Much more than 50% of “individuals” who claim they know about Roe v. Wade when you ask: “Do you know what Roe V Wade was about ?” have no clue.
If you search for “dude slumped in the corner wearing Oculus-like headware”, you will find a beautiful piece of artwork completed by Eran Fowler in 2005.
This coincides with a series of articles written in 2006 highlighting the mental health and possible permanent brain damage caused by “heavy Internet use” published in the Washington Post before Jeff Bezos bought the newspaper for less than a billion dollars in 2013. I suspect it had something to do with my quoting one of the Washington Post articles prior to 2007 when Facebook was launched at my Alma Mater.
Does Life really Imitate Art ?
Sites like Sketchfab frequently host interactive 3D models and artistic scenes of characters wearing headsets like the Oculus Quest and sitting slumped or resting in deep focus. Of course, if you search for Sketchfab, it instead comes up with a picture of a man ( not a “character” ) wearing a white shirt wearing a headset. The pursuit of virtual reality is brutal with entire boutique firms specializing in the ergonomics of these technologies and of course: the trade-offs.
Every year ( probably since 2005 ) for roughly two decades, I search for something like: “Dude creates a death trap that gets acquired by Facebook”. Then, roughly in 2014: I learn about a Elon Musk-like prodigy named John Carmack creating some sort of death machine using virtual reality.
Carmack had originally joined Oculus as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in August 2013. Just a few months later, in March 2014, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was purchasing the virtual reality startup for $2 billion. Carmack remained with the company for several years before ultimately stepping away from his consulting role in late 2022. What was Carmack building in his garage ?
One of my favorite science fiction novels: Dune, won the inaugural 1966 Nebula awards for science fiction in 1966. Frank Herbert’s science fiction wet dream depicts sand dunes: lots and lots of big sand dunes and spices up the scenes with muted storm troopers of a tanner hue where travelers filter and drink their own sweat flavored in various melancholy sprinkles. I’ve read the novel once and never watched any of the movies mostly because my dad is blind and didn’t have any interest in even mentioning the flick to me as a 40 year-old ( I suppose I was 38 at the time with only two children and not three. )
So it’s too late. The entire generation measured and prophesied in words mostly by the Washington Post in 2006 has no psychiatric help. You can call them whatever you want: Gen Z, Millenials m, goo goo dolls, ducks and pneumonia. They are damaged and it’s very hard to explain how. “Prophet of Dune” was originally published in Analog Magazine. I just learned that today after chatting with AI.
Caught in the Web
More People Say Heavy Internet Use Is Disrupting Their Lives, and Medical Experts Are Paying Attention. Here is one article that January W. Payne published on November 13th in 2006:
“A few months ago, it wasn’t unusual for 47-year-old Carla Toebe to spend 15 hours per day online. She’d wake up early, turn on her laptop and chat on Internet dating sites and instant-messaging programs — leaving her bed for only brief intervals. Her household bills piled up, along with the dishes and dirty laundry, but it took near-constant complaints from her four daughters before she realized she had a problem.
“I was starting to feel like my whole world was falling apart — kind of slipping into a depression,” said the Richland, Wash., resident. “I knew that if I didn’t get off of the dating sites, I would just keep going,” detaching herself further from the outside world.”
Major references:
- The Washington Post
- Eran Fowler
- Facebook Meta
- Wikipedia
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