
The Cyberutopian (2014) - rayvega
http://magazine.williams.edu/2014/fall/feature/the-cyberutopian/
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solotronics
I read once that it is the mark of someone wise to be able to seriously
entertain an idea you disagree with and either change your preconception or
discard this new idea purely based on its merits. I try and work on being more
objective in my ideas and the internet is a big part of this to me. I enjoy
reading news sources that I don't agree with politically to get a better idea
of what is happening from different perspectives.

Something that worries me is how vocal some people are now about silencing
people they disagree with on the internet. De-platforming and such. This seems
very regressive to me. I think this is not the right way, if you can't have a
civilized debate with someone maybe more research is needed for a fully formed
opinion.

~~~
magpi3
In the book "Principles" by Ray Dalio, he argues that when someone criticizes
you or opposes your opinion, you should at least briefly consider the
possibility that they are completely right and you are completely wrong.

Well, I may be misquoting him, but I remember getting the idea from the book,
and I now find it hugely helpful to challenge myself like this when I find my
opinion is in conflict with another person's. Working from "Am I wrong?"
breaks down a of the ego barriers that are erected when you instead begin by
defending a position you already hold.

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nkurz
Does anyone here describe themselves as a "cyberutopian"? I ask less about the
particular word, and more about whether anyone still has an overwhelming sense
of optimism about the transformative potential of the internet.

~~~
adrianN
The Internet looked like it had the potential to become a cyber utopia. Then
the money and the regulators moved in. Now it looks like the Internet has just
become, or will soon be, the next cable TV.

~~~
johnchristopher
I don't get this stance. What's preventing cyber punks to set up their own
messaging system and information sharing system ? IRC, XMPP, matrix,
diaspora's offsprings, etc... The tech stack is here and fun to play with.

Now, everyday people might not be interested or up to it but they weren't
twenty years ago either.

~~~
adrianN
Whenever only the dissidents do something, it's really easy to outlaw it or
use it to spy on that group. Using https on most websites for example would
never have happened if ordinary people didn't need to log in to banks.

~~~
johnchristopher
Regarding https, your statement somehow implies that it would have been made
illegal if it hadn't taken off?

