This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I genuinely cannot think of a single "smart" device that has made my life better but it's easy to think of a ton that have made my life a little bit worse. This isn't a privacy or security thing. The devices are genuinely pointless and annoying. We recently unplugged our Alexa because it was pointless and annoying. There was probably a week where I could come up with contrived tasks for it to help with so I could pretend it wasn't completely stupid. I'm tired of tech people telling me I need this or that and making it impossible to find a house in the Bay Area with a normal boring thermostat. It's an immense treat that the used grill I just bought has no electronics built in.
The best argument for IoT devices was that they were a lot cheaper than normal devices because a VC was spending some pension fund's money to "build market share."
I hate IoT shit, but being able to close/open garage doors without the receiver when leaving the house without a car, set my thermostat to vacation mode, monitor my dogs, etc., have been beneficial enough for me not to rip out the haphazard automation put in the house by the previous owner.
Still cannot believe Google just gave up on Nest tooling and decided to leave home automation to a dozen Chinesium applications instead. It's embarrassing.
More options
Context Copy link
The smartphone map features are genuinely useful and I use them all the time to figure out what bus I need to take where, for example.
More options
Context Copy link
I can turn off my thermostat from bed if I forgot to do it before turning in
I can have my lamp gradually turn on and brighten before I need to wake up, which is nicer than the alarm
More options
Context Copy link
I like Alexa in the kitchen only, then I can set timers, play music, get recipes and the like while I am wrists deep in a turkey. Just saves a bit of time is all.
That's about it.
Both wrists in there?
Fucking savage, man!
Mr. Bean knows how it's really done.
More options
Context Copy link
You should see me injecting butter under the skin..My wife thinks I could give BBLs down in Mexico.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
I'm convinced a lot of it is malinvestment due to loose monetary policy. If we weren't in ZIRP for years, those VCs would have to fund stuff that actually has a chance of turning a profit rather than something that just sounds like a good idea.
There are legit IoT things that are useful but they don't really fit into the kitchen-widget-but-with-computer framework. Smart grids, automotive communications, logistics, medical, agriculture; there's lots of actual applications of cheap networked MCUs that people don't think about and rely on every day. Your car's backup camera was probably sold to the investors as "IoT" at some point.
But somehow "IoT" came to mean either gimmicky chinese lightbulbs or kitchen appliances that make you pay a subscription. Probably because you have to use fancy buzzwords to make people swallow that crap.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link