I'm not so sure it's a good idea for the Quantum Gravity and Dark Energy people to team up. Did we learn nothing from Ghostbusters? This sounds like some Gatekeeper/Keymaster shit.
/sarcasm
Come now people,
It's pretty much standard procedure for me now that whenever I install a piece of freeware I look for the catch. People that just click through the install process and let random companies, especially the insidious file sharing devils (insert thunder.wav), deserve to reap the rewards of their hasty decision.
Read the fine print people (or in this case the dialogue box). There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Being a student at the University of Chicago, and being quite familiar with Professor Sunstein and his work, I am quite surprised at his blatant support of an unconstitutional quick fix to a much larger problem.
I think the central issue is Professor Sunstein's ignorance to the fact that people have the right to choose courses of action that are detrimental to themselves, and that government really has no recourse. This is a fundamental right of all Americans. You have the right to do anything that does not impinge upon the rights of others. If someone wants to filter out all content except (random example) white surpremisist literature, it is their perogative....yes, it will not lead to the creation of a better citizen, but why does this give the government permission to stop them? Why am I reminded of Soviet Russia? It is not the governments role to say, hey, that is wrong for you, don't do it.....it is their job to give people the option of choosing....and teaching them such as to make an educated choice.
Mr. Katz also misses the boat when he claims that users will adapt common ground if they want it. Professor Sunstein's clearly implies that he believes that people living in hermitages would have no impetus to seek the company of others, and I wholeheartedly agree. The user who only recieves e-mail notices of the latest Klan news is not going to be spontaneously driven into a racial equality discussion chatroom.
Well, what are we left with? I tend to agree with Professor Sunstein's feelings that the world is headed toward irreconcilable fragmentation, and the political disenfranchisement of the typical netizen is not helping. The answer....a more informed consumer....why do so many issues boil down to education? Well, the natural instincts of the human animal are toward self preservation, and while becoming a hermit will mostly increase your lifespan, it will not be beneficial to society if each and every one of us were to choose that path. We need to be taught how to work in the group dynamic, inorder to further society as a whole.....but, then again, shouldn't we all have the option of choosing not to be part of society? Why is society so important?
I am sure that republic.com is going to be on my reading list for the upcoming weeks.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not so sure it's a good idea for the Quantum Gravity and Dark Energy people to team up. Did we learn nothing from Ghostbusters? This sounds like some Gatekeeper/Keymaster shit.
/sarcasm
Come now people, It's pretty much standard procedure for me now that whenever I install a piece of freeware I look for the catch. People that just click through the install process and let random companies, especially the insidious file sharing devils (insert thunder.wav), deserve to reap the rewards of their hasty decision. Read the fine print people (or in this case the dialogue box). There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Being a student at the University of Chicago, and being quite familiar with Professor Sunstein and his work, I am quite surprised at his blatant support of an unconstitutional quick fix to a much larger problem. I think the central issue is Professor Sunstein's ignorance to the fact that people have the right to choose courses of action that are detrimental to themselves, and that government really has no recourse. This is a fundamental right of all Americans. You have the right to do anything that does not impinge upon the rights of others. If someone wants to filter out all content except (random example) white surpremisist literature, it is their perogative....yes, it will not lead to the creation of a better citizen, but why does this give the government permission to stop them? Why am I reminded of Soviet Russia? It is not the governments role to say, hey, that is wrong for you, don't do it.....it is their job to give people the option of choosing....and teaching them such as to make an educated choice. Mr. Katz also misses the boat when he claims that users will adapt common ground if they want it. Professor Sunstein's clearly implies that he believes that people living in hermitages would have no impetus to seek the company of others, and I wholeheartedly agree. The user who only recieves e-mail notices of the latest Klan news is not going to be spontaneously driven into a racial equality discussion chatroom. Well, what are we left with? I tend to agree with Professor Sunstein's feelings that the world is headed toward irreconcilable fragmentation, and the political disenfranchisement of the typical netizen is not helping. The answer....a more informed consumer....why do so many issues boil down to education? Well, the natural instincts of the human animal are toward self preservation, and while becoming a hermit will mostly increase your lifespan, it will not be beneficial to society if each and every one of us were to choose that path. We need to be taught how to work in the group dynamic, inorder to further society as a whole.....but, then again, shouldn't we all have the option of choosing not to be part of society? Why is society so important? I am sure that republic.com is going to be on my reading list for the upcoming weeks.