Re: [SF Examiner] "Why Censoring Cyberspace Is Futile"

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Posted-Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 12:03:09 -0400
From: Bob_Frankston () frankston com


[Permission to repost to the list if you choose to]


Both this article and the Sunday New York Times piece on technology's attack
on idle time have a common theme -- personal responsibility. As a parent I do
spend time trying to teach my kids enough to be able to deal with the
inundation of junk TV ,science and philosophy. It is, of course, my opinion
of what junk is but, hopefully, I'm making the case in such a way that it can
stand up in a competitive market of ideas. We'll see in the next decade
whether I've succeeded. In an earlier time, there might have been a choice of
which approach to take -- censorship or preparedness. But given the profusion
of media, the choice may be forced.


Dealing with ubiquitous communication is similar, While the NYT piece
lamented being able to work during a snow storm, it didn't cover the flip
side -- the ability to stay home on a nice day or simply to just stay home.
Nor did it show how the connectivity allowed me to travel with the family
instead of being tied to a phone in an office. It also allowed me to
coordinate individual side trips by simply renting an additional alpha pager
for my wife.


Your [djf] quote in the NYT was on the mark in pointing out that workaholism
is a problem in itself rather than a result of the enabling technologies.
When creating SIPB (Student Information Processing Board) which provides
students with access to computers, I asked Kurtz at Dartmouth (created Basic
along with Kemeny) the same question and his advice was that it wasn't our
task to deal with the problem. Related is the implicit assumption of a
work/home dichotomy. It has been pointed out (i.e., I don't remember the
reference, but it was on a TV history of civilization show) that the idea of
leaving home to go to an office is relatively recent. The issue is how to
apportion ones time between various interests and responsibilities rather
than relying on accidental crutches like unplugged telephones.


Individual responsibility does require knowledge and information -- neither
of which can be assumed. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over
the next few years when protecting people becomes more difficult. Or, maybe
we'll simply find better forms of insulation/isolation using VR and other
techniques.