Kurtis Heimerl
Associate professor @uwcse.bsky.social
Co-founder at Endaga. Co-chair of GAIA @ IRTF
First generation college student. AS 54429
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- All these bros conveniently forgetting that the U.S. government was instrumental in creating the Internet through NSF grants to universities and research hubs through the 80s and 90s.
- It's funny, the Internet was created in response to Bell's creation of the 1970's "modern world" of a big tech monopoly where they benefited, which was of course built on tech innovations that happened in response to western union's telegraph monopoly before that.
- What's funny is I talk about this a lot in my networks class; it wasn't just the NSF, the DoD built the Internet. It goes to show how much an ideology (decentralization) can have massive repercussions on designs and how technology isn't wedded to its funders in the way lots of people presuppose.
- It's also a great example of different network designs; much of the 2G cellular infrastructure (and related wireline tech) came up at the same time and has dramatically different (and eventually losing) network designs. We can apples to apples compare what government and industry would build.
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- Yeah, this is an "exception proves the rule" to me; you're right that it seems like it has to be a big bet (e.g., xbox) or they don't do it. Maybe the feeling is producing anything but AAA titles makes it seem like they aren't supporting the platform.
- Oh I am saying FB makes some VR games in house (not that these are big useful successes or anything) as a light counterpoint.
- Microsoft being another counterpoint I suppose.
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- Lots going on in VR though.
- Nice article linked by my student Innocent on equating monocultures and the Internet: www.noemamag.com/we-need-to-r...
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View full threadI'd argue these other systems are even more monopolistic in nature than "capitalism"; which at least foundationally was organized around pushback to monopolies like the british east india company. I think in a competitive environment, the all actors would like a monopoly on what they do.
- Back to the point, systems that allow other systems will need to have mechanisms for discouraging monopolist forces, as these will in turn disallow systems that interfere with their monopoly. We haven't been doing a great job at that.
- No system “cares”, they’re created by the needs of participants (or forces of nature). Human fallibility is a major component of human systems. Greed serves no function outside of human emotional need. Monopolies are a natural product of capitalism. Speaking of ecosystems: kudzu and cancer.
- Ah sure, care probably isnt the right word. And sure on the rest, though notably the systems before capitalism (mercantalism for example) and after (communism for example) also produce significant monopolistic forces.
- A system is what it does. What does capitalism produce?
- I probably disagree with your premise; I don't think systems inherently care about what they produce at all. They mostly care that they persist. Ecosystems, for example.
- However, if you recognize that every company seeks a monopoly (its the only way to have profit in a pure market), then that element of capitalism does want to stifle competition and create a "monoculture" around a product, idea, space, or market. That's problematic.
- Though, to close the thought, monopolies are obviously not the goal of capitalism as a system (those can be achieved much easier with government mandates) and so I do think it remains a good counterpoint to the monoculture argument.
- Communists traditionally liked to argue that they needed a global revolution as capitalism doesn't let other systems exist. This is wrong I think; capitalism is super open to people optimizing however they want:
- It's telling how both sides of the current US political spectrum couch their arguments in terms of liberal ideals of freedom to make choices and to varying degrees, both are full of shit.
- This whole area is something I've been thinking a lot about recently: systems that let other systems co-exist. That is how you generate a robust eco(plura?)-system.
- I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable speaking to the "thin waist" of the Internet. I guess it's least accurate to its time?
- What sort of crazy situation would someone need to be in to only need to print the "even" pages of a document?
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- This ruins my plan to implement prime number page printing.
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- If it's not big print propaganda.
- As ostensibly a networking professor doing computer things, I want to sadly note the passing of Dave Taht, an absolutely amazing engineer and person. These are the people who make the world go around and it's sad there's one less today (libreqos.io/2025/04/01/i...)
- I don't think people quite understand how much of current US electoral politics is simple outlandish contrarianism. Like a whole country of oppositional defiant disorders.
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- I think you're supposed to use new exciting things.
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- Oh they make you microwave your old stuff? Brutal.
- I think an underappreciated element of the current electorate (both sides) is that they literally just want someone to do something, anything. Democrats being the party of staid management is a losing play. I do think this a quintessentially American perspective though.
- Places close to US culture (notably Philippines) having the same issue though.
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- Imagine this, but the pockets are all on the back, with a significantly larger pocket that could hold lunch or a laptop. That's basically how my style has evolved as I've aged.
- Opinion on cargo shorts?
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- Haha, I did this as well this year. Panned out, though Flu A instead.
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- I mean, the market rewards both of these actions so sure they're going to do them.
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- You guys have cars?
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- - Creep - Radiohead + Fuck you - CeeLo Green
- While the look is great, I don't understand how these guys aren't too warm all the time. It's like the opposite of how women always look like they are cold.
- A voice of america post has to be like being on an icebreaker in Alaska right? That doesn't seem like a place to put a mover and shaker.
- Mountain's out!
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- See now this is a reason to stay on Twitter.
- We're doing degrowth in class today which always brings the question of "why are you doing science right now?". This post (dothemath.ucsd.edu/2023/12/conf...) sorta exemplifies this question. I've found a lot of value in thinking about my work as art. I use science to show alternative realities.
- I like this insight. Like with everything through this era, even the fascist esthetic is a literally cartoonish facsimile of an ideal. Like, it just has to be and look stupid.
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- I mean comically in a literal sense. There's unachievable and then there's dumb unachievable. We're in the latter world.
- Like, the Nazis didn't do shirtless Hitler on a horse, but that's where we are now.
- This is truly one of the things I love about the US; it's like when "personal jesus" was playing in the local Fred Meyer. Just a constant delight how our culture doesn't give a fuck.
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- It happens pretty fast too; had the 2 -year old doing wonder eyes at some fire dancers this weekend and it was awesome. He did cry again afterwards though.
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- Yeah that seems like the more "correct" version too, but I didn't want to email a real person about my Internet names.
- I sorta want a way to quote someone without quoting them as I'm seeing some awful takes that I want to talk about but I don't really want to call anyone in particular out. They're just saying culturally normative (for their community) things for clout like everyone else.
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- Yeah, I was putting it off until @dr.supersat.phd pointed me to the https version: just upload a plain text file with your did:plc to /.well-known/atproto-did Was super easy. bsky.social/about/blog/4...
- I love decentralization arguments as it is a largely political choice that has concrete technical affordances. We federalized the US government not because it was more efficient (quite the contrary) but because we didn't trust large centralized systems. Then, at scale, it became more efficient.
- Often, in tech, the decision is made for technical reasons (scaling centralization is hard) and the social/political affordances come along instead (or are squashed somewhere else for political/financial reasons).
