Thank you for posting these videos, this new channel and discussion of its corresponding topic is much-needed. It's noteworthy that your position on Postman's "Technopoly" is very similar to Cal Newport's "Techno-Selectivism," though even Postman himself notes that our ability to choose which technologies we interact with is largely moot when it comes to how they shape culture if the broader society doesn't share our selectivism. It invariably leads to something akin to Huxley's "Savage Reservations" in Brave New World, or maybe the way some Anabaptist sects live in a more positive vision. Unlike Postman, Newport is very much a utilitarian who doesn't see the religious and ritualistic elements of Technopoly that we Orthodox Christians cannot ignore. There's an interesting book called "The Sovereign Individual" written a few years after Technopoly that is basically the techno-optimist's take on the same phenomenon and equally prophetic. It's a good (if not disturbing) read and is very popular in cryptocurrency/transhumanist circles, might be worth addressing to your audience in the future! Speaking strictly personally as both a Christian and a software engineer, I don't see any way forward for the remnant except for a significant paring down of our interaction with The Machine - one that is far greater in scope than most moderns would be comfortable with. While interface devices like the smartphone or social media are doubtlessly dangerous of their own accord, far more dangerous are the networks they connect to. Keep up the great work, some of us are listening attentively!
Thanks so much for your response...it means a lot to receive encouraging feedback! Thanks, also, for the book recommendation...I am always looking for new books on similar topics! 🙏🏻
Why should I care about our "culture"? I care about my friends and family and what I do. I care about being ethical. I care about the victimized. But caring about an abstract thing that I have no influence over which is run for the benefit of venal billionaires....why should I care? I wish harm onnno one except billionaires, fascists, and bullies.
I guess because you, your family, and your friends all have to live somewhere in some environment, in some culture. If you have children, they will probably want to marry someone, and the kind of environment they grew up in will affect your child, and you. At some point you will get old and may need to be cared for...it will matter to you if we have fostered a culture of life or a culture of death. Fwiw, I believe that we do have influence over what happens...each of us does...obviously, not a great deal of influence, but each of us must do what we can...
Are you kidding? You should care because television, advertising, misleading information, sordid imagery, a corrupt mass media, etc., all of it pushed by billionaires and fascists down our throats and our children’s throats like endless visual and mental junk food, pervades our every thought, our decisions, and perceptions of reality. Time to get real. At least for your family’s sake.
Excellent video. Many thanks Herman. Looking forward to future instalments in this series
Thanks Andrew...very glad to have you on this journey with me!
Thank you for giving us your thoughtful and precise reflections in small nuggets. You are inspiring me to read Neal Postman.
Much appreciated! It can be lonely work, so it's definitely nice to know that folks find the effort beneficial!
Thank you for posting these videos, this new channel and discussion of its corresponding topic is much-needed. It's noteworthy that your position on Postman's "Technopoly" is very similar to Cal Newport's "Techno-Selectivism," though even Postman himself notes that our ability to choose which technologies we interact with is largely moot when it comes to how they shape culture if the broader society doesn't share our selectivism.
It invariably leads to something akin to Huxley's "Savage Reservations" in Brave New World, or maybe the way some Anabaptist sects live in a more positive vision. Unlike Postman, Newport is very much a utilitarian who doesn't see the religious and ritualistic elements of Technopoly that we Orthodox Christians cannot ignore. There's an interesting book called "The Sovereign Individual" written a few years after Technopoly that is basically the techno-optimist's take on the same phenomenon and equally prophetic. It's a good (if not disturbing) read and is very popular in cryptocurrency/transhumanist circles, might be worth addressing to your audience in the future!
Speaking strictly personally as both a Christian and a software engineer, I don't see any way forward for the remnant except for a significant paring down of our interaction with The Machine - one that is far greater in scope than most moderns would be comfortable with. While interface devices like the smartphone or social media are doubtlessly dangerous of their own accord, far more dangerous are the networks they connect to.
Keep up the great work, some of us are listening attentively!
Thanks so much for your response...it means a lot to receive encouraging feedback! Thanks, also, for the book recommendation...I am always looking for new books on similar topics! 🙏🏻
Beautifully and painfully true.
Alas...🙏🏻
Why should I care about our "culture"? I care about my friends and family and what I do. I care about being ethical. I care about the victimized. But caring about an abstract thing that I have no influence over which is run for the benefit of venal billionaires....why should I care? I wish harm onnno one except billionaires, fascists, and bullies.
I guess because you, your family, and your friends all have to live somewhere in some environment, in some culture. If you have children, they will probably want to marry someone, and the kind of environment they grew up in will affect your child, and you. At some point you will get old and may need to be cared for...it will matter to you if we have fostered a culture of life or a culture of death. Fwiw, I believe that we do have influence over what happens...each of us does...obviously, not a great deal of influence, but each of us must do what we can...
Nice answer (:
Are you kidding? You should care because television, advertising, misleading information, sordid imagery, a corrupt mass media, etc., all of it pushed by billionaires and fascists down our throats and our children’s throats like endless visual and mental junk food, pervades our every thought, our decisions, and perceptions of reality. Time to get real. At least for your family’s sake.