The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
Next in our series on Big Brother’s insatiable appetite for snooping and the need for reform, here’s another TED talk on a related topic. This one’s by Alessandro Acquisti, and is titled ‘Why Privacy Matters’.
Some real food for thought there, IMHO. Another talk in this series will follow tomorrow.
Peter
Many moons ago Stephen King wrote a novella under the Nom de Plume 'Richard Bachman' titled 'Rage' AKA 'Getting it On'.
It is currently out of print and he refused to re-release it for any further printings following the Columbine shootings, since the main plot revolves around a gun brought to/used violently at school by a student.
What struck me most about the story however was the underlying theme of the 'troubled youth' getting pushed over the edge by the continual abuse of not being allowed any privacy (represented in the story as 'secrets').
IMHO the 'school shooting' aspect of the story is disproportionately (and undeservedly) overshadowing the story's value as social commentary. Far from having the effect of 'giving kids ideas' (as is the claimed fear/motivation for no more reprints), I submit it may in fact give folks some insight into the possible dangerous effects on society of 'no more secrets'.
I Highly recommend finding a copy to read if you can.
Honestly, if one really thinks about it, there IS no privacy on any electronic medium… Back in the day when we had party lines, folks listened in…