Subj : See Saw
To   : KEVIN GIBSON
From : TODD HENSON
Date : Wed Mar 21 2001 09:36 pm

> SGID: 1:396/45.0 3aba105e
> .
>  Hello Todd,
> 
>  TH> "Light" sounds fascinating. A world with no inner privacy.
>  TH> In such an environment, I'll bet true thought-crimes legislation
>  TH> would be possible.  Everyone would be breaking such laws. What chaos!
> 
>  "The Light of Other Days" is about the transformation of humanity under
>  the gaze of ubiquitous cameras which enable you to view anyone, anywhere,
>  anytime, much like viewing a videotape.  That might provide some evidence
>  of the state-of-mind or intent of an individual.  But you're not able to
>  peer into the minds of those in the scene.  So, even though you can witness
>  events from multiple vantage points, there's still room for doubt about
>  what an individual is thinking at any given moment.


Oh, well yeah I guess that would be a big difference. Still none to
comfortable.


>  What I found interesting, and one thing that I'd like to explore, was
>  the way people reacted to the emergence of this invention that allowed
>  others to look into your world, anytime, anywhere, even without your
>  permission or approval.


A lot of people feel violated, offended. When people watch us, it's for a
reason. And since most 
of us feel that nobody else has any legitemate purpose in having someone
spy on us, we tend 
to think that they're reasons for doing so are less than innocent.

Also, many people just like to walk around the house, hotel room, or
apartment naked (or half 
naked). People would naturally feel uncomfortable in being the victim of
voyeurism in those 
cases.

So it seems quite natural to be defensive about such measures, especially
in those situations 
where it is the govt that is doing the spying and you have people who fear
a govt that is trying to 
encroach upon their freedoms more and more.


>  The government learns of the technology after it's used by a writer
>  to spy on an otherwise secure meeting between two heads of state.
>  A federal government agent confronts the developers and a deal is made.


Yeah, on the flip side, govt's are naturally protective of their goings-on
as well.


>  Law enforcement secretly presses the invention into service, seeking
>  out criminals and wrongdoers.  The plot takes a twist, however, when
>  someone is accused of using the technology for industrial espionage.
> 
>  The book delves into the first court case dealing with evidence collected
>  by means of this technology.  Questions about the nature of the evidence
>  and how it's collected are raised.  How can this case be prosecuted without
>  exposing the technology and alerting the public to its existence?  How
>  will people react when they find out about this new form of surveillance?
> 
>  Initially, some people rebel against the intrusiveness of this technology
>  by intentionally littering, jaywalking, etc. in front of authorities as if
>  to reclaim some sense of lost freedom.  The scene might leave you with a
>  few questions, not the least of which is just how much of this could be /
>  would be prosecuted?  How much could the police, the courts and the prisons
>  handle?


Yes, a very good question indeed. And since there aren't enough cops to
chase after every 
single minor offense, then I'm wondering what kind of larger draconian
measures a govt might 
adopt to deal with such things. Like, heavily enforced curfews, or any
other martial-law type 
measures.


>  There's brief mention of the technology being used in political campaigns.
>  Imagine if this technology was available solely to the political party in
>  power.  Contenders would be at a serious disadvantage, their private
>  strategy sessions always open to the incumbent's gaze.
> 
>  How would voters respond to images of elected officials and aspiring
>  candidates doing things in private that they would never do in public?


Probably with outrage by some. Understanding by others. I guess it depends
on the action in 
question. But an excellent propaganda advantage nonetheless.


>  A young insider steals the secrets behind the technology and they're
>  published on the Internet.  Soon, it seems that everyone is looking in
>  on the lives of everyone else.  Voyeurism abounds.  Privacy dies.
> 
>  People respond in different ways to the death of privacy.  Some take to
>  wearing seamless one-piece coveralls, with long sleeves and trouser legs
>  that terminate in sewn-on gloves and boots.  Others walk around without


Ah, the aforementioned "nakedness" factor.


>  clothes.  New generations are born into this world, never knowing a time
>  not lived under the lens.  One scene describes a young couple engaging
>  in sex in public and a small crowd that gathers to watch.  More questions
>  and comments on psychological reactions and the societal impact of
>  surveillance are raised.  What is "decency?"  What are the boundaries of
>  "decent behavior?"  What is taboo?  How will we react when we learn that
>  others have the ability to intrude upon the most intimate moments of our
>  lives, peering through the walls of our homes and offices?


Funny, even before I got to those last several sentences, those were
exactly the thoughts I was 
having. Especially on the context of those people who responde by walking
around naked. They 
must think "hey, if everyone can already see me in the tub, then what
difference does it make if 
I wear clothes out of the tub?".


>  Truth emerges.  Crime diminishes.  Some businesses boom.  Politicians,
>  those that didn't resign, "found ways to operate in the new glass-walled
>  world."  Manners change.  People become more tolerable of one another.


I dunno. With all the naked people around, and with all the sexual
activities that are now open to 
everyone, it seems like our society would rush to satisfy their desires to
an even greater level, 
because it's so open and acceptable now. Looks like moral decline to me. 

It seems that the author might have a somewhat utopian vision, at least as
far as the plot is 
concerned. It seems to stem from the assumption that man's desires can be
overcome by the 
right political and social programs, conditions, etc to a degree where we
take a giant leap 
forward in social evolution, because of such aforementioned conditions,
programs, etc. Seems 
like every hippie's dream!


>  A number of armed conflicts are frozen into impasse.  Dictatorial and
>  oppressive regimes crumble under the ultimate realization of "Open Skies,"
>  former President Dwight Eisenhower's dream of international transparency.
> 
>  And we see contemplation of another vision, that of the Jesuit priest
>  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who foresaw the emergence of a unified,
>  collective consciousness called "The Omega Point."
> 
>  In 1945, Arthur C. Clarke suggested that artificial satellites could be
>  placed in geostationary orbit around earth in order to facillitate global
>  communications, a vision that has since become reality.  In "The Light of
>  Other Days," the authors, Clarke and Stephen Baxter, portray such satellites
>  as technology that becomes obsolete less than one hundred years later,
>  less than forty years from today, replaced by the gaze of an advanced kind
>  of ubiquitous videocamera to which people are physically linked.
> 
>  There are real-world parallels for the fantastic all-seeing cameras.
>  Paradoxes posed by the use of such technology are illustrated throughout
>  the book.  But much is glossed over.  For instance, not much is said about
>  the future of capitalism or how companies and individuals survive when
>  every bit of information about their business is freely available to the
>  public.  What becomes of "trade secrets" and copyrights?  How will authors
>  like Clarke and Baxter make a living?  Why pay for a book when you can
>  freely read over the shoulders of the writer as he commits it to paper?


I imagine that copyrights won't be affected much. Currently, even IF
someone learns how to 
duplicate a copyrighted process, I do believe that the copyright law
protects the inventor 
regardless. But the issue of reading a book over thr author's shoulder is a
good one. Perhaps 
writers will have to develop a personal secret code for writing the book,
but at some time the 
book must be translated into the common language of that society, which
could take place in a 
covered machine. But when someone buys it, we could all read along with
them. Hmmm....
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: BBS Networks @ www.bbsnets.com 808-839-5016 (1:10/345)

.