I commented earlier (November 2, 2022) on this article detailing overt cancellation, censorship, and stifling of free discussion and debate. I have experienced this in the American College of Surgeons, in which I have been, and remain, a Fellow in good standing. The ACS purportedly represents 84,000 surgeons in the US and its stated mission is to serve all with skill and trust. This mission has been abandoned as the ACS is now one of the latest converts to the social justice movement, DEI, and critical race theory. I was banned for life from participating in online discussions on the ACS forums for objecting to the adoption of DEI/CRT in the ACS. The reasons given were fabricated and I have never been shown what comments led to my ban. Whatever your position on any of those issues, the silencing of voices of dissent without justification beyond the fact that they are dissenting has no place in a professional organization. If you value free speech and open, transparent discussion and debate on topics of consequence, please read and sign my petition. If you are an MD or MD, FACS, please sign as such. Share this as widely as you can. The link is
I remain skeptical of Musk's ability to make Twitter into anything good without significantly altering how the platform works- if it's all the same algorithmically-driven downward spiral, if it's still funded primarily with ad dollars, what's the upside? How will Musk having total control signal a potential sea-change in twitter or social media operation? Some of his proposed ideas, as reported when he originally said he'd buy it, sounded pretty agreeable to me, but saying you want to do something and then doing it- especially when real money is on the line, if the reporting about Twitter's operating costs, profitability, debts, and how much cash Musk is going to have to shell out is true- are two very different things. But until that broader change happens, or looks like its' on a horizon somewhere, I don't think social media of any kind is actually a 'town square'- it's a worse iteration on the ad-dollars driven news and information channels we had before, now with the added benefit of siloing and the accelerated hollowing out of media and culture [/s]! Idk, I just don't believe the force of Elon Musk's personality is enough to undercut the inherently reality-bending nature of social media or, like, the internet as a whole (See: All of Dan Carlin's points about who comments on news stories, "garbage in/garbage out"). But let the bird be free, I guess! Anyway, I'm gonna go relisten to Bari's interview with Jaron Lanier- it's probably the one internet-related thing that makes my cold dead heart feel anything anymore.
Walter, this is unbelievable. Thank God some of us are able to read this essay. Not enough.
I would not be so secure in my feelings for Elon, nevertheless. There is creepy stuff floating around concerning him and the WEF.
But more importantly, electric vehicles: how much more of our control and autonomy can be given away? Am I a Luddite for being thankful for my roll-down windows in my 4x4? Defiantly pressing the locks in my door by hand? Laughing that my vehicle doesn’t have to restart with every stoplight?
I don’t mean to go extreme, I’m not anti-tech. But it’s clear the human being operator is an endangered species.
The truth is, we give away more and more of our autonomy by trading mechanical work for electrical and especially for electronic. Auto mechanics practically need an EE or CS degree now. God help us.
This article was enlightening, but I think the problem is social media itself, and Twitter may be one of the worst. The system only really promotes 'influencers' and 'creators', and it simultaneously strips real world buffers - you know like real human interaction - out of your life by using algorithms that exploit psychology to capture our attention over and over and over.
"Back when I was a kid..." Yea I know, cringe, but so what? Back when I was a kid, I had conversations with diamonds in the rough, brilliant, humble people who Larry King and Dan Rather never heard of. These people lived a lifetime and had the stable self confidence to show for it. These weren't bloviating attention seekers like Trump and Biden, or Caitlyn Jenner and Kanye West, people whose Tweets (or whatever) are discussed for months. I'm talking about a guy who served as an officer in World War II. One night Fred caught a whole series of train cars headed for the tropical Pacific Theater with snow parkas, and another set of cars headed for Europe with malaria pills. There were other things in the cars, but you get the point. He worked through the night sorting it all out in the rain and mud, because that's what he had to do. He didn't get to fight alongside them, but in his words, he was ready to lay down on the tracks before he let those cars go the wrong way.
How did he reach me? Because he was just a normal 80+ year old guy who went to the Y every day, and brought his lunch so he could sit in the lobby and chat with people. And on one of those days he gave a young lifeguard on lunch break half his sandwich and some pepper slices and asked why the kid ate such garbage all the time.
You don't get Fred on Twitter, or TikTok, or Youtube. These kids are all wasting their bandwidth. I like Mr. Beast, I think he's good for the kids, but at some point these massive creators are going to have to step up and find a way to get people off their phones once in a while. We have to talk to the people around us, because that's real.
Real is the only thing that will save us from the stupidity that Twitter brings us, along with all the exploits it offers tyrants and sociopaths.
I found this historical twitter take, which I could never have imagined, chilling. Kirn doesn’t have to make a living doing journo stuff and can thus raise obvious concerns. Others have to go along with the algorithm and they just comply. Gotta say his point here is convincingly scary and totally believable.
"I’m of a temperament which habitually goes against the flow to challenge and test the flow, to keep it honest." That's me too. Great article. Thanks for helping me understand Twitter a little better.
I agree Wter Kirn is the best! I just can't seem to get enough of him. So there still IS wisdom out there somewher, with humor, extra special.
Thank you. Thoroughly enjoyed your article. Looking forward to your next.
