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And it carries over to the glorious new age of technological empowerment, where systems that was supposed to mitigate human ills instead perpetuate them: All f

And it carries over to the glorious new age of technological empowerment, where systems that was supposed to mitigate human ills instead perpetuate them: All forums, even vote-based ones like Reddit and HN, devolve into echo chambers where any dissenting opinion is buried before many even get to see it.

hansworst 5y ago
Although at least on platforms like Reddit (and I suppose the internet as a whole) it’s possible to create your own echo chamber where your opinion that was shunned elsewhere is allowed to exist and can gather a following. The echo chamber effect of these platforms is often called out as a bad thing, but in my opinion it may also be useful as a way of nurturing ideas that would’ve otherwise been squashed early because they’re too contrarian. The problem is, you can only find out whether an idea is good or not by exposing it to an increasingly large audience. And then I guess there’s the risk of allowing “dangerous” ideas to gain such a large following that they’re hard to stop.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  >Although at least on platforms like Reddit (and I suppose the internet as a whole) it’s possible to create your own echo chamber where your opinion that was shunned elsewhere is allowed to exist and can gather a following. AKA the Toaster Fucker Problem! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25667362 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25667362
  - sacrosancty 5y ago
    Is that really a problem? Even if toaster fucker is a euphemism for gay? Why shouldn't everyone find like-minded people to feel non-isolated with?
    - AussieWog93 5y ago
      It's not really any of those things. It's nothing more than a whimsical way to think about certain types of cultish online communities.
nonrandomstring 5y ago
> supposed to mitigate human ills instead perpetuate them May I differ. Technology was never meant to cure human ills. The tragedy is that technology was supposed to enhance human capabilities but instead stymied them. This is the difference between IA (intelligence amplification) in which technology is a bicycle, and AI (artificial intelligence) in which it is a crutch. Why technology has its iatrogenic effect is a great question of our time. Does it always? Or are we uniquely misusing it? With regard to amplifying shame, it merely acts as it does to amplify any human sentiments and ideas. Technology giveth, and technology taketh away (Postman).
zppln 5y ago
Meh, if anything voting systems accelerate the ride to echo chamber.

hansworst 5y ago

Although at least on platforms like Reddit (and I suppose the internet as a whole) it’s possible to create your own echo chamber where your opinion that was shunned elsewhere is allowed to exist and can gather a following. The echo chamber effect of these platforms is often called out as a bad thing, but in my opinion it may also be useful as a way of nurturing ideas that would’ve otherwise been squashed early because they’re too contrarian. The problem is, you can only find out whether an idea is good or not by exposing it to an increasingly large audience. And then I guess there’s the risk of allowing “dangerous” ideas to gain such a large following that they’re hard to stop.

AussieWog93 5y ago
>Although at least on platforms like Reddit (and I suppose the internet as a whole) it’s possible to create your own echo chamber where your opinion that was shunned elsewhere is allowed to exist and can gather a following. AKA the Toaster Fucker Problem! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25667362 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25667362
- sacrosancty 5y ago
  Is that really a problem? Even if toaster fucker is a euphemism for gay? Why shouldn't everyone find like-minded people to feel non-isolated with?
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    It's not really any of those things. It's nothing more than a whimsical way to think about certain types of cultish online communities.

nonrandomstring 5y ago

> supposed to mitigate human ills instead perpetuate them May I differ. Technology was never meant to cure human ills. The tragedy is that technology was supposed to enhance human capabilities but instead stymied them. This is the difference between IA (intelligence amplification) in which technology is a bicycle, and AI (artificial intelligence) in which it is a crutch. Why technology has its iatrogenic effect is a great question of our time. Does it always? Or are we uniquely misusing it? With regard to amplifying shame, it merely acts as it does to amplify any human sentiments and ideas. Technology giveth, and technology taketh away (Postman).

zppln 5y ago

Meh, if anything voting systems accelerate the ride to echo chamber.