Good points about the more rounded origins of hacker culture. I had read most of Arthur C Clarke by 9 years old and already had complex misgivings and ambivalen

Good points about the more rounded origins of hacker culture. I had read most of Arthur C Clarke by 9 years old and already had complex misgivings and ambivalence about "technology". > obliterated by the frenzied influx during the dotcom gold rush. Something changed in mid 1990s, something that was more than just the commercialisation and Eternal September. Perhaps it was millenial angst but a certain darkness and nihilism crept in as if William Gibson stopped trying to imagine future dystopias because the future had "caught up" and we were living in it. I think that's when things actually stopped progressing. After that, everything that had been written as a warning became a blueprint. > Since then, "the victors write the history books", including formative influences on children's thinking. 80s and 90s media moguls only owned the channels, and there was cursory regulation. When you own all the platforms, and devices that people use, and shape the content they see from school-age onwards it is no longer "media" but total mind control. > It's encouraging if we manage to collectively scrape our way back from that It may not be "back", but it may be somewhere better than here. Each generation finds it's own voice. I have some optimism in the kids since 2000 - it's like they're born knowing "The cake is a lie". They're just not quite sure yet what to do about it.