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How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

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Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#61

Post by rm_-rf_slash »

closed wrote: post #56
reasonattlm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lead hypothesis for Roman decline is disputed. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/04/lead-pipes-pollute... The demise of antibiotics is much overwrought. It won't happen, since researchers have basically solved the problem of cost-effectively finding an unlimited supply of new ones. https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26701 In general people like seeing doom everywhere. To the extent this motivates some of t…

> But it is very irritating when the doomsayers don't adjust their doomsaying based upon current scientific work. I love this line. It's like somebody just submitted doomsaying homework, and you are not taking issue with their premise per se, but taking off points for the sources they used.

Heh, yeah. It's like talking to climate "skeptics" - people who believe climate change is real but disagree on the level of human agency. You can show them graph after graph of greenhouse gas emissions being pumped into the atmosphere at alarming rates and they'll say "I'm not that alarmed, we don't know how much of an impact it will have." Meanwhile, coral reefs are bleaching, Florida is flooding, and we are experiencing record heatwaves AND snowfall. At the very least, it doesn't take much to make clear that we should still DO SOMETHING.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#63

Post by btbuildem »

Jtsummers wrote: post #4

Kind of interesting idea about how our tools (generic) present us with limited menus, and effectively restrict our options. Facebook has expanded (barely) the options for basic responses to posts (no longer just like, but also a handful of emoticons to express laughter, anger, sadness, etc.). Not as full an option as when using the comment box, but for quick responses it allows for greater expressiveness. At least pe…

This started with multiple-choice tests in schools, ages ago.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#64

Post by jff »

knowaveragejoe wrote: post #49

One nitpick: maybe it's just the grocery stores near me, but the Pharmacies are almost always located near the front right by where you walk in. Milk is often in the back however.

Mine has the pharmacy just inside the doors and a cooler right next to the checkout counters filled with milk. You do, however, have to walk past a big cooler full of delicious cheese and fresh sushi pretty much as soon as you enter the door :)

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#65

Post by s3arch »

swiley wrote: post #39
lars wrote: post #30

Wow, I'm glad this was posted. I think the way we use technology today will be looked back on the same way we look back at naive cigarette smoking in the 1950s. Modern app design isn't about creating things that are good for the user, but about creating want in the user. This is a problem. For example, there are several studies showing that using Facebook in general makes people less happy. User happiness just happen…

This is why I generally choose small open source Linux based tools over smartphone apps and the like. I just don't trust app and web developers because they have repeatedly worked against my interests.

Could you let us know which open source Linux based tools you use, and what mobile/web app you let go loose.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#66

Post by Mendenhall »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #23
bikamonki wrote: post #18

Does anyone else feel the slot machine effect here on HN is the karma displayed on the top-right? After a submission or comment, is that number the first thing you check when you come back to the site?

Only looking for a change - which means somebody may have replied, and I'll want to be polite and check that out. I don't remember anything but the last 2 digits short-term.

Pretty much this, I find some of the best internet conversations can be had on this website and there are very intelligent people here so I check a few times to see if someone responded more than for karma. I don't think my ideas fit into the mainstream too often so the karma doesn't do much for me lol I also drop accounts and start new ones.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#67

Post by amelius »

> That’s why I spent the last three years as Google’s Design Ethicist caring about how to design things in a way that defends a billion people’s minds from getting hijacked.

Every time I see the doodle, I have the feeling I'm being hijacked. After playing with the doodle I often forget what I came to Google for. Just saying.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#68

Post by cpt1138 »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #61
closed wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But it is very irritating when the doomsayers don't adjust their doomsaying based upon current scientific work. I love this line. It's like somebody just submitted doomsaying homework, and you are not taking issue with their premise per se, but taking off points for the sources they used.

Heh, yeah. It's like talking to climate "skeptics" - people who believe climate change is real but disagree on the level of human agency. You can show them graph after graph of greenhouse gas emissions being pumped into the atmosphere at alarming rates and they'll say "I'm not that alarmed, we don't know how much of an impact it will have." Meanwhile, coral reefs are bleaching, Florida is flooding, and we are experie…

But what? The problem with the constant doom is that we get exhausted. At least in the US all we truly care about is war and old people (looking at where the money goes; http://whatwepayfor.com/). The problem with the doom sayers is they have no solutions or actionable items that we can say yes or no to. Its just lions and tigers and bears 24/7.
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