4 ms·

One of the best $25 million in defense spending ever.

by spamizbad 6y ago

oblio 6y ago
The internet? :-)
- SftwreEngnr 6y ago
  Please.
- btilly 6y ago
  You are more correct than you probably realize. As http://cis471.blogspot.com/2012/08/seeding-internet-cost-government-1245.html http://cis471.blogspot.com/2012/08/seeding-internet-cost-gov... lays out, the government spent $25 million on ARPAnet, the first packet switched network and the granddaddy of our current Internet. So it was actually the same figure as this grant. (There were followup investments from the government, but the whole thing was around $125 million.)
  - jancsika 6y ago
    So $25 million on a decentralized system to spread the idea not to wear a mask or social distance during a pandemic, and another $25 million on a vaccine.
    - zamfi 6y ago
      You’re being downvoted presumably for snark, which as a lover of snark I can’t support. However, your point is also mislaid: there were plenty of anti-maskers at the time of the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Ignoring or selectively using facts to support the narrative you wish were true did not start with the internet!
      - oblio 6y ago
        > Ignoring or selectively using facts to support the narrative you wish were true did not start with the internet! My guess is that those probably predate speech :-D
      - freeflight 6y ago
        There even was a whole "Anti-Mask League" in SF [0], with others demanding jail time for "mask slackers" [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Francisco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Franci... [1] https://www.history.com/news/1918-pandemic-public-health-campaigns https://www.history.com/news/1918-pandemic-public-health-cam...
      - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
        There was also heavy government censorship of the press during WWI, which suppressed early reports of the pandemic. That should be a cautionary tale to people in the present day who want more centralized control over what people can say online - the censors might not always be on your side.
    - Darmody 6y ago
      Is that the only thing you get from the internet? I'd say that more like a small price to pay in order to have something really great.
- scottlocklin 6y ago
  The jury is still out on that one.
  - domador 6y ago
    The Internet: Yes! Social media: Debatable.
  - oblio 6y ago
    The internet? I think we can all agree that the wheel and writing were some of mankind's greatest inventions. Yet I can use writing to send a letter to someone so that they try to hurt you with a breaking wheel, if you get what I mean ;-)
- carabiner 6y ago
  The internet was a mistake.
  - themaninthedark 6y ago
    >Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. The internet is great, how we use it may not be. I don't have twitter, rarely delve into comment on most news sites and Youtube. Browse and sometime comment on Reddit and here. I prefer here, less shouty. When you are able to talk to thousands or millions of people without having to have connections, its a wonderful thing. The friction arises from a number of things; contrarians who love to argue, trolls, governments/companies who are trying to influence opinion but also people who have a genuine different opinion and are unwilling to listen to the other side. I did enjoy the internet more when it was younger but at the same time, there was a less diverse population on it then.

One of the best $25 million in defense spending ever.

oblio 6y ago

The internet? :-)

SftwreEngnr 6y ago
Please.
btilly 6y ago
You are more correct than you probably realize. As http://cis471.blogspot.com/2012/08/seeding-internet-cost-government-1245.html http://cis471.blogspot.com/2012/08/seeding-internet-cost-gov... lays out, the government spent $25 million on ARPAnet, the first packet switched network and the granddaddy of our current Internet. So it was actually the same figure as this grant. (There were followup investments from the government, but the whole thing was around $125 million.)
- jancsika 6y ago
  So $25 million on a decentralized system to spread the idea not to wear a mask or social distance during a pandemic, and another $25 million on a vaccine.
  - zamfi 6y ago
    You’re being downvoted presumably for snark, which as a lover of snark I can’t support. However, your point is also mislaid: there were plenty of anti-maskers at the time of the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Ignoring or selectively using facts to support the narrative you wish were true did not start with the internet!
    - oblio 6y ago
      > Ignoring or selectively using facts to support the narrative you wish were true did not start with the internet! My guess is that those probably predate speech :-D
    - freeflight 6y ago
      There even was a whole "Anti-Mask League" in SF [0], with others demanding jail time for "mask slackers" [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Francisco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Franci... [1] https://www.history.com/news/1918-pandemic-public-health-campaigns https://www.history.com/news/1918-pandemic-public-health-cam...
    - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
      There was also heavy government censorship of the press during WWI, which suppressed early reports of the pandemic. That should be a cautionary tale to people in the present day who want more centralized control over what people can say online - the censors might not always be on your side.
  - Darmody 6y ago
    Is that the only thing you get from the internet? I'd say that more like a small price to pay in order to have something really great.
scottlocklin 6y ago
The jury is still out on that one.
- domador 6y ago
  The Internet: Yes! Social media: Debatable.
- oblio 6y ago
  The internet? I think we can all agree that the wheel and writing were some of mankind's greatest inventions. Yet I can use writing to send a letter to someone so that they try to hurt you with a breaking wheel, if you get what I mean ;-)
carabiner 6y ago
The internet was a mistake.
- themaninthedark 6y ago
  >Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. The internet is great, how we use it may not be. I don't have twitter, rarely delve into comment on most news sites and Youtube. Browse and sometime comment on Reddit and here. I prefer here, less shouty. When you are able to talk to thousands or millions of people without having to have connections, its a wonderful thing. The friction arises from a number of things; contrarians who love to argue, trolls, governments/companies who are trying to influence opinion but also people who have a genuine different opinion and are unwilling to listen to the other side. I did enjoy the internet more when it was younger but at the same time, there was a less diverse population on it then.