Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Nov 26, 2021 11:26:49 GMT -8
I'm fast-forwarding through Netflix's The Social Dilemma. To me it's an almost contentless presentation. The thing you are supposed to be shocked about is: 1) Social media is designed to get you hooked; 2) Advertisers make money selling you stuff by advertising on social media. I hate to break it to today's Snowflakes, but they had advertising on The Milton Berle show too. And he (and others) certainly worked overtime so that you would "tune in next week." The presentation is a spattering of various flaky yutes from various companies who created Facebook, Twitter, etc. They all talk as if they are discovering something new, novel, and very dangerous. At the same time they are pontificating about the dangers of social media being able to change behavior or thinking, you can be sure that none of them would have an unkind word to say about the liberal media who do the same thing. What you see is a bunch of idiots who purport to be "concerned" but who have already vastly profited from the work they did in these various social media companies. And they are now shocked, shocked that people are addicted to what they have created. And none of them (that I've seen) say a thing about the idea of free will, of our ability to just turn it off. I really don't give a tinker's dam if Facebook works 24/7 to make their social media software as addictive as possible. All of this stuff is remarkably easy to just turn off and yet (from what I've seen), the idea of just canceling social media by ignoring it doesn't seem to occur to any of these Einsteins. It's the blind leading the blind. No, this Netflix documentary didn't mean to portray it this way. But that's what you see. There is zero questioning of the idea that people have no free will or can make their own choices. And (as you knew I would say) this is mostly a chick phenomenon anyway. Interesting (and horrifying) data on how teen female suicides skyrocketed after the wide access to social media, especially beginning in middle school. These guys are all assholes pretending to care. But not one of them (that I've seen) can seem to call a spade a spade: Companies selling advertising and creating programming that hopes to bring you back time and again is nothing new. If addiction is the problem, simply urge people to turn this junk off. Full stop. |
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 12,261
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Post by Brad Nelson on Nov 26, 2021 20:42:18 GMT -8
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 12,261
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 12, 2021 15:45:03 GMT -8
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 13, 2021 8:41:33 GMT -8
This is the money quote from the above link:
Yours truly had a rare brilliant moment when a couple years ago he labeled this phenomenon “competitive happiness.”
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 16, 2021 14:54:27 GMT -8
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 19, 2021 16:45:13 GMT -8
It was sunny and 45 today. The trails were crowded. Higher up Green Mountain, there was a few inches of snow on the ground. Temperatures there were in the high 30's. But this goes in the "social media" thread because of the yute I met on a remote side trail. It's the trail I always start on because it offers a glorious view of the Olympic Mountains. But I almost never see anyone on this trail. And in the sharp winter air, those snow-covered mountains were crisp and clear, as if you could touch them. He had a small camp set up: his backpack and a portable wood burning grill (a BioLite...with a grill attachment that his wife bought him)...and a couple vacuum-packed steaks sitting on the side. He swears by the stove, by the way. And it did look pretty nifty. He's about 25. Married. 3-month old kid. And he told me (if only because of the every-rainy fall weather...plus the kid) that he can't get out much. So when the wife said he could have the day off, did he seclude himself in the basement and play World of Warcraft all day? No, he headed for the chilly hills with a camp stove and a couple of steaks. Let's just say "not a girly-man". I talked with him for a couple minutes on the way up. He was still there on my way back and I stopped and talked about 30 minutes about this and that and the very strange times we live in. Anyway, we got onto the subject of social media. He's not on Facebook. I'm not on Facebook. But his wife does Instagram and so he sees it from time to time. He was saying how people try to present a false front of their lives (something I call "competitive happiness"). He told me about this one couple he knows who took a warm-fuzzy family Christmas photo that was posted on Instagram. But he told me for a fact that he knows this couple does little more than argue. When he's with the husband there's usually talk of "that bitch" and etc. I laughed. That's such a great example of competitive happiness. Not that people should present the worst sides of their lives. But I think the cat is out of the bag on this. This is really screwing people up because they get into the habit of basically lying about their lives in a mad competition with others who are also lying. |
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 19, 2021 21:09:39 GMT -8
Here's the larger FirePit+ It doesn’t appear to have a charger function. The battery would seem to be to run the fan to somehow make this a smokeless BBQ. |
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 19, 2021 21:31:15 GMT -8
You make a great point. The yute that I talked to said something like this too. He said it used to be that if a woman went out in public, she would have to dress up (at least minimally). Now he said you have people wearing complete slobwear behind the anonymity of the computer.
