

Generation Why? - pragmatic
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/25/generation-why/

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scorpion032
Very thoughtful and eloquent _rant_. The internet needs more of these.

There are so many quotable quotes:

> "Software is not neutral. Different software embeds different philosophies,
> and these philosophies, as they become ubiquitous, become invisible." —
> Zadie Smith

> People “reduce themselves” in order to make a computer’s description of them
> appear more accurate. “Information systems need to have information in order
> to run, but information underrepresents reality”. — Jaron Lanier in You Are
> Not a Gadget

> “based on [a] philosophical mistake…the belief that computers can presently
> represent human thought or human relationships. These are things computers
> cannot currently do." — Jaron Lanier in You Are Not a Gadget

> "Facebook: falsely jolly, fake-friendly, self-promoting, slickly
> disingenuous." — Zadie Smith

> "Hollywood still believes that behind every mogul there’s an idée fixe." —
> Zadie Smith, on Erica and Zuckerberg

> "Pay them. In the scheme of things it’s a parking ticket." — Junior Lawyer
> to Zuckerberg

tl;dr: RTFA.

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pragmatic
Great quote about programming:

Or is it possible he just loves programming? No doubt the filmmakers
considered this option, but you can see their dilemma: how to convey the
pleasure of programming—if such a pleasure exists—in a way that is both
cinematic and comprehensible? Movies are notoriously bad at showing the
pleasures and rigors of art-making, even when the medium is familiar.

~~~
pragmatic
Also: Programming is a whole new kind of problem. Fincher makes a brave stab
at showing the intensity of programming in action (“He’s wired in,” people say
to other people to stop them disturbing a third person who sits before a
laptop wearing noise-reducing earphones) and there’s a “vodka-shots-and-
programming” party in Zuckerberg’s dorm room that gives us some clue of the
pleasures. But even if we spent half the film looking at those busy screens
(and we do get glimpses), most of us would be none the wiser. Watching this
movie, even though you know Sorkin wants your disapproval, you can’t help feel
a little swell of pride in this 2.0 generation. They’ve spent a decade being
berated for not making the right sorts of paintings or novels or music or
politics. Turns out the brightest 2.0 kids have been doing something else
extraordinary. They’ve been making a world.

