Meanwhile, in the Real World ...

Here's an excerpt from an interesting post by Nicholas Carr that, while ostensibly about the recent release of the iPad by Apple, has relevance for many of the things we discuss on this blog.

But I'm not under any illusion that progress gives a damn about what I want. While progress may be spurred by the hobbyist, it does not share the hobbyist's ethic. One of the keynotes of technological advance is its tendency, as it refines a tool, to remove real human agency from the workings of that tool. In its place, we get an abstraction of human agency that represents the general desires of the masses as deciphered, or imposed, by the manufacturer and the marketer. Indeed, what tends to distinguish the advanced device from the primitive device is the absence of "generativity." It's useful to remember that the earliest radios were broadcasting devices as well as listening devices and that the earliest phonographs could be used for recording as well as playback. But as these machines progressed, along with the media systems in which they became embedded, they turned into streamlined, single-purpose entertainment boxes, suitable for living rooms. What Bray fears - the divergence of the creative device from the mass-market device - happened, and happened quickly and without much, if any, resistance.

Progress may, for a time, intersect with one's own personal ideology, and during that period one will become a gung-ho technological progressivist. But that's just coincidence. In the end, progress doesn't care about ideology. Those who think of themselves as great fans of progress, of technology's inexorable march forward, will change their tune as soon as progress destroys something they care deeply about. "We love the things we love for what they are," wrote Robert Frost. And when those things change we rage against the changes. Passion turns us all into primitivists.

Unsurprisingly, I largely agree with Carr, particularly his conclusion.

Feel free to discuss this in the comments, as always, but I don't want this to degenerate into a discussion of the merits of Apple, the iPad, or any such related topic. This is, after all, a blog about roleplaying games, so bear that in mind before you make a comment. Thanks.