finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
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@loriemerson indeed. I think I've come across this before but I had completely forgotten about these principles till your post showed up in my feed today. Thanks for reminding me that it exists!
@loriemerson oh yes! It's from the essay "Why I will not buy a computer". I thought so, but didn't mention it because I wasn't sure—I see now that @msbellows linked to it below.
I have a print version of that too btw. One that I can carry around and read ever when the grid is down
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finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
@loriemerson I feel like I read this back in the day in some Whole Earth thing or an issue of the Utne Reader, but had forgotten. Thank you, because it's even more timely now.
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@aakoskin @loriemerson hey, this reply sucks
@redoak It doesn't occur to you that the post directly conflicts with its own content, and the comment you responded to explains how. You just don't like it.
"This sucks" is not an argument or proposal. It's what little kids say about anything they don't like, because we excuse them from adult responsibilies such as accounting for themselves.
If you're not a little kid, you should understand why "I don't like thing" does not flatter you.
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how about never tell a media studies scholar how to represent a text
@inquiline How about get over yourself.
I come from a family of scientists and academics. Anyone with the attitude expressed in your comment worships the irory tower I grew up in. They should not. Academics are ordinary people who make ordinary mistakes that call for ordinary correction.
Images that are just text are fucking garbage, and deserve to be called out for it. Doesn't matter who posted it.
By the way, if you're going to talk like this, try writing like an educated grown-up.
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@lxskllr @nickrauchen @aakoskin I am having trouble wrapping my head why the format of my post is worth anyone commenting on - the text is in the image. it's not elegant but I wanted to give a screenshot of the exact text I was reading from Harper's. surely there are more important things to discuss here, and in general, than policing precisely how people post
@loriemerson Don't worry; you're not the only one here who's excessively full of themself.
Go touch grass.
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finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
@loriemerson I disagree only with °cheaper° clause. because if something is better and higher in tehnology, it just cannot be cheaper. and cheaper are usually poor quality things or things made by slaves that are underpaid.
but I would add a clause of longevity: a new instrument should run and work fine longer than previous one. -
"Never post an image/screenshot if you can type the same in plain text."
For a simple list like the above. I agree.
I suspect that there is a "plain text penalty" for words/ideas without imagery in social media, but I'm not up on the trends, rules, or research in that domain.
@nickrauchen @aakoskin@bitwoods.duckdns.org @loriemerson
The image being a picture from a book conveys additional information (that this quote comes from a book at least) and may give additional weight to the pure text.
If the text where a screenshot, or just in itself typed on a digital device, ok.
But then still, this discussion would be off topic and typical mastodon rudeness and derailment. -
@ZenHeathen @loriemerson You absolutely should. Here are a couple starting points:
Why I Will Not Buy a Computer (essay): berry-computer.pdf https://classes.matthewjbrown.net/teaching-files/philtech/berry-computer.pdf
The Blue Robe (poem): https://www.writersalmanac.org/index.html%3Fp=6383.html
Thanks for the links!
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@loriemerson I disagree only with °cheaper° clause. because if something is better and higher in tehnology, it just cannot be cheaper. and cheaper are usually poor quality things or things made by slaves that are underpaid.
but I would add a clause of longevity: a new instrument should run and work fine longer than previous one.remember moore's law? it had us all used to expecting cheaper tech as time went by, or far more powerful tech costing the same. that's the expectation encoded there, I believe.
CC: @loriemerson@post.lurk.org
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remember moore's law? it had us all used to expecting cheaper tech as time went by, or far more powerful tech costing the same. that's the expectation encoded there, I believe.
CC: @loriemerson@post.lurk.org@loriemerson @lxo it is not actual for many years already. the era of possible cheap development based on existing technologies is over and further envolvement takes serious scientific research and engineering efforts and investments.
that's why we don't see any improvements in hardware the past decades. they just faced the limits that are not passable with already exising solutions. -
@redoak It doesn't occur to you that the post directly conflicts with its own content, and the comment you responded to explains how. You just don't like it.
"This sucks" is not an argument or proposal. It's what little kids say about anything they don't like, because we excuse them from adult responsibilies such as accounting for themselves.
If you're not a little kid, you should understand why "I don't like thing" does not flatter you.
@wesdym wow, this one sucks too
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@wesdym wow, this one sucks too
@redoak Grow up.
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@loriemerson @lxo it is not actual for many years already. the era of possible cheap development based on existing technologies is over and further envolvement takes serious scientific research and engineering efforts and investments.
that's why we don't see any improvements in hardware the past decades. they just faced the limits that are not passable with already exising solutions.that may be true, but realize you're arguing with something written in 1987, and what you dispute doesn't relate with what's written there. it's not about how expensive it is to develop and evolve something, but how tech tends to become cheaper over time, as new tech displaces old one
CC: @iron_bug@friendica.ironbug.org @loriemerson@post.lurk.org
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that may be true, but realize you're arguing with something written in 1987, and what you dispute doesn't relate with what's written there. it's not about how expensive it is to develop and evolve something, but how tech tends to become cheaper over time, as new tech displaces old one
CC: @iron_bug@friendica.ironbug.org @loriemerson@post.lurk.org@lxo it is strange - it is as if people don't know how to read any more...just to spell out the obvious (for myself), reading is so much more than contending with literal content that can be picked apart and argued with
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finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
@loriemerson My problem with this is the entire rest of the piece which I wrote an angsty essay about in a class as a teen
Computers at the time largely COULD be repaired with simple tools and the parts, at least as easily as a refrigerator or microwave, which he thinks are fine. An absolute rando can't fix a refrigerator without some specific knowledge either.
And I vaguely remember some comment about typing manuscripts, but he had his wife type for him. Easy to dismiss when you're not the one typing! -
finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
@loriemerson @njamster I spotted «Why I’m not going to buy a computer» in a small bookshop in the UK in 2019 and – as a person, who is working a lot with computers – was intrigued by the title. I really wanted to know, why he didn’t want to buy one. I finished reading very quickly and it transformed the way I look at progress. Since then I am waiting for a company to advertise their computer as “The last PC you will ever buy” (because you can repair and replace things and it lasts a lifetime).
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@loriemerson @njamster I spotted «Why I’m not going to buy a computer» in a small bookshop in the UK in 2019 and – as a person, who is working a lot with computers – was intrigued by the title. I really wanted to know, why he didn’t want to buy one. I finished reading very quickly and it transformed the way I look at progress. Since then I am waiting for a company to advertise their computer as “The last PC you will ever buy” (because you can repair and replace things and it lasts a lifetime).
@studioumluft @njamster I love this idea - I would even pay a lot of money for the last PC I will ever buy!
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@loriemerson 10. Never post an image/screenshot if you can type the same in plain text.
@aakoskin @loriemerson Literally has the text as alt text you absolute doofus.
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@lxskllr @nickrauchen @aakoskin I am having trouble wrapping my head why the format of my post is worth anyone commenting on - the text is in the image. it's not elegant but I wanted to give a screenshot of the exact text I was reading from Harper's. surely there are more important things to discuss here, and in general, than policing precisely how people post
@loriemerson @lxskllr @nickrauchen @aakoskin For what it's worth, I think it's great that the plain text is in an image with alt-text. This allowed me to download the list directly when I realized that I wanted to keep it -- instead of having to mess with screenshotting and cropping. So thank you for sharing the image the way you did; it was helpful.
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finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks
@loriemerson I can't think of a single example of modern technology that functions according to Berry. Which is a damn shame.
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