We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Samizdata quote of the day

Just as Gutenberg’s printing press awakened the masses to the wisdom of the ancients, and the desktop computer put enormous computational power into the hands of ordinary people, low cost, off-the-shelf space technology is ushering in a new era of entrepreneurial ambition and human self-awareness. An audacity of spirit is sweeping the globe and small business’ ability to produce spacefaring individuals is altering the long arc of human history guided by an invisible hand of invention and adaptation. It is advances like these, placing new creative tools into the hands of empowered individuals and small groups, that have shaped our destiny as humans. Whether it be campfires, currencies, or corporations, nothing so profoundly shapes the destiny and evolution of humankind as those inventions that empower everyday people. Today we are bearing witness to this power being applied to the boundless frontier called space.

Charles Beames

6 comments to Samizdata quote of the day

  • Julie near Chicago

    Completely O/T:

    Happy Easter,
    Gut Pesach,
    Happy Spring

    To all who haunt these hallowed halls. May your holiday be filled with joy, or at least contentment and good eats with people and pets you enjoy.

    😀 😀 😀

  • I would not say it was completely OT, Julie near Chicago (April 21, 2019 at 7:04 am). The OP quote urges an argument for positivity about the future, to cheer us up after reading “we’re doomed” stories. Your comment is another moment of positivity.

    The weather is good here in the UK today, and though the politics are bad, the other stories of Easter are giving us a momentary partial lull from them. I have songs to sing and chocolate to eat. May your wish be true of you too.

  • Julie near Chicago

    Thank you, Niall. You’re very kind, and I think we should all appreciate all the kindness we can get. Besides, you got a point there!

    Enjoy your weather, your songs and your chocolate, and feel free to indulge in a little extra chocolate for me. 😉

  • neonsnake

    Happy Easter to you both, and to everyone else here 🙂

  • CaptDMO

    “Just as Gutenberg’s printing press awakened the masses to the wisdom of the ancients…”
    Well,SURE! If we ignore the whole illiteracy of the masses thing, at the time.
    IMHO
    Internet: 95% Email, porn, “favored opinion” consolidation.

  • Paul Marks

    The internet is dominated by a handful of Big Corporations – who (bizarrely) push far LEFT politics, demanding total submission to Frankfurt School of Marxism “P.C.” ideas. Anyone who challenges P.C. doctrines too successfully is censored on the major social media sites – and may also face persecution from the payment processors (such as the giant Mastercard) and the banks.

    The goal (of both Big Business and the university trained “SJW” Marxists) seems to be a Chinese style “Social Credit” system in which computers would be used to monitor people – with “correct” opinions and behaviour gaining reward, and “incorrect” opinions and behaviour leading to ruthless persecution (being denied employment and so on).

    As for “small business” producing manned space ships – simply NOT TRUE.

    And there is no where to go anyway – sadly the other planets of this Solar System are horrible. People who do not care about the decline of freedom on this planet because Jeff Bezos (how can the richest man in the world be described as “small” business?) is going to take them to another planet, are deeply mistaken.