Wednesday, April 20, 2005

EPIC 2014 Is this what we wanted?

EPIC 2014 is a rather dark look at a possible future that combines Google, Amazon, Blogger and just about everything else on the web.

It's interesting the parallels between this dire prediction and the predictions of chaos that preceeded the Protestant Reformation. There was much chaos in Europe, but it was a good thing in the end I believe.

Time will tell.

It is also interesting to think of the parallels between "Epic" and the Tower of Babel from the Hebrew Bible. That didn't end quite as well.

Will you be "on the grid" or will you hide cash under your matress?

Time will tell.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Epic 2014 echoed of themes from my Human Communication Theory class taught by the accomplished communication scholar and professor Stanley Deetz. This has been my most thought-provoking course in my college career. It’s 9:30am and Deetz is rattling off as usual but despite my lethargic state, I pay attention. “The influence of corporations has ‘become both more subtle and more pervasive as the degree of social interdependence has increased. Corporations have come to overshadow the state, the civil community, and the moral community in making decisions that direct personal lives and general social development.” Ironically, this is no conspiracy. The public consents to and even invites this daily. Democracy has been lost. But wait, we have freedom of speech, right? Democracy is largely dependent on free speech, isn’t it? Deetz continues, “Freedom of expression is meaningless if there is no one to represent relevant positions, if the one with the biggest megaphone can drown out the chorus of the free voices, or if, the proliferation of opinions allows no place for meaningful discussion.” Who chooses what information we, as a public, have access to? Now more than ever in history, I can say whatever I want. But who will listen to me?

Interesting Stuff