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“ It's easy to feel blasé about the internet, but it's also played a huge role in making information easily accessible. I learned about electronics from online

by cudgy 5y ago

“ It's easy to feel blasé about the internet, but it's also played a huge role in making information easily accessible. I learned about electronics from online tutorials. Taught myself programming. Also learned a lot about home repairs and renovations. Made a lot of contacts, landed jobs, etc. I met my partner through a dating app.” All of this was possible before the internet.

krapp 5y ago
>All of this was possible before the internet. Sure, and before the invention of the telephone and telegraph you could just write someone a letter, and before the invention of the printing press you could just hire a scribe. Before the automobile you could just ride a horse. Before the cotton gin, just put some slaves in a field. Nothing is new under the sun. Having all of this information available at one's fingertips and having the ability to communicate and publish globally, and practically for free, has been revolutionary in and of itself.
- cudgy 5y ago
  Revolutionary? By what measure? The pace of true core innovation has slowed by many measures. The largest and most valued businesses today are largely marketing organizations masquerading as “tech” companies. Finally, I would argue that more, easily accessible information is not necessarily better information.
scrollaway 5y ago
No, it wasn't. If you genuinely believe it was, i suppose you're just incredibly unaware of how gated information was before the internet. The poster said "easily accessible". The wealth of knowledge and information i have at my fingertips today was before hidden behind public libraries I'd have to plan a trip to, in courses i would have to attend, in the brains of experts i would have to interview in person, i would generally have to dedicate years of my life in order to match what I can today learn in a matter of days just because of the difficult process of sorting through the information and finding what I'm looking for.
- cudgy 5y ago
  Quite the exaggeration if I may say so. How were you born then? Did your parents meet on the internet? All of the mentioned tasks were not casual in nature. Most books are far better and more in depth than tutorials found online, so for true expertise you will most likely seek long form information found in books. Sure, some online information may be “more accessible” but is it necessarily better information?

by cudgy 5y ago

krapp 5y ago

>All of this was possible before the internet. Sure, and before the invention of the telephone and telegraph you could just write someone a letter, and before the invention of the printing press you could just hire a scribe. Before the automobile you could just ride a horse. Before the cotton gin, just put some slaves in a field. Nothing is new under the sun. Having all of this information available at one's fingertips and having the ability to communicate and publish globally, and practically for free, has been revolutionary in and of itself.

cudgy 5y ago
Revolutionary? By what measure? The pace of true core innovation has slowed by many measures. The largest and most valued businesses today are largely marketing organizations masquerading as “tech” companies. Finally, I would argue that more, easily accessible information is not necessarily better information.

scrollaway 5y ago

No, it wasn't. If you genuinely believe it was, i suppose you're just incredibly unaware of how gated information was before the internet. The poster said "easily accessible". The wealth of knowledge and information i have at my fingertips today was before hidden behind public libraries I'd have to plan a trip to, in courses i would have to attend, in the brains of experts i would have to interview in person, i would generally have to dedicate years of my life in order to match what I can today learn in a matter of days just because of the difficult process of sorting through the information and finding what I'm looking for.

cudgy 5y ago
Quite the exaggeration if I may say so. How were you born then? Did your parents meet on the internet? All of the mentioned tasks were not casual in nature. Most books are far better and more in depth than tutorials found online, so for true expertise you will most likely seek long form information found in books. Sure, some online information may be “more accessible” but is it necessarily better information?