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This reminds me of a story about the first atomic bomb test. Not too long before the first detonation was to occur, some scientists voiced a concern that there
by sehugg 15y ago
This reminds me of a story about the first atomic bomb test. Not too long before the first detonation was to occur, some scientists voiced a concern that there was a slim chance that the blast would be strong enough to ignite the atmosphere and pretty much destroy the world. These voices were in the minority, and disproved through calculation and common sense -- but the official paper disproving it did not arrive until a year later. So the first atomic bomb was detonated with a few lingering doubts about whether it would instantly destroy the world.
This is what the SOPA debate feels like to me, except there are no reasoned arguments disproving its opponents' worst fears, just pat dismissals of the opposition.
- ericd 15y agoI don't think that many are arguing that it's going to be an obvious complete annihilation. The backlash would be far too large if Reddit actually went down. More likely, it's just going to be small sites here and there that are too small to defend themselves, and that not enough people care about seeing go away to make an outcry loud enough for Washington to hear. That's what's really scary about it - that it will have very bad, almost silent effects that few outside of tech notice.
- MaxGabriel 15y agoSo like, Reddit in 2005?
- ericd 15y agoYeah, 2005 Reddit would probably be pretty screwed. Areas with a lot of user generated content might calcify if this big barrier to entry comes in, and only the big incumbent players are safe. I imagine the fact that govt. clearly wants this is probably already going to have a chilling effect on riskier areas, even if nothing gets passed.
- obtu 15y agoAs well as digg, for not cracking down hard enough at the time 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 was extracted.
- sehugg 15y agoI agree that the effects won't be instant, and I too worry about the unpredictable chilling effects on the internet, free speech, and the U.S. technology industry. Like Robert Frost said, "for destruction ice is also great and would suffice."
- gwern 15y agoDiscussion of paper with PDF link: http://lesswrong.com/lw/rg/la602_vs_rhic_review/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/rg/la602_vs_rhic_review/
- burgerbrain 15y agoSo by your own analogy, SOPA is a nuclear weapon? Awesome.