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1-Page Summary of You Are Not A Gadget
Overview
It’s better to post on the web under your real name rather than an anonymous username. This will force you to pay attention to what you’re saying and how you say it, which is a good thing for everyone. Many people believe that technology always helps society move forward in positive ways, such as when new inventions make things cheaper or easier for us. The internet has been one of the greatest technological advancements because it allows us to share information across borders without spending much money on CDs or books.
But have people considered the potential downsides of this? Have they thought about how content producers feel when their work is cut up into fragments and mixed together in mash-ups and viral videos? Do you think they appreciate their hard work being transformed like that?
This passage outlines the downsides of technology and internet worship. It explains why Londoners still have to go to work in cramped, overheated subway cars despite having a large city where they can live without being so close together as New Yorkers are. The new trend of crowd-sourced material could lead to a totalitarian state like North Korea because people can use that information against each other if it’s made public enough. The development of robots and the internet could send us all back to a state of serfdom – except for the technology lords, who will be able to control everything better than anyone else ever has before.
Big Idea #1: Technology can become outdated and prevent further development.
In the early 1980s, inventors created a technology for electronically expressing musical notes. This was called MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). The popularity of this development led to its inclusion in so many technologies that it became impossible to modify without changing all those technologies.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was created to connect different musical instruments together, but it became so popular that it’s still used today. That’s because MIDI is a standard protocol for connecting music devices. It has become so widespread and entrenched in the industry that people have stopped innovating with new technologies.
The initial design is usually imperfect. This happens because the designer may be forced to use existing technology or simply finds it easier to start with a certain solution. The downsides of locked-in products are greater when the initial design involves a large and complex system.
The London Underground is a complex system. It has many interconnected parts that will need to be altered as technology improves. This is because the more complex a system, the more interconnected parts it will have—all of which will need updating as time goes on. For instance, the railroad tunnels in the London Underground were constructed with limited technology from centuries ago and are narrow because of these technological limits.
London’s subway system has a problem. It is too narrow and makes it difficult to install air conditioning units in trains. The tunnels are also too small to widen them, so people have trouble with the heat on their daily commutes.
Big Idea #2: Technology is often glorified, and it’s easy to forget that technology can’t replace individuality.
The Internet has a lot of information, but it’s very scattered. The technology to collect all the information together is being developed now so that we can have one ultimate source for wisdom.
If computers surpass human intelligence, we’ll be able to better understand the world around us and solve some of the biggest problems. This would have a huge impact on society as a whole.
