Of course in a lot of ways it's also less about philosophy and more about how Kaczynski basically snapped when somebody cut down his favorite tree.

Well, if technologists like Bill Joy took it seriously enough to quote Industrial Society and Its Future, I can't really fault you for taking it seriously as well. Actually, I don't remember exactly how coherent the essay was, but if memory serves it came across as something you'd find on Usenet: clearly written by a brilliant mind and full of subtle points, mixed together with several axes to grind and other bizarre obsessions. And it's that kind of obsessiveness that becomes more disturbing given that he followed through with acts of violence.

Also: I wouldn't exactly say we're in an "age" of everyone "jerking themselves over technology". Really, far from it: it's not really accurate to call it an age, unless you want such an age to go back at least a couple centuries. Also, it's certainly not everyone--look at all the skepticism about technology, especially related to government and corporate surveillance.

On the other hand, we certainly haven't seen too much push back against rampant consumerism, which in my mind is sort of getting conflated here with technology. Steve Jobs came up in this thread already, and I'd say he ushered in the 21st century as another manifestation of this consumerism. Of course people could have chosen to listen to Fight Club instead of Apple, but then again why not spend the extra $400 on that new phone when it buys you all kind of social status?

I take back some of what I wrote. I just browsed a few pages of Kaczynski's (newer, 2014) book, and it basically reads like a well-edited academic work rather than a rant. Interesting.

The radical right is pernicious because everybody is a little bit conservative about something. That’s why it’s so important to consider opinions in their totality; a belief’s reasons and proposed answers are at least as important as the what.

Ted Kaczynski has a great point about the alienating effects of technology and industrialization. His reasons are selfish and his proposed answer is to visit death upon people he considers leftist. Lucid? Maybe to like minded anarchists and sympathetic liberals who would rather blame the inventor than the person who exploits the invention.

Are you suggesting we can't separate ideas and take what we like and leave the rest behind?

insert torturous theory about how Kaczynski was really left-wing here

Maybe to like minded anarchists and sympathetic liberals who would rather blame the inventor than the person who exploits the invention.

I have a lot of questions about these shoes, and the answers are not immediately forthcoming.

There’s no manual override for tying them. The article said as much, without the phone app they are useless as shoes.

Is there a manual override for untying them??

Is the tightening controlled by software, or is there some kind of mechanical interlock? What prevents the shoe from being tightened too much when the normal mechanism is damaged or fails in some way? Is there anything stopping a malfunctioning shoe from applying so much force that it hurts your foot? Can it constrain your foot for a long enough duration that it affects circulation? Does it fail to an on state, or an off state?

What safety measures have been taken to protect the wearer from being incinerated if their battery gets damaged? Does this include damage due to heat, cold, chemical exposure? What measures have been taken to prevent battery degradation from walking on hot pavement, or undervolting from walking in sub zero? I’m gonna assume Nike knows feet flex, so they probably designed the batteries to stop them from being crushed during normal use.

What security measures have been taken to prevent muggers and rapists from unlacing your ****in shoes while you run away? Trick question, ****in nothing. Using an android app is generally a bad thing for Nike to have done. Why couldn’t it at least have been a button? I guess google and Nike just really need to mine that critical shoe tying data.

Edit: Can they run netbsd

fake Edit: CAN I MINE BITCOIN ON THEM

you people

What do you people think about Bernie Sanders running for President again

jon did you think kroko meant 'you corporations' because of the, y'know, newspeak

I'm guessing Walmart does pay for all of the roads on their property (arguing about whatever tax incentives they've received aside)

but yeah, it is pretty insane to expect for them to pay for welfare. If the people want Walmart to inflate the wages of their employees, shouldn't they vote to limit or eliminate the welfare given to their employees?

I'm not talking about the roads on their property, I'm talking about public roads and highways.

Well, America uses market pricing for labor, so this is one way to do it. If Walmart's workers can't afford to work at Walmart anymore, in the long term they will exit the labor market. Then, as the labor supply decreases, Walmart will need to offer more and more money in order to compete against other employers for those workers. By this process, the wage will eventually reach a new clearing point above the cost of living.

Of course, by "exit the labor market" I mean starve to death, so really this is all predicated upon America still existing after millions of armed, starving Americans realize they've got nothing to lose anymore. But yeah, in theory what you said will work.

Yeah, I know.

Of course it will work. In fact, cut off welfare to everyone. There's little reason to raise wages when the government is subsidizing 47% of the population.

I don't believe you.

The government should eliminate all labor regulations too. That way companies will be forced to compete on which can offer their employees the best conditions, not just the best pay.

Oh, can you make sure this all happens in winter though? Unusually cold one, please. No particular reason.

For myself, yes. Why do you ask?

Well, as you said above, you'd be laughing your ass off so why worry?