Privacy? Get over it.

Yes. This stuff is fascinating to me, especially watching reactionary people relatively clueless about rights and privacy, reacting to stuff like the NSA Verizon thing.  Seriously? You have not needed a warrant to sit on data dumps of info since 1979. What’s more, no one really understands what “privacy” means, or copyright law, etc.  There was a wonderful debunking of privacy concerns with google glass that basically equated them to the Kodak camera of the early 20th century…. misplaced fear of something new.

But the way we are still moored in the 20th century with our laws and systems, it’s fascinating watching people grasp desperately to the old world.

There was a 1998 book called “The Transparent Society” by David Brin which was brilliant…. a year prior to McNealy from Sun Microsystems saying his famous “you are an idiot” speech:

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January 26th 1999- http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1999/01/17538:

The chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems said Monday that consumer privacy issues are a “red herring.”

“You have zero privacy anyway,” Scott McNealy told a group of reporters and analysts Monday night at an event to launch his company’s new Jini technology.

“Get over it.”

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The Transparent Society argues that transparency and privacy are mutually exclusive, and only one can win.  I think privacy is for idiots. People don’t even know how to define it… it’s like “Big data”. It doesn’t actually mean something…. and people sit here arguing about privacy while we could potential start losing those liberties that are actually important.

I *think* people speak of privacy and mean their liberties, but they’re so indignant and self righteous they rather be wrong and waste time than think about what they are saying.

This on top of copyright, intellectual property, etc…. it used to be that anyone could steal an idea.  We’re basically at the point that anyone can steal and make anything.  It’s fascinating times, and I am honored to be in them.