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vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

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Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

Conversational account. For work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian. IKEA builder.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

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    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      There is a growing genre of tech writing that studiously pretends that a sort of ironic apathy towards technological literacy is the same thing as magical belief systems. It is not. This is an example of this genre.http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/in-2029-the-internet-will-make-us-act-like-peasants.html …

      2 replies 3 retweets 23 likes
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    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      Cf: Zizek on ideology, I would classify this apparent naivete as a form of cynicism. Ie cynicism as a form technological illiteracyhttp://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/in-2029-the-internet-will-make-us-act-like-peasants.html …

      1 reply 1 retweet 7 likes
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    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      There is definitely something going on here, and I'm participating (cf: my new tagline this year of "constructions in magical thinking" and my recent interest in things like astrology and tarot). But naive retreat to pre-modern stances and modes is not what's going on.

      1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
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    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      It takes weird contortions to pretend that these modes are in like the medieval ones they superficially resemble. Sure, some of our interactions with technology have the structure and appearance of magical incantations and such, and things like Kek try to kayfabe the gap.

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    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      Whoops wrong link for the Zizek thing http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/cynzizek.html …

      2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
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    6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      What's going on here is an ironic apathy that might in some narrow respects be functionally similar to behavior governed by magical belief systems, but there's no way you can confuse naive magical belief for the typical postmodern varietyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJp86_tj9KQ …

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    7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      A big tell is that genuine magical beliefs induce uncritical reverence for wielders of esoteric knowledge. Far from being treated as Merlins, the literate magicians of postmodernity are largely treated with something between patronizing contempt and resentful anger.

      2 replies 1 retweet 7 likes
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    8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      Believing in this kind of neo-medievalist reading of the modern human condition is a bit like believing visitors to Disneyland actually believe in fairies and princesses and large anthropomorphic rodents named Mickey, just because they might wear some larping costumes.

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    9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      If you've actually met people with literalist magical thinking beliefs, there is no way you'd be confused about this. There's no way my ironic messing around with horoscopes is anything like my grandparents sincere reliance on horoscopes for major life decisions.

      3 replies 1 retweet 13 likes
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    10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      Basically, this so-called postmodern peasant is simply someone who has some mix of laziness, indifference, and lack of curiosity about, how modern technology works, and a rational assessment that they're probably not smart enough to understand most of it.

      1 reply 3 retweets 14 likes
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      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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      This does not of course preclude belief in specific superstitious ideas and conspiracy theories, but the general, default epistemology is not magical thinking for most people. It is simply a kind of rational laziness that can look like it under certain behavioral lenses.

      10:05 AM - 18 Nov 2019
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      • Chaz Reid 🌞 Patrick Atwater Ben Eskildsen ΧΡΙΣΤΌΦΟΡΟΣ bɝːd Gaily Bedight Eli Sennesh kevin
      3 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
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        2. James Poulos‏Verified account @jamespoulos 18 Nov 2019
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          Replying to @vgr

          The fantasy is the point. The medievalism digital brings back is a survivalist humane contempt for this terminal fatalist amusement to death

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        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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          Replying to @jamespoulos

          The fantasy is *fantasy* it is not a false consciousness but a cynical one

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        1. _‏ @DiamondCrouping 18 Nov 2019
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          Replying to @vgr

          You're writing like Aelkus' psychoanalysis, but less used to the long winded sentences that characterize his criticism

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        2. Mark‏ @capitalsymbolic 18 Nov 2019
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          Replying to @vgr

          Lower layer of SEO/SMM industries has characteristic magical thinking to them. I'm guessing its a consequence of inferring practices by poking algorithms. Now that the multi-sided platform model is mainstream, the interaction with it, for most people, will look like a ritual.

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 18 Nov 2019
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          Replying to @capitalsymbolic

          Mere misconceptions about how a thing works (like rumors about how google algorithm weights factors) are not enough to constitute a magical epistemology. That's more like mistaken thinking within an otherwise non-magical epistemology. I presume no SEO types do wiccan rituals etc

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
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