Society is being virtualised in two different ways. Firstly, in the literal sense, as in how more and more of our experience is being digitised. The continuous is continuously being made discrete. What is digitised and discrete can be codified, flattened, and managed into "computer says no/go" rules which allow us to (at least pretend … Continue reading Virtualised and Discrete
Tag: liberty
The grand trilemma
Life is all about choices, and choices are all about trade offs. This little chart I made - which combines the logic of the Nolan Chart and the "political triangle" in a simplified way focused on the core trade-offs of the various political ideas - has helped me to think about some of the biggest … Continue reading The grand trilemma
Secrets and Lies
I don't know about you, but I cannot live without a few secrets. Without secrets, without a private inner life, we lose our individuality and our sense of self. Today though, we are bombarded with messages telling us that privacy is worth sacrificing for the greater good; for the good of community security, for the … Continue reading Secrets and Lies
Introducing “The Ethernet”
Trend analyst, Dion Chang of Flux Trends said that 2018 was the year of voice - the year that we reached "peak screen" and began to move from screen based internet to voice based internet. He was not wrong. Alexa, Siri and Google Home are now common place. Over 43 million US homes have access to … Continue reading Introducing “The Ethernet”
Procreative Freedom vs Genetic Inequality
“You can’t really put a lid on it, even if you wanted to” ~ Dr Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR researcher As always, the dichotomy between freedom and equality threatens to split humanity. This time though, I'm not talking about economic freedom vs economic equality; that good old battle between free market "monopoly capitalists" and their arch … Continue reading Procreative Freedom vs Genetic Inequality
The Great Trade-Off : Privacy vs Security
Life is full of trade-offs: Equality or liberty. Indulgence or longevity. Spending or saving. Privacy or security. The merging of big data, big business, and big governments has brought the privacy/security trade-off to the forefront of our daily lives. Businesses, consumers, governments, and citizens now have to make some tough choices: Do we microchip our … Continue reading The Great Trade-Off : Privacy vs Security
Big governments are bad – it’s just good maths
The UK has taken a lot of ridicule for Brexit. Sure, Brexit is still going to cause a lot of trouble, and a lot of expense to a lot of people. However, although I am not sure Brexit is a good idea now (the damage has already been done), the truth of the matter is, … Continue reading Big governments are bad – it’s just good maths
Equality or Liberty?
There comes a time every country, society and individual had to choose between Liberty and Equality; for the two are mutually exclusive. You cannot achieve equality without violating the liberty of others. Likewise the definition of liberty forces one to accept inequality. As for me, I choose freedom over fairness. I accept that I may … Continue reading Equality or Liberty?