I commented earlier (November 2, 2022) on this article detailing overt cancellation, censorship, and stifling of free discussion and debate. I have experienced this in the American College of Surgeons, in which I have been, and remain, a Fellow in good standing. The ACS purportedly represents 84,000 surgeons in the US and its stated mission is to serve all with skill and trust. This mission has been abandoned as the ACS is now one of the latest converts to the social justice movement, DEI, and critical race theory. I was banned for life from participating in online discussions on the ACS forums for objecting to the adoption of DEI/CRT in the ACS. The reasons given were fabricated and I have never been shown what comments led to my ban. Whatever your position on any of those issues, the silencing of voices of dissent without justification beyond the fact that they are dissenting has no place in a professional organization. If you value free speech and open, transparent discussion and debate on topics of consequence, please read and sign my petition. If you are an MD or MD, FACS, please sign as such. Share this as widely as you can. The link is
https://www.change.org/ACS-petition-reinstate-Bosshardt
Excellent article.
I remain skeptical of Musk's ability to make Twitter into anything good without significantly altering how the platform works- if it's all the same algorithmically-driven downward spiral, if it's still funded primarily with ad dollars, what's the upside? How will Musk having total control signal a potential sea-change in twitter or social media operation? Some of his proposed ideas, as reported when he originally said he'd buy it, sounded pretty agreeable to me, but saying you want to do something and then doing it- especially when real money is on the line, if the reporting about Twitter's operating costs, profitability, debts, and how much cash Musk is going to have to shell out is true- are two very different things. But until that broader change happens, or looks like its' on a horizon somewhere, I don't think social media of any kind is actually a 'town square'- it's a worse iteration on the ad-dollars driven news and information channels we had before, now with the added benefit of siloing and the accelerated hollowing out of media and culture [/s]! Idk, I just don't believe the force of Elon Musk's personality is enough to undercut the inherently reality-bending nature of social media or, like, the internet as a whole (See: All of Dan Carlin's points about who comments on news stories, "garbage in/garbage out"). But let the bird be free, I guess! Anyway, I'm gonna go relisten to Bari's interview with Jaron Lanier- it's probably the one internet-related thing that makes my cold dead heart feel anything anymore.
Walter, this is unbelievable. Thank God some of us are able to read this essay. Not enough.
I would not be so secure in my feelings for Elon, nevertheless. There is creepy stuff floating around concerning him and the WEF.
But more importantly, electric vehicles: how much more of our control and autonomy can be given away? Am I a Luddite for being thankful for my roll-down windows in my 4x4? Defiantly pressing the locks in my door by hand? Laughing that my vehicle doesn’t have to restart with every stoplight?
I don’t mean to go extreme, I’m not anti-tech. But it’s clear the human being operator is an endangered species.
The truth is, we give away more and more of our autonomy by trading mechanical work for electrical and especially for electronic. Auto mechanics practically need an EE or CS degree now. God help us.
"cognitive infrastructure" ~ now there is a turn of phrase that only an obfuscation expert could produce.
Excellent - this deserves to be on some front pages
This article was enlightening, but I think the problem is social media itself, and Twitter may be one of the worst. The system only really promotes 'influencers' and 'creators', and it simultaneously strips real world buffers - you know like real human interaction - out of your life by using algorithms that exploit psychology to capture our attention over and over and over.
"Back when I was a kid..." Yea I know, cringe, but so what? Back when I was a kid, I had conversations with diamonds in the rough, brilliant, humble people who Larry King and Dan Rather never heard of. These people lived a lifetime and had the stable self confidence to show for it. These weren't bloviating attention seekers like Trump and Biden, or Caitlyn Jenner and Kanye West, people whose Tweets (or whatever) are discussed for months. I'm talking about a guy who served as an officer in World War II. One night Fred caught a whole series of train cars headed for the tropical Pacific Theater with snow parkas, and another set of cars headed for Europe with malaria pills. There were other things in the cars, but you get the point. He worked through the night sorting it all out in the rain and mud, because that's what he had to do. He didn't get to fight alongside them, but in his words, he was ready to lay down on the tracks before he let those cars go the wrong way.
How did he reach me? Because he was just a normal 80+ year old guy who went to the Y every day, and brought his lunch so he could sit in the lobby and chat with people. And on one of those days he gave a young lifeguard on lunch break half his sandwich and some pepper slices and asked why the kid ate such garbage all the time.
You don't get Fred on Twitter, or TikTok, or Youtube. These kids are all wasting their bandwidth. I like Mr. Beast, I think he's good for the kids, but at some point these massive creators are going to have to step up and find a way to get people off their phones once in a while. We have to talk to the people around us, because that's real.
Real is the only thing that will save us from the stupidity that Twitter brings us, along with all the exploits it offers tyrants and sociopaths.
Excellent article!! Thank you Bari, and Mr. Kirn!
I can’t see how cancelling his own tweets gives you confidence he won’t cancel yours.
Ironically, I don't recall getting an email for this story like I usually do. I probably skipped over it by accident, I hope.
Brilliant piece
I found this historical twitter take, which I could never have imagined, chilling. Kirn doesn’t have to make a living doing journo stuff and can thus raise obvious concerns. Others have to go along with the algorithm and they just comply. Gotta say his point here is convincingly scary and totally believable.
"I’m of a temperament which habitually goes against the flow to challenge and test the flow, to keep it honest." That's me too. Great article. Thanks for helping me understand Twitter a little better.
Walter Kirn’s the man.
Never miss him with Matt Taibi on America This Week.