Program or be Programmed
by Douglas Rushkoff · first published 2010
43% recommend52% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Argues that digital tools carry the intent of their designers and shape how people behave online; often recommended to technologists and anyone wanting a critical look at how software and social platforms steer users.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The debate over whether the Net is good or bad for us fills the airwaves and the blogosphere. But for all the heat of claim and counter-claim, the argument is essentially beside the point: it’s here; it’s everywhere. The real question is, do we direct technology, or do we let ourselves be directed by it and those who have mastered it? “Choose the former,” writes Rushkoff, “and you gain access to the control panel of civilization. Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make.” In ten chapters, composed of ten “commands” accompanied by original illustrations from comi
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The most elegant proponent of this idea is Douglas Rushkoff, his latest book being "Program or Be Programmed."
on “Matt Mullenweg: Scripting is the new literacy” ↗…fit their information into the format chosen by others. Paul Goodman critiqued the tyranny of format 50 years ago, and Douglas Rushkoff authored the natural extension of this critique in his seminal "Program or Be Programmed". The promise of the internet has to be more than giving people text boxes, or I give up. :) > We've organized our info this way because we like it and it makes sense, it's no surprise that it's useful…
on “Assange in 2011: "They have automated the process."” ↗…people who had no dog in the fight. And, there were some things that were written that would never have been spoken. I fear this event goes beyond copyright infringement. Douglas Rushkoff, in his book 'Program or Be Programmed' has an entire chapter about the social aspect of the web and the mob it/we produce; it's quite a good read: http://www.orbooks.com/our-books/program/
on “Congrats, Self-Righteous Internet Mob. You Killed a Magazine.” ↗a very good book ontopic is Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff. http://www.amazon.com/Program-Be-Programmed-Commands-Digital...
on “Why Everyone Should Learn to Program” ↗…insight in Rushkoff's book. The others are mandatory reading for technologists IMHO How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed, by Ray Kurzweil http://amazon.decenturl.com/make-a-mind Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age, by Douglas Rushkoff http://amazon.decenturl.com/ten-commands Cool Tools, by Kevin Kelly http://amazon.decenturl.com/cool-tools (Yes, those are affiliate links)
on “Ask HN: Good business or technology book recommendations?” ↗"Program or be programmed" - Rushkoff said it best. In a world where your Rushkoffs[1] go unread, we are spiraling into some sort of local maxima where social media is realized for what it is, and the problems associated with…
on “Some in Silicon Valley wonder if Facebook has grown too influential” ↗What if journalists actually knew what an LLM is and how the ability to string verbals tokens is not intelligence. 2023 is the year Program or be Programmed by Douglas Rushkoff became extremely relevant
on “What if AI treats humans the way we treat animals?” ↗Your comment is reminding me a lot of the ideas in a short book called “Program or Be Programmed” by Douglas Rushkoff. I think specifically it’s the idea about how digital technology has a “social bias” that can conflict with the interests of businesses on the internet.
on “Better Living Through Algorithms (2023)” ↗…pages Also tools are not neutral, they carry the intent of their designer and make whatever they are designed to do easier than it used to be; if you want to be convinced please read Douglas Rushkoff's Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age
"Program or be Programmed" -- great book. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgicuytCkoY . Full talk also on youtube, just search for it.
on “Obama Becomes First President to Write a Computer Program” ↗…most people will never even think they can do it. That's the problem: did your iPad came with a manual for a programming language? I didn't think so. Prorgam or be programmed. http://www.rushkoff.com/program-or-be-programmed/ Kids Can't Use Computers http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-comput... (I know there is a lot of controversy about this article but it does have valid points.)
on “Lost Lessons from 8-Bit BASIC” ↗There was a book written by Douglas Rushkoff called Program or be programmed[1] wherein he asserts quite a compelling argument for why learning at least a basic understanding of programming and how a computer works actually is (or very soon will be) just as important as being…
on “Please Don't Become Anything, Especially Not A Programmer” ↗I take your point, but I would argue that it's not comparing apples to apples. Some time ago I read the Douglas Rushkoff book Program or Be Programmed, wherein he puts forth his view (if I may paraphrase) that this last communication revolution based upon the computer is a very important one, because now we’re actually getting to the point where the…
on “Burying the URL” ↗Program or be programmed -- Douglas Rushkoff
on “Python in the Windows 10 May update” ↗It certainly is. Not that I think it is a derivative but to some extent it is what Douglas Rushkoff argues in his book Program or Be Programmed (2010): "In a digital age, we must learn how to make the software, or risk becoming the software. It is not too difficult or too late to learn the code behind the things we use — or at least to understand…
on “UK Schools ICT to be replaced by computer science programme” ↗