Good-bye Sweet Silence

Comparing the dystopias of Orwell and Huxley, Huxley probably better anticipated the problems of our future civilization. Orwell however was more insightful about the dangers of ubiquitous communication.  Any communication device that works everywhere is just a monitoring device of the mob-ocracy.

Smart phones are the dead end of both personal ownership and communal property. They provide no hope for a democracy of creativity on the internet or privacy. They are only a poor fix for our need for friendship and communication.

I've inconvienced my friends and family for a long time with my refusal to get a modern cell phone. Most have been kind of enough to put up with it, but I can't go on. It's impossible to be really free.