that provide the user with the ability to program it themselves. Must it be this way? Can we provide the complexity of flexibility while protecting our users’ finances and other important information? I don’t know if we can, but our track reco…
> Diversity in [the featuresets of] software systems has led to reduced security
citation needed.
one anecdote that comes to mind, the gnu build system had an odd assortment of machines. when they were hacked (very targeted attack) they only noticed because the malware crashed on a R6000 mips cpu or something.