Cognoscente

@cognoscente.bsky.social

Sr SRE | former disability ERG lead, neurodiversity advocate | postmormon and antifascist | enthusiastic about pop music and Star Trek | gringuito q habla español

"The purpose of a system is what it does," was coined by Stafford Beer in 1979. The bottom line is, it doesn't matter what a system is intended, advertised, or "supposed" to do. What matters is what it actually does in the real world, what behaviours it influences, and what outcomes it produces.

Dr. Holly Walters@manigarm.bsky.social · last wk.

The way I typically judge both ideologies and technologies is by what they do. Not what people say they do. What actual consequences they have for people. If they actually make things better, then they can be viewed as good/beneficial. But if all they do is harm, no future promises are worth it.

Headline from Mother Jones: ChatGPT Helped Tumbler Ridge Shooter Focus on Guns, Tactics, and Terror

My first choice is "zero billionaires," but if I can't have that I'll take "billionaires with night terrors of guillotines trying to buy off the public."

In Mike Duncan's Revolutions Podcast he talks about his Great Idiot of History Theory. Every world-historic revolution is caused not by the success of some brave and pious revolutionary but by the failure of some dog-brained aristocrat who can't leave well enough alone. Donald Trump is such an Idiot

18. TALKING HEADS ALBUM RANKINGS Stop Making Sense The soundtrack to the best rock concert film ever made shines even without the visuals. The definitive version of lots of these songs, thanks primarily to the presence of late keyboard genius Bernie Worrell who makes them into a genuine funk act.