The above image was made with stable diffusion using the prompt 'painting of a woman with tape over her mouth.'
The latest issue of Free Mind Gazette went out today. Titled 'Emerging Technologies of Repression,' the piece gets into censorship, the privatization of mass surveillance, and technological ethics. It combines ideas from this blog with original material to talk about the erosion of freedom and what to do about it. Fixing our broken systems may be impossible, but creating better alternative systems is definitely possible.
I've been in a strange mood with my writing this week. I keep thinking about how 54 percent of adults in this country are functionally illiterate. In my state, the figure is about 13 percent, but just because people can read doesn't mean that they do read. And the vast majority of those that do read will never encounter anything that I've written.
This observation is discouraging on its face, but it contains good information. I'm not writing for the masses. I'm writing for a small, smart audience. I know many readers personally and am online friends with many more. If my audience grows, it will grow out of this community.
In light of this, my general rule is to only write stuff that I could see myself saying to my friends. This rule comes in handy when dealing with controversial topics. If I wouldn't share an opinion in person, the opinion isn't qualified to appear in writing. The same goes for half-formed ideas.
Although I try to make my writing approachable, I may not always succeed. The technologically illiterate probably find my work insufferable. In my science fiction, I try to keep things breezy. In my other writings, I'm mostly going for concise.
Today talking with a friend who is also on Substack, I began to wonder if I need to start spicing up my writing. The most popular authors sensationalize, demonize, and use emotional language to generate outrage. I rarely do any of that stuff. Personally, I feel like outrage mostly just gets in the way.
Outrage is easy. I'd much rather inspire constructive motivation. Eventually, I might figure out how to actually do this. In the meantime it's something to aspire to.
Where to go next with Free Mind Gazette is an open question. I'm considering an issue on RFK Jr but this might not be evergreen enough for the newsletter. One option would be to get into alternative political and economic models. Maybe I'll do that if I can figure out how to not make it boring.
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