"The atomic bomb was the moral moment for physicists. Mass surveillance is the same moment for computer scientists, when they realize that the things they produce can be used to harm a tremendous number of people."
http://www.alternet.org/world/snowden-i-did-what-i-did-because-i-believe-it-right-thing-do?paging=off
It would be helpful if you explained a little more. What makes this article relevant to the LW community?
It seems self-evident to me that topics of mass surveillance, modern martyrs, and the exposing the lies of (for better or worse) the ruling class, would be of interest to those trying to act rationally.
But I am new here; and maybe there is more a burden of a specific thesis?
topics of mass surveillance, modern martyrs, and the exposing the lies of (for better or worse) the ruling class, would be of interest to those trying to act rationally
I think they would be of interest. But the same holds in general for all true information. It's usually nice if the contributor provides a more specific reason.
The specific topics in this particular post deserve extra justification for two reasons. The first is that they are highly politicized. The second is that the link is to a decidedly political source. This can lead to poor-quality discussion.
It's good to discourage opinionated link-dumping. Whether this qualifies as opinionated link-dumping or not, a norm of providing a justification for such posts would discourage the practice. By asking for justification, I was contributing to such a norm.
It seems self-evident to me that topics of mass surveillance, modern martyrs, and the exposing the lies of (for better or worse) the ruling class, would be of interest to those trying to act rationally.
But I am new here; and maybe there is more a burden of a specific thesis?
I think they would be of interest. But the same holds in general for all true information. It's usually nice if the contributor provides a more specific reason.
The specific topics in this particular post deserve extra justification for two reasons. The first is that they are highly politicized. The second is that the link is to a decidedly political source. This can lead to poor-quality d... (read more)