[Nettime-bold] Re: totalitarianism in cyberspace?

[Nmherman {AT} aol.com]

In a message dated 5/18/2001 12:04:56 PM Central Daylight Time, 
PGalaxy {AT} compuserve.com writes:

> Subj:  Re: totalitarianism in cyberspace?
>  Date:    5/18/2001 12:04:56 PM Central Daylight Time
>  From:    PGalaxy {AT} compuserve.com (Content-Wire.com)
>  Sender:  PGalaxy {AT} compuserve.com (Content-Wire.com)
>  To:  Nmherman {AT} aol.com (INTERNET:Nmherman {AT} aol.com)
>  CC:  PGalaxy {AT} compuserve.com, nettime-l {AT} bbs.thing.net
>  
>  
>  I have studied Chomski a little about his AI work, and used to disagree
>  with what he said about
>  the reproducibility of intelligence, or his views about intelligence at all

He has some views I haven't studied, but his observations about the 
totalitarian character of media and hence our country are practically 
self-evident.  "Manufacturing Consent" stands up fine all by itself; his 
other theories don't have to be accepted along with it.  So yes, worshipping 
Noam is not the answer.

>  -
>  
>  I did not know him for his views about social systems criticism, I must
>  look up those papers

"Manufacturing consent" is the most commonly known book here, I think.  It's 
a good common starting point.  They don't teach it much because it accuses 
our government of being unethical, and education is supposed to create 
positive thinkers.

>  
>  But I am glad that you see how the mass media systematically eradicate and
>  ignore
>  opposition and dissent to the point of flattening people's intelligence to
>  zero and becoming instruments of ignorance

I surely do.  It takes people's genius and flattens it, so they become 
consumers of non-nutritive and addictive substances intended to replace the 
genius they had stolen from them.  Unfortunately, even the niche media do the 
same thing.  It's not just broadcast TV, it's the people who study broadcast 
TV and criticise it.  In US, it's all about having an expertise and making 
your salary; solutions that are OBVIOUS don't make sense to us.  You might 
call us insane or deluded in that regard.

>  
>  I have personally witnessed the absurd crescendo of ingorance to try and 
>  culminate in the denial of the
>  obviously true for sake of protecting the obviously wrong..I have seen it
>  everywhere but in Italy it has reached unacceptable
>  levels I cannot even live in the country without becoming sick from nausea
>  
>  So, what is your prescription Doktor? How do we fix this mess?

Well, I only have a Master's Degree in Literature but my prescription would 
be to pursue a radical utopian democracy of genius.  For example, when they 
teach prisoners to meditate they do far better.  If we teach everyone that 
they are geniuses, special, unique, valuable geniuses, they won't storm the 
suburbs (like Bush the overseer thinks).  Finding your own genius makes you 
happier and more able to work constructively with other geniuses toward goals 
of common benefit and altruism.  That nausea goes away.  It hurts to fear 
one's own society.  

Here in Minneapolis I am starting a whole new network of democratic genius.  
It's a joke mostly, just something to do, but it's very good and makes a lot 
of wonderful sense.  The scene here is thirsting for something original since 
we lost Husker Du.  All the presses are gearing up to protest George Bush.  

The prescription is the mysterious part, maybe compare to Orlando Furioso?  
Genius 2000 requires creative activity or else it doesn't make sense, but 
most everyone is still a little creative right?

Max Herman


>  
>  
>  ==================================
>  Paola Di Maio


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