Butterfly.archive

17/03/2026 - Impressions

=== Thoughts ===

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Every time I mention Cory Doctorow, I'm reminded of Innuendo Studio's cry of "YEAH, YEAH, TAKE A SHOT" whenever they mention Samuel R. Delaney.

These are half-formed thoughts, so forgive me if this doesn't really go anywhere. I'll link to the original articles in What's Out There, but one of Doctorow's current lines of inquiry is about the political capacity of things, of technology in particular. It's a hot-button issue, made difficult to navigate in a socmed culture that is so couched in the language of purity and gripped in the nuance-annihilating muscles of stan/anti-stan behaviour. Importantly, however, it is not a new issue. Doctorow himself points to an essay from 1980 about this very discussion.

It's been a wedge into some of my more deeply-held beliefs, and that's a challenging thing to wrestle with, especially since I'm supposed to be taking this week to rest, not evaluating what I thought was a core value.

One thing I can agree on, without reservation, is Doctorow (and the antecedent Gibson)'s assertion that liberation of technology A.K.A. "seizing the means of computation" is a humanistic effort, and should always be framed as such. To quote Doctorow:

"The important fact about a technology is what it does, not how it came about. Does a use of a technology harm someone? Does a use of a technology harm the environment?

Does a use of a technology help someone do something that improves their life?"

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. Read the article - the essay, if you're feeling adventurous - and let me know what you think.

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