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André Meloche's avatar

A very interesting text that illustrates the paradigm shift and how our brains work in a given environment. The slow work of thinking has now been replaced by mechanical and repetitive settings, forcing individuals to adapt to the machine rather than control it: “Information has been broken down and segmented into tables, parameters, and attributes, creating a completely new phenomenon in the execution of formal and informal tasks. Previously, the slowness or even absence of information systems forced the operator to rely on their knowledge and analytical skills to ensure the quality of their work, and now of the product produced. Improvements in the speed of execution of systems and increases in their storage capacity have made it easier – in appearance – to carry out activities. The mental effort required to solve a complex problem has been greatly reduced by automatic and mathematical calculation. Thus, it was said, we would free up mental energy that could be put to use in analysis. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The more powerful the systems became, the more we used the mental capacity of users to configure them.”

Apophenia Gold's avatar

Yes! It's like everything that was expected from more powerful technology was somehow inverted.

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Nov 11, 2025
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Apophenia Gold's avatar

how prescient noting the press as an "unorthodox and unauthorized source of political power" seems in our era!