Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Onion Hilarity Versus IEET Idiocy

I guess it isn't really all that surprising to find that the coverage today by The Onion of Bazillionaire Libertopian Robot Cultist Peter Thiel's donation of over a million bucks to help create an artificial oil-platform island market fundamentalist techno-utopian paradise on the high seas is better in every way -- whether we’re talking appropriateness of tone, focus on what is salient, provision of real insight, intelligence of analysis, or concision of expression -- than the coverage offered the same day of the same news by David Brin, yet another Very Serious Bald White Guy of "The Future" over at the stealth Robot Cult outfit IEET. To treat the unserious seriously is not serious, unless you are pointing out unseriousness can be serious as a heart attack. It is not only acceptable, but often the very best way of ensuring the stakes of an issue remain clear and relevant standards of judgment remain intact, to ridicule that which simply is ridiculous. (Some readers may recall, by the way, that I already tackled the topic of Thiel and his Ayn Raelian high seas daydreams way back in May, 2009. )

Again, I don't think it's surprising that The Onion handled the story more appropriately and intelligently than did IEET. The real surprise is that Brin's piece does give The Onion a run for its money in bringing the funny. Get the barrage of arch comments Brin makes in the opening of his article:
Inspired by Ayn Rand, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, along with Patri Friedman and others, are helping the Seasteading Institute plan a floating ‘start-up country’ off the coast of San Francisco, built on oil-rig like platforms in international waters. Here residents will be able to live by Libertarian ideals, free of regulation, laws, and the welfare state.
I mean, man, that sarcasm is truly… Oh, wait.

Never mind.

3 comments:

admin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dale Carrico said...

Do take note that while he wants to be free of eeeevil Big Gu'ment and Political Correctness, he also wants to stay as close as possible to that enclave of multicultural socialists and lesbian feminist permaculture commune farms and San Francisco Values, the Bay Area. What a jackhole.

Dale Carrico said...

By the way, interested readers will better understand Martin's reference to Nauru if they read Nauru Needs Futurologists!