Imagine if your language had a word that meant both "food" and "junk food", or at least that's how it was used in common parlance. Then people started pushing back against critiques of (junk) food, saying, "well we've always had food." This is exactly like the people (and i've seen this a lot lately) online pontificating about technology and how it's so great and important to humanity and we've always had it and in fact it predates humans. This is like saying otters busted open shells with rocks 5 million years ago so you should let your children eat nothing but takis all day long.

So. Stupid. I contend that to make an argument that collapses a term so much, conflates it with more general concepts in order to purposely confuse the issue, is gaslighting and basically makes the term meaningless, cuts off in advance any real conversation that's actually going on. fuck you people. You all know that all the modern complaints about tech are talking about _modern tech_. Do a little pattern match in your head and stick "modern" in before every use of the word "technology" and then come back and discuss in good faith.

#semantics #definitions #technology #techne

Imagine if your language had a word that meant both "food" and "junk food", or at least that's how it was used in common parlance. Then people started pushing back against critiques of (junk) food, saying, "well we've always had food." This is exactly like the people (and i've seen this a lot lately) online pontificating about technology and how it's so great and important to humanity and we've always had it and in fact it predates humans. This is like saying otters busted open shells with rocks 5 million years ago so you should let your children eat nothing but takis all day long.

So. Stupid. I contend that to make an argument that collapses a term so much, conflates it with more general concepts in order to purposely confuse the issue, is gaslighting and basically makes the term meaningless, cuts off in advance any real conversation that's actually going on. fuck you people. You all know that all the modern complaints about tech are talking about _modern tech_. Do a little pattern match in your head and stick "modern" in before every use of the word "technology" and then come back and discuss in good faith.

#semantics #definitions #technology #techne

Fingerspitzengefühl: IP vs process knowledge.

' But here's the thing: while "IP" can be bought and sold by the capital classes, process knowledge is inseparably vested in the minds and muscle-memory of their workers. '

' The exaltation of "IP" over process knowledge is part of the ancient practice of bosses denigrating their workers' contribution to the bottom line. It's key to the myth that workers can be replaced by AI: an AI can consume all the "IP" produced by workers, but it doesn't have their process knowledge. It can't, because process knowledge is embodied and enmeshed, it is relational and physical. It doesn't appear in training data. '

From Cory Doctorow @pluralistic

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/08/process-knowledge/#dance-monkey-dance

' Fingerspitzengefühl [ˈfɪŋɐˌʃpɪtsənɡəˌfyːl] is a German term, literally meaning "finger tips feeling" and meaning intuitive flair or instinct.** It describes a great situational awareness**... '
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerspitzengef%C3%BChl

@dna #Architecture#Design#Techne#Theory

Fingerspitzengefühl: IP vs process knowledge.

' But here's the thing: while "IP" can be bought and sold by the capital classes, process knowledge is inseparably vested in the minds and muscle-memory of their workers. '

' The exaltation of "IP" over process knowledge is part of the ancient practice of bosses denigrating their workers' contribution to the bottom line. It's key to the myth that workers can be replaced by AI: an AI can consume all the "IP" produced by workers, but it doesn't have their process knowledge. It can't, because process knowledge is embodied and enmeshed, it is relational and physical. It doesn't appear in training data. '

From Cory Doctorow @pluralistic

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/08/process-knowledge/#dance-monkey-dance

' Fingerspitzengefühl [ˈfɪŋɐˌʃpɪtsənɡəˌfyːl] is a German term, literally meaning "finger tips feeling" and meaning intuitive flair or instinct.** It describes a great situational awareness**... '
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerspitzengef%C3%BChl

@dna #Architecture#Design#Techne#Theory