Andrew Keen, author of an excellent book, The Cult Of The Amateur is know for his controversial views on the relentles march of technology and where it might eventually lead is. In this post, the age of disbelief he responds to alleged inventor of the World Wide Web,Tim Berners Lee. TBL is currently whinging about the amount of dross on the web, but typically of a scientist he complains that the rubbish is “forcing the real science to the sidelines.
Isn’t that typical of a scientist? He ignored warnings that his brainchild had no security so shouldn’t the finger of blame be pointing at him? Oh no, he’s an omnipotent scientist, he cannot possibly have made a mistake. But in reality before Berners Lee had won the ear of governments we in the Information Technology industry had a very good internetworking system that was very secure and capable of being properly managed. And it was so simple a filing clerk could use it. It baffled scientists of course, they can’t do simple, it’s not scientific enough for them.
TBL has defended his dysfunctional brainchild against all criticism of course. No he says, it would not have been better if he had listened to professionals who knew what they were doing. Yes he was sure “anyone can do anything” was the right approach. The trouble is humans are not driven by logic and cannot be programmed. If people can do something they will. And if their idea of ruining someone’s life, stealing their csh, trashing their reputation then they are going to do it. After all the internet has no serious security or auditing so people are free to do anything. Yay freedom, yay science.
Now, after a couple of years ago saying kiddieporn, hacking and identity theft were minor inconveniences compared to the benefits of an unregulated internet Tim has had a change of heart and is now calling for regulation because it seems he was pissed off by all the ridicule thrown at the Large Hadron Collider. He is calling for regulation to restrict all us jokers so the World Domination Club of Coneheads can post their evil agenda without ever being challenged, mocked or having people gob on the back of their anoraks.
Berners Lee says his call for regulation is a reaction to the ease with which cults and conspiracy theorists can spread their ideas. Well here’s a conspiracy theory for him to chew on. It’s obvious an elite group of scientists are trying to turn science into a religion to place themselves beyond criticism. They must be stopped. Comrades, the end justifies the means. We mush search out and kidnap young scientists, get them drunk, get them laid, make them live with the pikeys on sink estates, in other words we must help them to get a life. It is our duty.
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