tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post6260515589421167458..comments2024-03-29T12:03:37.344+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: Nothing good on the internetBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-32778857360796598362016-09-01T08:19:31.785+01:002016-09-01T08:19:31.785+01:00Ben, I suspect that we will need to be prepared to...Ben, I suspect that we will need to be prepared to give up the internet, pretty much, in order to reverse the trend to spiritual death.Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-11293864126073606592016-09-01T07:35:42.590+01:002016-09-01T07:35:42.590+01:00Similar to to Luqman I doubt I would be where I am...Similar to to Luqman I doubt I would be where I am now without the internet. Also, in part, because it kept me away from the TV (where the toxicity is force fed and pernicious).<br /><br />Bruce is right though: That shouldn't affect how you evaluate it as an institution though.BenLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-10489752599926071442016-08-16T07:28:10.212+01:002016-08-16T07:28:10.212+01:00One of the most salient effects of the Internet ha...One of the most salient effects of the Internet has been the explosion of pornography, to the point where there must be vanishingly few people in developed countries who have never viewed it. The hidden psychological and social effects of this must be enormous, and have surely played a role in the recent acceleration of the sexual revolution.Wm Jas Tychonievichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07446790072877463982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-76943088070060470962016-08-15T05:39:13.573+01:002016-08-15T05:39:13.573+01:00@Luq - "Do you think writing your thoughts an...@Luq - "Do you think writing your thoughts and preparing them for some kind of consumption by others has helped you Dr. Charlton?"<br /><br />I think so. But I have been writing and 'publishing' a lot for about 25 years - I used to publish normal 'journalism' pretty frequently,something every few weeks on average, and I have virtually stopped doinf that. <br /><br />But publishing daily has only been possible by the internet, and it does seem to be helpful. <br /><br />We need to be careful in evaluating technology - in an 'ultimate' sense all technologies are 'neutral' but that is not much help in evalutaing them. After all, there were apparently remarkable acts of human goodness in Nazi concentration camps and Soviet Gulags which would not otherwise have happened - but that doesn't justify them as institutions. In particular it should not deter us from abolishing them, or letting them die off. <br /><br />I have a feeling that the genuine usefulness of the internet in some of the ways mentioned would sound pretty feeble when put against the net effect on Man. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-57324611708123991062016-08-15T01:34:39.442+01:002016-08-15T01:34:39.442+01:00You have to discriminate. It's a human thing. ...You have to discriminate. It's a human thing. What do you want?Albrechtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-80512623994536136222016-08-15T00:55:00.552+01:002016-08-15T00:55:00.552+01:00There is no better available way to rapidly create...There is no better available way to rapidly create and settle in false selves (especially in the adolescent) than the internet. That there is near nothing good in it is a reflection of what we are, but that does not make its harm more palatable. It amplifies what already exists and since we are in a surfeit of evil there is an expected result. The increase is exponential, not linear, but that amplification works both ways. I dont doubt that in many small and individual ways it has been an instrument of leading people out of falseness rather than further into it.<br /><br />Speaking for myself, the internet turned out to be beneficial, but in hindsight there were so many pitfalls that emerging to where I am seems a miracle. One immediate good thing was that it kept me almost wholly away from television. A few synchronicities also occured via its use that I cannot ignore. I dont really think anything is evil in itself, it could not be as it is all from the same source. Evil is a privation that relies on will and intent. Nevertheless, the jury is still out for my own case and it is certainly a powerful weapon in the hands of the deceiver.<br /><br />Do you think writing your thoughts and preparing them for some kind of consumption by others has helped you Dr. Charlton? As opposed to keeping a journal I mean. I have found that writing to an audience is rapidly clarifying in a way private writing is not even if no one actually reads it. Pretending does not work the same way as well.Luqmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12144548172937229260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-72879549910709250112016-08-14T19:55:34.088+01:002016-08-14T19:55:34.088+01:00I think I disagree. 99% of almost anything will be...I think I disagree. 99% of almost anything will be bad or wrong. A similarly high percentage of religions are wrong, but I wouldn't generalize that to saying that no religion is true or that there is no good to be found in those that are not completely true, or even many mostly wrong ones.Lukenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-34004826574535897272016-08-14T18:01:39.533+01:002016-08-14T18:01:39.533+01:00Yes, if you need a recipe, or find out how to fix ...Yes, if you need a recipe, or find out how to fix something, etc. it is an amazing resource without taking up the room of a giant library where you still wouldn't be able to find what you were looking for. It's also a source for daily puzzles, old photos, books and lots of music among other things(although probably too much music- there's so much it can become hard to ever be satisfied if that makes sense).drizzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03032435453362480868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-36744848720645730992016-08-14T09:38:00.164+01:002016-08-14T09:38:00.164+01:00It's handy for finding owner's manuals to ...It's handy for finding owner's manuals to obscure gadgets.<br /><br /><br />I found a real neat pumpkin pie recipe a couple of years ago. (pickyourown.org)<br /><br /><br />I guess I could have gone to the public library for the latter.360 Decreeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04379887088965313654noreply@blogger.com