humble3d Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Notes from Missouri, USA... I used to wonder about the internet: How it was that we were all given (actually we pay for it) access to all this knowledge for free. I can find out just about anything about anything with a few keystrokes, instantly. Just twenty years ago, this would have taken hours if not days and most likely enlisted the help of a librarian. Information retrieval has become so easy and so fast that we take it for granted -- unless your technology fails. As all of this marvelous stuff unfolded, I found myself plagued by a persistent question. What's the catch? Here in the states we are taught early on that "there is no free lunch." This notion is reinforced at every turn. We should have been told, "there is no free email." More on this in a moment. First, a side note. Back in the seventies, there was a little seen presentation about the dangers of "Free Television". (This was before cable) In a nutshell it said, if you are watching for free, then guess what? You are the product. Unknowingly, we were. Most people think television is meant to inform and entertain them, but that isn't anywhere near the reality. Television's job is to deliver audience to advertisers. If you are the audience, then you are television's "product." Millions upon millions of unsuspecting people voluntarily subjected themselves to media manipulation and still do. Turns out, there is no free TV. But you don't watch TV. You are smarter, more savvy than that. No way would you fall for such nonsense. But you do web searches. You have Gmail. You advise neophytes asking redundant questions to UTFSE, and tell them that "Google is your friend." Turns out, Google is nobody's friend. There is no free gmail. Google started out as a way to find knowledge, but it has become something far more dangerous. A way to control your mind, But don't take my word for it. MORE ? Read this: https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-internet-flips-elections-and-alters-our-thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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