The author at several points seems to dither between an insightful consideration of the technological present, and what I can only quantify as an underlying fear indicative of the very sleepiness against which we're being warned. For example:
> My deeper question comes from my position as a professor here for the last 12 years, where I have watched the lure of Silicon Valley grow stronger. If the best and the brightest of you are drawn to building addictive apps rather than making great journalism, important films, or literature that survives the test of time, will we as a society be ultimately impoverished?
Might not have Rip said, on the day of his return to waking life, "if the best and the brightest of you are drawn to building democracy rather than making great works in the name of the monarchy, an institution that is sure to survive the test of time, will we as a society be ultimately impoverished for lack of grace?"
One cannot claim that the future is being misunderstood because it does not look like one's past. Yes, the increasing ubiquity of processing machines has altered society. These are still early days and the changes are so new, it's a bit like bumbling around in the dark. It seems short-sighted to assume that the current state is in any way permanent or indicative of future states.
> I was lucky enough to be involved with some artists like Bob Dylan, The Band, George Harrison, and Martin Scorsese, whose work will surely stand the test of time. I’m not sure I know what the implications are of the role-model shift from rebel filmmaker to software coder.
Neither are we. Something, however, is quite certain: whatever the implications, the future is coming and calling it wrong because it is incongruous with the past is to miss it.
I'm not sure where to differentiate between the rebel filmmaker and the rebel software application developer - at least not in his analogy.
The rebel artist is there to disrupt social norms through a particular medium. In his time, anti-Vietnam messages were a big one.
Now apps like Uber aim to disrupt social norms through the software medium. (I will argue all day that software is art, BTW.) Just because the author doesn't recognize the movement personally doesn't mean it has really changed all that much.
(P.S. All of author's heroes listed are rich. I fully believe both art and riches can be pursued at the same time, but being paid well for doing what you love is the same as it's always been.)
Well, they are also out to disrupt the government enforced taxi monopolies using VC money.
I agree that there isn't anything patentable about their approach. We'll see how hard it is to compete with their combination of infrastructure and network effect.
However, I think there might be some (quite substantial) difference between a terrible war and a terrible government-regulated taxi service. The importance and weight of an issue and so on.
> My deeper question comes from my position as a professor here for the last 12 years, where I have watched the lure of Silicon Valley grow stronger. If the best and the brightest of you are drawn to building addictive apps rather than making great journalism, important films, or literature that survives the test of time, will we as a society be ultimately impoverished?
Might not have Rip said, on the day of his return to waking life, "if the best and the brightest of you are drawn to building democracy rather than making great works in the name of the monarchy, an institution that is sure to survive the test of time, will we as a society be ultimately impoverished for lack of grace?"
One cannot claim that the future is being misunderstood because it does not look like one's past. Yes, the increasing ubiquity of processing machines has altered society. These are still early days and the changes are so new, it's a bit like bumbling around in the dark. It seems short-sighted to assume that the current state is in any way permanent or indicative of future states.
> I was lucky enough to be involved with some artists like Bob Dylan, The Band, George Harrison, and Martin Scorsese, whose work will surely stand the test of time. I’m not sure I know what the implications are of the role-model shift from rebel filmmaker to software coder.
Neither are we. Something, however, is quite certain: whatever the implications, the future is coming and calling it wrong because it is incongruous with the past is to miss it.