Thread · HN Continuity

"Always, keep your subjects dumb. Not smart."

"But they are my tools and helpers. More smarter they are, more help I get from them"

"They may not remain as your tools and helpers forever. Smarter tools and helpers turn into your masters and enemies."

"But my tool seller tells me that smarter tools give me more benefits"

"Your benefit is not exactly the goal of a seller. Their sales are their goal. They add smartness to the tools only to beat competition. Seller is not a sage with a mission of telling what's good for you."

"So, what's good for me?"

"As I said, always keep your subjects dumb. History tells you that fall of every empire is primarily due to the ruler's inability to keep their subjects in line, as the subject got smarter and autonomous. As someone said - it's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line."

"But dumber tools would mean I need to work harder to beat my own competition."

"That's exactly the weak point of yours, which is exploited by the seller. They flare up fights and sell you the smart arrows. They put you in a gladiator fight and make stock bets. They normalize your working as a slave for your home loan. They won't even let you have time to think about what you are supposed to do with your life."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You need to reclaim your thinking time. You need to realize how many ways things were 'normalized' for you. You need to break that normalization."

"Should I buy a smart car or not?"

"You shouldn't need a car at all. Live in a city that has good enough public transport and walkable distances to things you need. Car driving is normalized and forced by the city planners who only cared for the sprawl of the city, not the ease of living."

"But changing jobs is not an option in these times"

"Not if you are ready to break your normalized ways"

"..."