(pardon this thread's continued existence...).
well, each generation has to have come from somewhere...
but, yeah (prior to the big ethics issue), the general point I tried to make
is that it is generally much more a matter of pragmatics (what people can
get from technology or use it to accomplish), rather than peoples' feelings
about technology per-se.
in general, I think I was being positive, since in all we see a lot more
benefit than harm in this world, and probably, as a whole, the world is
better now than it once was.
now, whether a person wants to view things like posessions as a form of
transferrable happiness, or conclude that maybe, happiness doesn't actually
exist in the first place (and is thus likely an irrelevant consideration in
matters of technology), this is up to them...
like, maybe, it really doesn't matter if a person is happy or not?...
either way, they still have their job and any life stuff that needs to be
done.
technology can at least help a person get done those things they want or
need to get done, regardless of whether or not the object has any real
beneficial effect on their mood.
hell, maybe even the net emotional effect is good, as people who otherwise
might be sitting off in the corner somewhere in isolation, being all
depressed and similar due to their lack of friends (and awaiting the day
when their life will end, maybe wondering if "life" even really exists in
the first place, or if it is merely some pattern of emergence due to so many
particle interations simply masquerading as some greater order, ...), can
now find some semblance of a social life posting about how depressed they
are and how dismal and hopeless life is and whatever onto online forums, and
then go and distract themselves by racking up kills in online games (like
Counter Strike or Unreal Tournament or similar...).
so, in this sense, "happiness" flows over wires and is emitted from computer
and TV screens...
or such...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Dekorte" <st...@dekorte.com>
To: "Fundamentals of New Computing" <fonc@vpri.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: [fonc] goals
It's been said that each generation thinks that it invented sex.
Could the same be said of depression?
On 2010-07-08, at 08:44 AM, John Zabroski wrote:
I personally do not believe technology actually improves lives. Usually,
it is the opposite. Technology creates instant gratification and
addiction to it thereof, and the primary reason we are so addicted to
technology is because we have become so empty inside.
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