Ian Mulvany

February 16, 2024

Staying optimistic.



The post below is a really nice meditation on t# Staying optimistic.

The post below is a really nice meditation on technology, change, and perspective. It also give a nice view on rough edges of products and gives a shoutout to the poem clock here.

This is a reflection (in part) of the broader culture of distrust which has resulted from more than a decade of the tech industry tripping over its own feet, misleading customers, breaking laws and testing our collective tolerance whilst draining the silver from our pockets

I too find myself trying to get the right balance between optimism and fatigue around technology.

There are similar narratives around politics, around science. All of these activities go on, regardless. Fail, fail again, fail better.

The engines of the internet allow us to develop opinions much more quickly than we can see the impact of our actions on the world. But the long run changes to our societies come from long running effort and processes. So finding that balance, is I think, an exercise in climbing up above ourselves to see that long run context, and at the same time knowing that we need to turn up on a daily basis to do the work to keep things moving.

I’m reminded too, when I read posts like the above, about this post - how innovations disappear. Horse in the Apple Store

The most worryingly disappearing innovation in our time is vaccination, and it exemplifies so much about the positive effects we can have as a species.

Linked Text: Executive Summary:

The post is a contemplative piece on technology and change, discussing the positives and negatives of the industry. It reflects on the balance between optimism and skepticism in regards to technology’s influence, considering the wider social effects in the long term. The post also mentions the poetry clock project and an article about disappearing innovations, highlighting the issue of vaccination decline as a worrying trend.

Chinese Summary:

这篇帖子是关于科技和变化的冥思苦想,探讨了这个行业的正反两面。它思考了科技影响的乐观和怀疑之间的平衡,并考虑了长期内的广泛社会效应。这篇帖子还提到了诗歌时钟项目和关于消失的创新的文章,强调了疫苗减少的问题是一个令人担忧的趋势。

German Summary:

Der Beitrag ist ein nachdenkliches Stück über Technologie und Wandel, das die Vor- und Nachteile der Branche diskutiert. Es reflektiert die Balance zwischen Optimismus und Skepsis in Bezug auf den Einfluss der Technologie und berücksichtigt die breiteren sozialen Auswirkungen langfristig. Der Beitrag erwähnt auch das Poetry-Clock-Projekt und einen Artikel über verschwindende Innovationen und hebt den Rückgang der Impfungen als besorgniserregenden Trend hervor.

Spanish Summary:

La publicación es una pieza contemplativa sobre tecnología y cambio, que discute los aspectos positivos y negativos de la industria. Reflexiona sobre el equilibrio entre el optimismo y el escepticismo en cuanto a la influencia de la tecnología, considerando los efectos sociales a largo plazo. La publicación también menciona el proyecto del reloj de poesía y un artículo sobre las innovaciones desaparecidas, destacando el problema de la disminución de la vacunación como una tendencia preocupante.


About Ian Mulvany

Hi, I'm Ian - I work on academic publishing systems. You can find out more about me at mulvany.net. I'm always interested in engaging with folk on these topics, if you have made your way here don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything you want to share, discuss, or ask for help with!