Vacation reading

Posted in ashtanga yoga, technology, things i like on 04/17/2010 10:18 am by karen

The Cop and I (and Waylon!) are on vacation in Tucson. A yoga vacation for me (practicing with Lisa Schrempp) and mountain biking vacation for him. I’m just practicing and indulging myself with lots of reading (contemporary Japanese novels and historical novels) and writing. Pretty sweet.

Okay, here’s a quote from Jaron Lanier, technogeek supreme, whose new book, You Are Not A Gadget, shot to the top of my reading list when I read this:

The ratio of passivity to creativity in people is what will determine the ratio of socialism to capitalism in the long term future, as technology gets better and better.

Here’s a link to some thoughts he shares about the book/his theories. A good intro.

 

7 Comments

  1. hi Karen
    hope you enjoy your vacation. if you have time, can you elaborate on the meaning of that quote? is the author’s opinion that the more passive people are, the less creative, the more socialist inclined, the less capitalistic inclined? If the second one is what the author implies, I don’t know if i agree. in my current living situation the model is capitalism enabled by socialism rather than by democracy. I would agree that passiveness hinders creativity.

    hugs
    Arturo

  2. Hi Arturo,

    Here’s a little more context for the quote (and the link in my post offers even more context):

    Q: Are you really sure enough people would be able to earn money from their brains in a future where intellectual property is valued? Isn’t it more important to meet the desires of the larger number of less creative or more lazy people who would enjoy having access to stuff for free? Isn’t the majority more important than the minority?

    A: It is apparent that humanity has already used the Internet to definitively prove that we are better than we used to think we are. We are not always couch potatoes waiting to be passively entertained. The Open Culture/Hive ideology prioritizes getting stuff for free over creators being able to survive by making stuff. This prioritization conceives of the average person as a consumer instead of a producer, even though on the surface the rhetoric seems to state the opposite. If it’s really true that only a tiny minority of people have anything to offer, then perhaps we do need to create institutions to support a creative minority for the benefit of the majority. That’s the future we are headed to if outfits like ProPublica eventually become the only means left for supporting full-time investigative journalists, for instance. As I argue in the book, there are significant advantages to having a more diverse long term economy of expression.

    The ratio of passivity to creativity in people is what will determine the ratio of socialism to capitalism in the long term future, as technology gets better and better. There’s more liberty, dignity, and liveliness under capitalism, and in a high tech future, there ought to be enough wealth to go around for everyone. Let’s be optimistic about ourselves, in case we turn out to deserve it.

  3. which contemporary Japanese novels are you reading? I am a huge fan of Banana Yoshimoto. Is she on your list?

  4. I like Banana Yoshimoto. Not a huge fan (I save my huge fandom for Haruki Murakami). This vacation:
    “Piercing,” by Ryu Murakami, and “Real World” and “Out” by Natsuo Kirino.

  5. haruki murakami is on my to read list, but I seem to get distracted by other books all the time

  6. Oh, definitely check out “The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.” My favorite contemporary novel, by a long shot! I’m always recommending it to people, and no one has ever come back and not thought it one of the best novels ever.

  7. “economy of expression”
    I could get into that.

    I’m so happy for you that you’re on a vacation with your two loves! oh- and I guess 3, if you count yoga.

    Can’t wait for updates!

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