# 2020-04-02



## No physics

Think [[The Three Body Problem]] is losing me a little bit - it's not something I just can't wait to pick up each night - but it's still good.  The premise of the laws of physics not being constant is really interesting, and a fun way of exploring it through virtual reality.  A few snippets of history of communist China and the [[Cultural Revolution]] is interesting, too.


## Digital self-determinism     :read:

read [[Frantz Fanon Against Facebook: How to Decolonize Your Digital-Mind]]

Lizzie O'Shea discusses [[digital self-determination]] as a means to understand and resist some of the problems with big tech, using the rubric of Fanon's work on self-determination.  How can we have agency and create our own identity under the thumb of the big surveilling platforms?

Digital self-determination will involve: 

-   making use of the technical tools available to communicate freely
-   designing information infrastructure in ways that favour de-centralisation
-   designing online spaces and devices that are welcoming

I definitely like all the conclusions.  At first blush, any comparison between colonialism and racism and the problems of digital platforms feels like it could be a little crass… but O'Shea explains her thinking and says she feels Fanon's ideas are so strong that they can be applied to different times and situations.

> Even in a technologically-saturated world, in which human beings are categorised, surveilled and discriminated against, it is possible for us to carve out space for our own identity and shape our destiny. 
> 
> –  [Frantz Fanon Against Facebook: How to Decolonize Your Digital-Mind](https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4370-frantz-fanon-against-facebook-how-to-decolonize-your-digital-mind)