Re: Schneier, Data and Goliath: no hope for privacy

On Mon, 24 Feb 2025, Rich wrote:

D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

On Mon, 24 Feb 2025, Salvador Mirzo wrote:

Oh, yes, memory is another thing I notice.  Not only students, but
teachers, too; I'm known as having a superb memory or something.
Truth is, though, it's their memory that is not doing very well.

>
I think smartphones and google are a huge part of the problem.  I do
not have a smartphone, so I have to remember things like codes,
shopping lists, directions, and I am convinced it helps my memory
somewhat.
>
The young ones, just google everything, so they don't exercise their
memory.

>
There have been studies to the effect that yes, using 'google' or 'the
phone' to remember everything does indeed erode the ability to actually
'remember' without said crutches.

Interesting! That would confirm my subjective feeling.

For instance, one of the students the other day was amazed at how I
could live without google maps, and wondered how I do it.
>
My answer, I check where I want to go, before I leave home.  Most of
the time I remember it.  If I don't know exactly where to go, I ask
someone in the street, or ask a hotel.  The hotels are nice, because
often they give you a map.  For long trips I might print out the map
on a piece of paper.  This has the advantage of having zero value, so
I never have to worry about dropping it, forgetting it or someone
stealing it.
>
The students were chocked! ;)

>
I saw a news report once (credibility slightly suspect) which posited
that there were even some of the "youngins" that use "gps phone nav"
for navigating routes they travel frequently, such that without the
"nav tool" they are unable to recall how to get "there" from "here"
even though they have made the exact same trip 200 prior times.

Wow! I find that hard to believe. If true, we are close to the end of our
civilization! =/

I often 'frustrate' my wife by going off the beaten path (major roads)
onto back roads (I'll admit, sometimes done specifically for the value
of the 'frustration' part) to get "there" from "here" with no GPS nav
or pre-planning at all and in almost all instances I get "there" even
though the entire route is brand new for me.

This is excellent! Always going the same way, or driving the same route gets
very boring after a while. Sometimes when I walk a new path, I discover a new
store I didn't know existed.

Those students that rely on gmaps would be even more shocked with one
of those 'side trips'.

You bet!