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The American Cloud

46 points by dedalus 10y ago

lithos 10y ago
Quite a rambler( falls into a few annoying cliches), but does show some of the interaction between physical/digital and in areas this site almost acts like it doesn't exist. Could have quite the drinking game with Jefferson/Hamilton as your trigger(though you'll end up under the table).
kaycebasques 10y ago
Did the Architect from the Matrix write that?
nateburke 10y ago
The singular Jeffersonian/Hamiltonian architecture described by the author exists by virtue of a great, bloody conflict that we now call the civil war. Recall that the Jeffersonian interface has its roots in the inside of a plantation manor house, which, in turn, was built on its own, localized Hamiltonian back-end in the form of land+slave-labor. Over the course of decades in the early 1800s, automation of agriculture became recognized as viable. Where existing local plantation installations had once been innovative new-world micro-economies with Hamiltoninan implementations that were "inhumane but effective", there now were increasingly-inefficient economic pantomimes, the eradication of which now had religious and moral justification, on account of the inhumanity being their defining characteristic. I see the same dynamics playing out globally, currently. In the same way that slave-labor plantation model was essentially a hyper-localized implementation of a border control, which had automation of human labor at the root of its demise, I think we will see the modern small-to-midsize governments (e.g. Syria) that exist physically and legally within the boundaries of a nation-state also disappear, as the local capability to provide social and intellectual services (like identity mgmt, communication infrastructure, transportation) is being provided by global entities in an increasingly efficient way. Recall that America had its own migrant "problem" (and arguably still does) in the wake of the legal, socio-economic, and cultural border-control of slavery being loosened over the course of the 20th century. The question that is being answered in Europe/Asia now is whether the economic model of the nation-state that was baked at the end of WWII is inhumane enough to justify its eradication via war. Many of the tasks relegated to those governments can arguably be provided now by international entities in a far more efficient way.
- hammock 10y ago
  That is a great apology for globalism and the new world order/one world government. Is there anywhere you can recommend to read more of this viewpoint?
  - nateburke 10y ago
    I would highly recommend Piketty's "Capital in the 21st Century" as a starting point. The "Global Tax on Capital" chapter touches briefly on immigration at the end.
- erichocean 10y ago
  > I think we will see the modern small-to-midsize governments (e.g. Syria) that exist physically and legally within the boundaries of a nation-state also disappear Are you predicting that Switzerland* will disappear? Bold, if so. *Technically, Switzerland is not inside the boundaries of a nation state, but a larger political union (the EU). Being forced to join the EU would be equivalent for this hypothetical. So, are you predicting that Switzerland will be forced to join the EU?
  - nateburke 10y ago
    Maybe not, but I can certainly see ties with Germany strengthening further, especially once Brexit is implemented.
maxander 10y ago
A lovely poem about how our society separates technological production from the human culture that it supports. There's much here that one could already know without having really appreciated. Not too long ago, I was talking with a bunch of friends when some random question about sugar production came up. We googled it, as one does, and while the answer was inconclusive the next half-hour turned into a bizarre sequence of revelations about just how complicated modern sugar production is. Look into it; its a slightly-smaller mirror of the oil industry, with its own industrial base and scientific expertise. I'm sure there are about ~100 people on the planet who know the key technical details, and if they're all caught in a fire somewhere, every cookie recipe that calls for regular white granulated sugar will suddenly be beyond human technological capacity.
- leonroy 10y ago
  There's an old story in Venice of a famous biscotti which the Venetians perfected. It was nutritious, would last for years (handy for those long voyages at sea) and was reputedly very tasty. The recipe was jealously guarded by a single baker who would pass it on just before his death. In this manner Venice became famous for this particular biscuit. Unfortunately the last baker to be entrusted with this knowledge whilst walking down the street had something drop on his head. The recipe died with him. Many, many years later the Ventians were under siege by Napoleonic forces. There was a fort holding out for days. Eventually rations ran out. As luck would have it the soldiers at the fort discovered a stash of this famous biscotti in one of the store rooms. They were still edible. I don't know how much of the above is true, I recall hearing the stories in Francesco Di Mosto's wonderful Venice series (highly recommended) but it does remind me how precious and fragile knowledge is and how easily it can be lost.
  - webmaven 10y ago
    As always, "Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe".
slowmovintarget 10y ago
Life is like a big computer. You never know when a bad update is going to ruin your Day.
marmaduke 10y ago
Smalltalk?
vegetablepotpie 10y ago
Enjoyable read, it points at the veneer we've placed over our industrialized world and calls it dishonest. Ironically I think if you were to heed its argument and work counter to the Hamiltonian forces it would be futile. Imagine if you did not like our institutionalized tech world of cookies and data centers knowing all that we do on our devices and you were to support and use FOSS; or that you did not like that cow and horse meat is mixed together in our industrialized agricultural system and you became vegan. Ironically such steps would label you an idealist who is out of touch with reality and you would sink deeper into the Jeffersonian interfaces such as raspberry pis and organic farmers markets. Perhaps the only logical thing to do is be the hipsters who embraces the illusion with just a hint of irony.
webmaven 10y ago
This article is an interesting and excellent piece of social and economic observation, analysis, and critique. However. The obsessive way Rao (I am actually a huge fan of his) interjects his pet phrase "The American Cloud" is so incredibly blatant that it makes me wonder if a trademark has been registered, or if a book by that title is forthcoming. And that's entirely aside from the way this misuse of the term "Cloud" grates on my techie nerves.

