Effects of Technology

Xah's Edu Corner, Extempore, № 20180129072751, effects of technology

As tech marches forward exponentially, 2 things i wished to see 10 years ago, one has come true, the other, not.

(1) be able to see pic of anywhere in the world. This we have now, splendidly, Google Map street view.

(2) be able to watch any TV/video ever recorded. This we don't have, at all. For example, i want to watch say 1984 Olympics fencing, it is nigh impossible, even if you pay.

also, for example, we are unable to do simple things such as showing 2d math formulas on the web. (Google Chrome killed its MathML support few years ago. Instead, we have extremely complex hack using idiotic TeX with MathJax)

it turns out, in capitalistic economy, what becomes available, is what people want. People want porn, virtual reality, watch stupid TV shows (YouTube), voice command (siri, ok google, amazon echo etc), online shopping, etc. Shallow conveniences and entertainment.

People do not want, say, type math, or learn history or be able to watch any arbitrary TV documentaries, or really care about online privacy, or other cultures. People are mostly concerned only about their immediate welfare, comfort, and pleasure.

capitalism, is the most practical way to prosperity, for all. What it need, is to get people to have high education and ethics, so that what people want is roughly the same as what's good for prosperous society, besides welfare and pleasure.

But as it turns out and historically true, the more tech, the less knowledgeable are the people, because there is no need. Human animals become more lazy and ignorant.

when population becomes lazy and ignorant (most exemplified by the millennials, sjw, or, gamers) , society tend to become controlled by a very few, while the masses become happy pigs. (as depicted by The Time Machine by H G Wells The Time Machine by H G Wells )