Re: virus: Second Class Netizens

John R. Mott (jmott@clemson.edu)
Thu, 12 Mar 1998 13:59:50 -0500


><< The point I was trying to make is that in some social contexts the mastery
> of the paradigm of book can get your ass kicked .... since "book user"
> equates to "teacher's pet". >>
>i always wanted to know this. when did it become a bad thing to be smart?
>when did the stereotype of a "nerd" gain a negative denotation?

Too become smarter than one's is to peers is to become different. To be
different is to be a threat. To be a threat is to be a target. To be a
target includes stereotypes, ridicule, sanctions, etc.

Look at the weapons crisis. Part of the reason that we do not want
countries Developing weapons of mass destruction is that we have aggreed
not to cultivate this information, resulting in these countries having some
power over us.

<<Standard opinion is usually, the perfect OS would be a Mac with a command
line.>>

Which, to a limited extent, is what windows 95 has become.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -
Clarke's Third Law.