46 points by dedalus 10y ago

Quite a rambler( falls into a few annoying cliches), but does show some of the interaction between physical/digital and in areas this site almost acts like it doesn't exist. Could have quite the drinking game with Jefferson/Hamilton as your trigger(though you'll end up under the table).

kaycebasques 10y ago

Did the Architect from the Matrix write that?

nateburke 10y ago

The singular Jeffersonian/Hamiltonian architecture described by the author exists by virtue of a great, bloody conflict that we now call the civil war. Recall that the Jeffersonian interface has its roots in the inside of a plantation manor house, which, in turn, was built on its own, localized Hamiltonian back-end in the form of land+slave-labor. Over the course of decades in the early 1800s, automation of agriculture became recognized as viable. Where existing local plantation installations had once been innovative new-world micro-economies with Hamiltoninan implementations that were "inhumane but effective", there now were increasingly-inefficient economic pantomimes, the eradication of which now had religious and moral justification, on account of the inhumanity being their defining characteristic. I see the same dynamics playing out globally, currently. In the same way that slave-labor plantation model was essentially a hyper-localized implementation of a border control, which had automation of human labor at the root of its demise, I think we will see the modern small-to-midsize governments (e.g. Syria) that exist physically and legally within the boundaries of a nation-state also disappear, as the local capability to provide social and intellectual services (like identity mgmt, communication infrastructure, transportation) is being provided by global entities in an increasingly efficient way. Recall that America had its own migrant "problem" (and arguably still does) in the wake of the legal, socio-economic, and cultural border-control of slavery being loosened over the course of the 20th century. The question that is being answered in Europe/Asia now is whether the economic model of the nation-state that was baked at the end of WWII is inhumane enough to justify its eradication via war. Many of the tasks relegated to those governments can arguably be provided now by international entities in a far more efficient way.

hammock 10y ago
That is a great apology for globalism and the new world order/one world government. Is there anywhere you can recommend to read more of this viewpoint?
- nateburke 10y ago
  I would highly recommend Piketty's "Capital in the 21st Century" as a starting point. The "Global Tax on Capital" chapter touches briefly on immigration at the end.
erichocean 10y ago
> I think we will see the modern small-to-midsize governments (e.g. Syria) that exist physically and legally within the boundaries of a nation-state also disappear Are you predicting that Switzerland* will disappear? Bold, if so. *Technically, Switzerland is not inside the boundaries of a nation state, but a larger political union (the EU). Being forced to join the EU would be equivalent for this hypothetical. So, are you predicting that Switzerland will be forced to join the EU?
- nateburke 10y ago
  Maybe not, but I can certainly see ties with Germany strengthening further, especially once Brexit is implemented.

maxander 10y ago

A lovely poem about how our society separates technological production from the human culture that it supports. There's much here that one could already know without having really appreciated. Not too long ago, I was talking with a bunch of friends when some random question about sugar production came up. We googled it, as one does, and while the answer was inconclusive the next half-hour turned into a bizarre sequence of revelations about just how complicated modern sugar production is. Look into it; its a slightly-smaller mirror of the oil industry, with its own industrial base and scientific expertise. I'm sure there are about ~100 people on the planet who know the key technical details, and if they're all caught in a fire somewhere, every cookie recipe that calls for regular white granulated sugar will suddenly be beyond human technological capacity.

leonroy 10y ago
There's an old story in Venice of a famous biscotti which the Venetians perfected. It was nutritious, would last for years (handy for those long voyages at sea) and was reputedly very tasty. The recipe was jealously guarded by a single baker who would pass it on just before his death. In this manner Venice became famous for this particular biscuit. Unfortunately the last baker to be entrusted with this knowledge whilst walking down the street had something drop on his head. The recipe died with him. Many, many years later the Ventians were under siege by Napoleonic forces. There was a fort holding out for days. Eventually rations ran out. As luck would have it the soldiers at the fort discovered a stash of this famous biscotti in one of the store rooms. They were still edible. I don't know how much of the above is true, I recall hearing the stories in Francesco Di Mosto's wonderful Venice series (highly recommended) but it does remind me how precious and fragile knowledge is and how easily it can be lost.
- webmaven 10y ago
  As always, "Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe".

slowmovintarget 10y ago

Life is like a big computer. You never know when a bad update is going to ruin your Day.

marmaduke 10y ago

Smalltalk?

vegetablepotpie 10y ago

Enjoyable read, it points at the veneer we've placed over our industrialized world and calls it dishonest. Ironically I think if you were to heed its argument and work counter to the Hamiltonian forces it would be futile. Imagine if you did not like our institutionalized tech world of cookies and data centers knowing all that we do on our devices and you were to support and use FOSS; or that you did not like that cow and horse meat is mixed together in our industrialized agricultural system and you became vegan. Ironically such steps would label you an idealist who is out of touch with reality and you would sink deeper into the Jeffersonian interfaces such as raspberry pis and organic farmers markets. Perhaps the only logical thing to do is be the hipsters who embraces the illusion with just a hint of irony.

webmaven 10y ago

This article is an interesting and excellent piece of social and economic observation, analysis, and critique. However. The obsessive way Rao (I am actually a huge fan of his) interjects his pet phrase "The American Cloud" is so incredibly blatant that it makes me wonder if a trademark has been registered, or if a book by that title is forthcoming. And that's entirely aside from the way this misuse of the term "Cloud" grates on my techie nerves.