I've been thinking a lot about the circular nature of how humans consume and create new-but-old gaps for "innovation" to emerge. The example I'm thinking about here is how we moved away from cable packages to individual streaming services as a way to save money, leave ads behind, and control our viewing preferences more only to encounter same problems years later: price increases, pay more to remove ads, and, especially, BUNDLED STREAMING SERVICES! We almost spend the same amount as we did before on cable (albeit, it is our choice how many services to subscribe to).
The narcissism of social media algorithms is a great point. While they do a nice job of introducing some new things occasionally, it becomes obvious when you hit the point of algorithm desperation when the same type of video/sound/idea shows up over and over again to keep you on the app and engaged. It becomes a self-fulfilling circle as we keep liking the videos.
At one point, this felt freeing, I think. No longer were we at the whims of the Elite Publishers, Editors, and Media companies deciding what we should consume, learn, and see; we had the power for ourselves to seek out the "alternative" angles to the world. And while this is important, the darker side is just us liking and sharing the video and perspective over and over to the point where we just reinforce ourselves instead of challenging ourselves.
Phew. Good stuff!
(Also, love you have been able to move to a dumbphone. I've been toying with the idea, but there a few things in my life that for some ridiculous reason require an app to function properly, so I need more reflection and adjustment before I can commit.)
The old cliché of "two steps forward, one step back" certainly seems to retain its truth when it comes to the onward march of history. I think of it as a kind of winnowing process: we iterate and develop, and in the process shed old ways of thinking and doing, and inevitably discover that some of those things we cast off weren't optional add-ons but necessary features. The main lesson I've drawn from witnessing this several times in my own life, and reading about how often it's happened in the past, is to be slow in abandoning the old and cautious in adopting the new. I guess that makes another cliché true (in my case, anyway) — you do get a little more conservative as you grow older.
This balance between polarities is also evident in what you say about our emancipation from cultural diets determined by corporations and the dark side of everything everywhere being offered to us all at once. There are some upsides to tech that I'm no longer able to access given my dumbphone; but I also no longer suffer the downsides to that tech. It comes down to how you determine each variable in the equation for your own life.
Another great essay and source for reflection as I sit here trying to force myself away from the screen and listen to an old record ("Blue Kentucky Girl" by Emmylou Harris), but justifying my being on the screen because it is how I write, and I should also be editing a piece.
Have you experimented with digital typewriters or notepads that you can disconnect from the internet but still use to write and upload your drafts? I've been curious about these for years but haven't made the leap.
Thanks, Brian. I hope you managed to get some time away from the screen and with your record instead!
I've considered those high-tech notepads and digital typewriters, but ultimately they felt like cognitive training wheels: they'll keep your attention stable, but only so long as they're in use; you don't actually train the mind to "stay upright" on its own.
That said, they can be useful when life is really trying to throw your mind off course. When that happens, I go for an old-school yellow legal pad and a pen. No need to spend big bucks when traditional low-tech works just fine.
I've been thinking a lot about the circular nature of how humans consume and create new-but-old gaps for "innovation" to emerge. The example I'm thinking about here is how we moved away from cable packages to individual streaming services as a way to save money, leave ads behind, and control our viewing preferences more only to encounter same problems years later: price increases, pay more to remove ads, and, especially, BUNDLED STREAMING SERVICES! We almost spend the same amount as we did before on cable (albeit, it is our choice how many services to subscribe to).
The narcissism of social media algorithms is a great point. While they do a nice job of introducing some new things occasionally, it becomes obvious when you hit the point of algorithm desperation when the same type of video/sound/idea shows up over and over again to keep you on the app and engaged. It becomes a self-fulfilling circle as we keep liking the videos.
At one point, this felt freeing, I think. No longer were we at the whims of the Elite Publishers, Editors, and Media companies deciding what we should consume, learn, and see; we had the power for ourselves to seek out the "alternative" angles to the world. And while this is important, the darker side is just us liking and sharing the video and perspective over and over to the point where we just reinforce ourselves instead of challenging ourselves.
Phew. Good stuff!
(Also, love you have been able to move to a dumbphone. I've been toying with the idea, but there a few things in my life that for some ridiculous reason require an app to function properly, so I need more reflection and adjustment before I can commit.)
The old cliché of "two steps forward, one step back" certainly seems to retain its truth when it comes to the onward march of history. I think of it as a kind of winnowing process: we iterate and develop, and in the process shed old ways of thinking and doing, and inevitably discover that some of those things we cast off weren't optional add-ons but necessary features. The main lesson I've drawn from witnessing this several times in my own life, and reading about how often it's happened in the past, is to be slow in abandoning the old and cautious in adopting the new. I guess that makes another cliché true (in my case, anyway) — you do get a little more conservative as you grow older.
This balance between polarities is also evident in what you say about our emancipation from cultural diets determined by corporations and the dark side of everything everywhere being offered to us all at once. There are some upsides to tech that I'm no longer able to access given my dumbphone; but I also no longer suffer the downsides to that tech. It comes down to how you determine each variable in the equation for your own life.
Thanks so much for reading, and for engaging!
Another great essay and source for reflection as I sit here trying to force myself away from the screen and listen to an old record ("Blue Kentucky Girl" by Emmylou Harris), but justifying my being on the screen because it is how I write, and I should also be editing a piece.
Have you experimented with digital typewriters or notepads that you can disconnect from the internet but still use to write and upload your drafts? I've been curious about these for years but haven't made the leap.
Thanks, Brian. I hope you managed to get some time away from the screen and with your record instead!
I've considered those high-tech notepads and digital typewriters, but ultimately they felt like cognitive training wheels: they'll keep your attention stable, but only so long as they're in use; you don't actually train the mind to "stay upright" on its own.
That said, they can be useful when life is really trying to throw your mind off course. When that happens, I go for an old-school yellow legal pad and a pen. No need to spend big bucks when traditional low-tech works just fine.