84 lines
5.0 KiB
HTML
84 lines
5.0 KiB
HTML
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<p>In light of the COVID-19 crisis and the rising trend of digital
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technological solutions to our social confinement efforts, I thought I
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would take the opportunity to go over the issue of what I call
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technological slave mentality. More than once my peers have referred to
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me as the <i>anti-computer computer engineer</i>, because whenever I
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have the choice I always opt for the most primitive solution; I have a
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brick phone, I detest <i>smart devices</i>, I prefer to write using pen
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& paper, I prefer to read paper books, I try to avoid <i>cloud</i>
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services, etc. But this is not so much out of a hatred for computers or
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digital technologies - otherwise why would I be writing this article
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from a computer to a website, or why would I study computer engineering?
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- but rather that I do not want to be a slave to my computer, and
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instead want my computer to be subservient to me.</p>
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<p>The technological slave mentality is such that rather than rightfully
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demanding that technology adapt to our needs, we take the docile option
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of adapting to the technology that we ourselves created. In other words,
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we submit to our creation rather than forcing our creation to submit to
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us. As such, rather than getting done what we want or need to get done,
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we can only get done that which our creation allows us to.</p>
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<p>This mentality is also a barbaric one in nature, as it contradicts
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with the mentality of self-sacrifice of civilization. A civilized man
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sacrifices short-term convenience and pleasure for long-term prosperity,
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looking not for immediate gain but towards the future. As such, the
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civilized man develops technologies, not as a short-term solution to his
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problems, but as a long-term foundation for future generations to build
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upon. The barbarian, however, lives like the animals, driven primarily
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by his instincts and temptations with no ability to sacrifice for a
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greater prosperity in the long-term. As such, the technology he develops
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is solely for short-term convenience, and future generations are left
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with no technological foundation upon which to continue building upon.
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When the barbarian is introduced to a new technology he uses it blindly,
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regardless of whether it is even applicable in his social context, or
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compatible with his culture and heritage. The former leads to
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prosperity, the latter to social disintegration and technological
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enslavement.</p>
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<p>We see examples of this barbaric mentality all too often in our
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modernist society, it's reflected everywhere under the guise of
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progress, or even pretending that it is liberating, when all it really
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does is enslave us to our temptations and short-term desires. Over and
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over again institutions are pressured to "modernize", to "get with the
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programme", "enter the 21st century", "become a part of the
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technological revolution", etc. This is especially the case in
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education, where despite the tried & true methods of teaching that
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have worked for hundreds of years, we now find it necessary to
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<i>update</i> these to adapt to our modern technologies. But nobody asks
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whether or not we truly need such a change in our institutions in the
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first place.</p>
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<p>This mentality is not only visible on a societal level, but also a
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personal level. When it comes to the use of digital technologies, people
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are quick to compromise with their devices, rather than demanding that
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the technology submit to them. Heck, this is something that the Free
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Software Movement has been protesting for years! When someone's
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operating system forces them to reboot the system because it says so,
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the correct is response is to ditch that operating system and publicly
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condemn the organization that implemented such a terrible characteristic
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into their program. But instead people become docile and accept that
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they are not in control of their very own property. And when said
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organization decides to force you to buy their newest products, the
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people who are being used by these technologies will follow like
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lemmings.</p>
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<p>Relating this all back to our current situation with the COVID-19
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crisis, it is evident that the use of digital technologies has become
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absolutely necessary as an extraordinary measure in order to keep
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certain institutions. However, what is problematic is that what should
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only be extraordinary measures, some are considering the possibility of
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making them permanent solutions. Somehow we are finding it prudent to
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replace our stable traditional technological foundation for society with
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a modern digital one that is unstable, experimental, defective, and
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overly complex. Not only this, but when the confinement is finally over,
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the prolonged use of these measures will only further deteriorate the
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social structure of our society, which has been suffering already from
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the promulgation of anti-social behaviour.</p>
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<p>As such, we must make it abundantly clear that the use of these
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extraordinary measures should remain extraordinary, and the moment we
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return to ordinary circumstances, ordinary measures should be
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restored.</p>
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