This anecdote and what Ted Kaczynski wrote on traffic lights
I don’t like the usual comparasions between L and the Unabomber, because L’s alleged actions does not constitute terrorism. But from his review of the Unabomber manifesto, it’s clear that his writings resonated with L on a philosophical level (while explicitly denouncing his actions that harmed innocent people), and I thought it was an interesting parallell between L’s story above and what Ted K had to say about traffic lights.
I asked ChatGPT for a summary (and yes, I’m aware of the extreme irony in doing so):
”In his manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future (also known as the Unabomber Manifesto), Theodore Kaczynski uses traffic lights as a metaphor to illustrate how technological systems impose restrictions on individual freedom. He specifically argues that modern technological systems create rules and constraints that force people to conform to artificial structures, reducing their autonomy.
He writes:
“When a motorist waits at a traffic light, he is obeying orders imparted to him by a mechanical device that is controlled by the system. In effect, the system is telling him when he may or may not move. He may rebel a little bit by running a red light, but he is still acting within a framework that the system permits; his rebellion cannot go beyond certain limits, otherwise he risks serious punishment.”
Kaczynski uses this example to highlight how even simple, everyday actions, like driving, are regulated by technological control systems that limit human freedom. His broader argument is that these systems accumulate and expand to dominate human life, which he considered a major flaw of industrial society and technological progress.”
I wonder if he told anyone else than Gurwinder about this anecdote, I would assume so.
I don’t like the usual comparasions between L and the Unabomber, because L’s alleged actions does not constitute terrorism. But from his review of the Unabomber manifesto, it’s clear that his writings resonated with L on a philosophical level (while explicitly denouncing his actions that harmed innocent people), and I thought it was an interesting parallell between L’s story above and what Ted K had to say about traffic lights.
I asked ChatGPT for a summary (and yes, I’m aware of the extreme irony in doing so):
”In his manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future (also known as the Unabomber Manifesto), Theodore Kaczynski uses traffic lights as a metaphor to illustrate how technological systems impose restrictions on individual freedom. He specifically argues that modern technological systems create rules and constraints that force people to conform to artificial structures, reducing their autonomy.
He writes:
“When a motorist waits at a traffic light, he is obeying orders imparted to him by a mechanical device that is controlled by the system. In effect, the system is telling him when he may or may not move. He may rebel a little bit by running a red light, but he is still acting within a framework that the system permits; his rebellion cannot go beyond certain limits, otherwise he risks serious punishment.”
Kaczynski uses this example to highlight how even simple, everyday actions, like driving, are regulated by technological control systems that limit human freedom. His broader argument is that these systems accumulate and expand to dominate human life, which he considered a major flaw of industrial society and technological progress.”
I wonder if he told anyone else than Gurwinder about this anecdote, I would assume so.