Editing 1539: Planning
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|First attempt at an explanation.}} | |
+ | [[Ponytail]] asks [[Megan]] why people seems to be comfortable with {{w|Google}} and {{w|Facebook}} getting so much control of their lives through access to a wealth of personal information. For example, online advertisements are often tailored to the viewer based on their Google searches or web browsing history. | ||
− | + | Megan says she does not know. Then she compares Ponytail's comment with the fact that humans have built thousands of {{w|nuclear weapons}}, once used as a source of political control, which are now stored in bases and silos all over the world. She comments that now no one seems to care anymore, and world concerns have moved on to other things like internet privacy, as indicated by Ponytail's original question. In reality there is still much world concern surrounding nuclear weapons proliferation, but it is not the common household topic that it was in, for example, the 1980s. | |
− | + | Megan's best solution to appease Ponytail is to just go with the flow, since this kind of big-picture planning actually doesn't exist (it just seems to happen on auto-pilot), without anyone actually thinking about the consequences. This is of course a scary thought, but it seems like [[Randall]] believes this is what happens in the world (perhaps as human nature), and probably not just with weapons and data. Innovation throughout history has happened to solve specific short-term problems, and rarely has long-term consequences in mind, as evidenced by the debate over {{w|Climate change}} brought about in large part by atmospheric pollution that comes from innovations in transportation, manufacturing and industry. | |
− | + | In the title text we move ahead 10 years, to a similar conversation where the two parts of the above have been inexplicably mixed. A future equivalent to Ponytail asks why we all think it is OK to hand over the control of our nuclear weapons to Google and Facebook, which would certainly be a nonsensical route to take. This could also be seen as another step toward the {{w|Technological_singularity|singularity}}, from which perspective handing over control of nuclear weapons could be desirable, catastrophic, implicit and/or unavoidable. | |
− | This comic was posted on the day after {{w|Vladimir Putin}} had [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/world/europe/putin-40-new-missiles-russian-nuclear-arsenal.html announced] that Russia would add 40 new {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s to its nuclear stockpile | + | This comic was posted on the day after {{w|Vladimir Putin}} had [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/world/europe/putin-40-new-missiles-russian-nuclear-arsenal.html announced] that Russia would add 40 new {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s to its nuclear stockpile this year. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
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