oonerspism
Thanks a lot.
In my 40s now, I've had recent reflections about the small, golden friendship group of my university years. What they were then, vs the kind of life they pursued, and where they ended up. This little group of harmlessly rebellious nerds, playing computer games, smoking the odd joint and listening to heavy metal full of lyrics against The Establishment[1], etc. Playing our guitars and inwardly sneering (or more likely, laughing - we weren't really the sneering types) at the corporate world. [1]term used tongue-in-cheek, but I'm sure you know what I mean!
20 years later, and of the half dozen, I'm probably the only one left outside The Establishment.
Among the others, we notably (and disappointingly) have the aloof senior professional fully integrated into the Old Boy's Club of his industry, think Mason-y power conglomerates which run their local region for the profit of a few; and the commerce professional who regularly and gleefully spams LinkedIn with info about his latest Salesforce certifications, alongside Likes for Boris Johnson content.
Do they think they're "the bad guys"? (and in fact, if we're going to be really honest - ARE THEY the bad guys?). The answer to both may well be Probably Not. They have their own justifications and reasoning just as we all do.
I can't help being somewhat disappointed, but as the odd-one-out, who am I to say what's normal and good?
As a lone voice desperately holding his bowl out to a corporate giant, like a modern day Oliver Twist - and no army of social media friends behind me...
Where they see something they don't understand, and assign an "alien" status to it. They might as well be saying that BOTW is for Klingons, for all the rationality there is behind it.
In that poster's vein, we might as well refer to all GTA players as criminals and thugs (of course they're not!). When in reality, the player base of both GTA and BOTW has a massive overlap - both games are largely played by the same people. "Computer gamers".
I don't mean to sound like sour grapes (it's natural, since I don't envisage my own family ever being able to use the Title product), but I just wish the aspirations were a little more universal and inclusive than "consortium of cellphone makers -surprisingly- see cellphones as the answer to all of humanity's password issues!".
[note: that is not my position here - I'm merely clarifying part of the discussion]
I must add, being relatively familiar with Australia's tech sector and it's people, that there is not a great deal of respect in the sector for the tech choices made by Australia's incumbent government of recent years. Whether or not that sentiment is ethically trumped by the fact of that government's democratic election by the general populace, is up to the reader...
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/what-do...
++ think Map Projections, and the associated math.
When referring to a particular country, for global clarity I recommend using that actual country's proper name - e.g. "the USA".
It's pretty rotten.
Housekeeping note for the author: a few instances of the misspell "Analyzying". Not that it greatly matters! Just noting.
The same technique could be applied during the preparation of roast potatoes (after par-boiling), or pork crackling ('rind', as it's known in some countries), for other examples.
Most give the purchaser a physical bauble to go along with their status symbol, but at heart, the excess of trillions being slung around daily for the purpose of symbolic elitism is certainly nothing new created by NFTs.
They merely embody the concept in a new, ever-so-slightly more useless (than much of the world's spending) manner. But let's not pretend they're some grand new evil the likes of which we've never seen. Oh no. They are certainly not that.
And that is my answer. What happened to them? Nothing. Merely the inevitable, slow collective realisation that the status symbolism embodied by NFTs is actually a pedestrian, everyday concept, and thus perhaps not so special or innovative after all...
As some of the traits noted are binary - either present, or not - the concept of "level" is not applicable.
The commonality of the traits is a valid basis for figure-of-speech.
You're perfectly entitled to not like the choice of common traits in somebody else's figure-of-speech. Have at it. :)
presence in conflict; mental strength; role as specialists; frontline protection work keeping regular people safe; tenacity and dedication
..are also key traits of vastly disparate things like online moderation.
Figures-of-speech referencing those other qualities are perfectly valid.
Why should metaphors referencing the SEAL's mental tenacity, their problem solving abilities, their dedication, their principles, their protective role, their place as an agent of conflict, not be equally valid?
Of course they are, and it's only those who put an overemphasis upon physical prowess (at the detriment of all else) who are offended by the author's metaphor here.
Some of the work done by Navy SEALs literally does involve things done sitting at computers, so the original comment is directly contradicting itself, and is therefore incorrect.
However, you could replicate the functionality/outputs (for a given location) by using open source GIS software, any available free geospatial data, and basic long-established GIS techniques: the DEM, the cross section, and the viewshed.
By the way, regarding computer work, I was talking about actual SEAL work, not support staff. The direct intelligence and digital recon work that intimately guides field teams is very much computer based, being carried out by personnel who are directly part of the SEAL structure.
Even field-centric SEAL operatives themselves, there are probably 3 computers-worth of digital equipment on their person at any given time.
So the tough-guy notion that "big military specops dudes have nothing to do with weak nerdy computer stuff, lol!" - which is embodied in the post calling the metaphor 'risible' - is very misguided indeed.
Intelligence and information play critical roles in SEAL operations, and computers are a key essential tool of that aspect.
Many semantics potentially apply, of course! But the principle is there. The principle that, for many decades now, humans have been matching the entire planet's largest natural viewshed, as a trivial matter of course during the everyday usage of technology, and barely even noticing most of the time...
https://forums.overclockers.com.au/threads/retro-faq-dos-199...
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/the-conversation-inflati...
Show me which countries have wage growth for lower socioeconomic demographics currently matching or outpacing CPI? It is not happening.
I'm not seeing a great deal of causation in your theory. The same amount of food is being produced, thus the same amount of work is done - so extra employees are not required. If anything, in your closed system theory, the food producer is going to laugh and pocket extra profits.