Below, I'm going to push back on what I see as overconfident and overgeneralized claims. Both of these can inhibit understanding and listening. > but we have s

Below, I'm going to push back on what I see as overconfident and overgeneralized claims. Both of these can inhibit understanding and listening. > but we have seen in the past that privacy once lost is nigh impossible to regain Yes, this is a key argument in the mix. Some follow up questions: 1. As I understand it, here on HN, we are an international audience of various ages. With that in mind, I don't know your contextual experience. Are you scoping this (a) to the internet era (roughly 2000 to present)? / (b) to particular countries? 2. The statement quoted above is stated as if it is a fact, but I hope you realize it is actually a prediction. What is the historical context for this prediction? How far out into the future are you predicting? 3. Can you pin down your prediction more precisely? What does "nigh" mean? (There is a lot of variation in what "approximately" means to different people. Often the 'exceptions' are quite informative.) 4. The argument, as written, is quite general, which makes it hard to discuss. Whose privacy and in what context? Chinese citizens searching the internet? Journalists doing investigative reporting? Americans shopping in surveilled supermarkets? (Think of this as an opportunity to explain) 5. Do you mean all of the above? If you do, yes, people say that online privacy has eroded in many senses. At the same time, the tools for encryption have become more powerful, understood, and used. My point: if you make a very general statement, it is only fair if you cover the full range here. In summary, with the above questions, I want to both better understand you -and- push back too. Unfortunately, I don't find the discussion chain above (the ~3 ancestors) particularly persuasive. I say this even though I agree with some aspects of it. So you know where I'm coming from: in almost all situations, I've found it is more effective to understand, discuss, explain, persuade rather than 'writing off' a group of people because you don't really understand them. P.S. I've addressed your other points in a sibling comment.