The premise I have for the internet sites I put together is odd, unusual, strange, non-standard, and perhaps offensive to some: I want someone to speak the truth. Whether their facts or opinions are good or inaccurate is somewhat beside the point. I prefer an honest opinion.
But what is 95% of life out there? It is bullshit. It is ego. It is people selling something (if only a ginned-up image of themselves). I want to go somewhere where I don't have to wade through three layers of baloney to get at or to a point.
So, yeah, there's an aspect of just speaking plain (and not wrapping things up in layers of baloney, salesmanship, or delusion) that could readily be perceived as being obnoxious. And although a certain amount of decorum is desired, I'll take plain-talking over decorum any day of the week. I don't like wasting my time on flattering egos, etc.
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Post by artraveler on Dec 20, 2021 7:03:15 GMT -8
In this old days, when people actually interacted physically with each other, such a facade could only work so far Until the 1970s dressing for public was expected. Men and women wore business wear for many things travel, shopping even housework. The 60s and 70s changed that, casual became the order of the day. I am not critiquing the idea, as I have aged comfort is more important than social graces, although my wife has forbidden me to wear my most comfortable jeans, with patches when we go out. There are a lot of reasons for the casual look. Comfort is the main one for me, but also policy interfered with hoe people dressed. Getting on an airplane you might as well just wear a bathrobe and slippers to go through TSA checks. I suppose underwear is optional. I think casual has reduced our civility there is a level of expectations when conversing with someone in T-shirt and shorts of business suit, male or female. |
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 20, 2021 7:53:27 GMT -8
Ditto on your honest appraisal of casual. I’m married to my jeans-and-sweatshirt. Dennis Prager stresses the importance of dressing up. He’s right, I’m wrong. That’s all there is to it.
There is little doubt that the Slobocracy has degraded everything it has touched. Still, I chafe at the Lance Arrmstrong-clad bike riders I see. Reducing wind resistance is hardly the issue on a casual ride. They look silly to me. Maybe I look like a slob to them.
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Post by artraveler on Dec 20, 2021 10:44:23 GMT -8
I chafe at the Lance Arrmstrong-clad bike riders I see. I live less than a mile from the university. It is not unusual to see students and faculty all done up in skin tight spandex, and air helmet going up and down the street. They are uniformly the most rude, scofflaws on the planet. The urge to just run them off the road is often hard to suppress as is the urge to ask them does that outfit make you a better person. The first I suppress the second often just gets a bewildered look from the spandex crowed as they run another red light. |
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 20, 2021 11:10:52 GMT -8
And I try of so very hard for whatever athleticism I can get. But it’s earned.
I can never make an exception for the slick suits unless someone actual is in training for a competition. But I can make an exception for the expensive wear if they are of the bright yellow variety — maybe just a jersey or something. It’s a good safety measure. But even so, I’ve seen plenty of people with the day-glo shirts who aren’t in the full ball-hugging Lance Armstrong slick suits.
Maybe there’s something wrong with us in that we’re no longer that concerned with impressing others. Comes with age and/or a settled marriage? Could be. Also, I think “fashion” (and all fashion-conscious stuff, Facebook and Instagram included) have been taken to such mad degree of excess that jeans-and-a-sweatshirt is like taking the red pill instead of the blue pill.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 20, 2021 11:13:54 GMT -8
This isn't the perfect analogy, but I think it captures the flavor:
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