From: Crosby_M (CrosbyM@po1.cpi.bls.gov)
Date: Fri Dec 20 1996 - 13:49:26 MST
Robin Hanson wrote:
<I, and I think many others here, think that there isn't much we can
do to prevent both encryption *and* webcams becomeing widespread. Much
greater privacy in cyberspace, and much less privacy in the physical
world. The interesting question is then: what does this imply about
life in such a world?>
Here's something tangentially relevant to this that I quoted before
from the October (Nov?) Mondo 2000, from an interview with Mark Pesce,
co-inventor of VRML, where he talks about "cyber ecology" and VR on
the Web:
<The idea is to take the original database - which is the planet - and
establish a superstructure for people to recreate the planet
collaboratively on the Web ... We're opening ourselves up to
mediations that can mutate ... they can start leading us around ... to
create harmony between what's in and what's out, and it appears
they're somewhat reflective ... Perhaps the Internet will serve as a
reality condom [so that we can] spend our time in the real world as
sacred time.>
Like Brin, Pesce has the idea that the physical and socio/economic
world is in sorry shape. I'm also not sure if he's implying some kind
of schizoid 'sacred time' in one medium (physical world) but 'some
other kind of time' in the other (cyberspace).
Mark Crosby
P.S. There's probably discussion on this issue on the www.minds.com
(Electric Minds forum, which I haven't checked in a while) where Pesce
and others, like Howard Rheingold, are contributors/directors.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 14:35:54 MST