RE: Curating the Internet: Science and technology digest for November 7, 2019
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Items #1 and #3 are intrinsically related. Code is just 1's and 0's. There is no secure computer. Computers that scan DNA have been infected with malware using DNA crafted for the purpose. Cars with computers have been hacked by shining lights on their lights, playing sounds into the speakers, and on and on. Every interface is a conduit for hackers that understand computers.
No data on a computer is secure, nor ever will be. Worse yet, every commercially available chipset is backdoored at the factory by various state and other actors.
Criticism is my most valued currency, for the reasons given in #2. Absent criticism, without opposition, I cannot change my mind when I am wrong, or become better than I am. Fear keeps me on my toes. Shame enables me to avoid regret, and regret to avoid shame.
A man is only defined by his enemies, crafted by his obstacles, and proven by his transcendence.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for reading! I appreciate the insightful commentary that you so-often add to these posts.
I agree with you on all points, although it is sometimes hard for me to get past the reflexive feeling of defensiveness when confronted with criticism. And, when watching the TED talk on listening to critics, I wondered how realistic it is to ask most businesses to be transparent in that sort of situation. Nice idea, but I think it would be hard (or impossible) for most corporations to put into practice.
It is our human condition that has conditioned us to defend ourselves from criticism, and it is a trait I often lament with regret in myself. Fortunately I am not a corporation, and do not need to convince a committee to do so. I can barely do it to me =p.