is George Orwell right about 1984?

[etilit]

did he get it right? is there a big brother that can control what we think?

or is it that there is sooooo much information now that we want someone to tell us what to think?

for me..sometimes im just confused:? lol

 

[zortek]

there has always been a 'big brother' that has at least attempted to control what we think.
(he has been around for millennia)

this control is often successful for two reasons,

the restriction of education and information in order to maintain that control and power

the 'laziness' of those who have the opportunity to learn and evaluate, and then challenge that control. (or an eagerness to join 'big brother', rather than challenge)

i don't think the amount of information available has made it easier for 'big brother', but rather a significant proportion of any population has always been susceptible to dogmatic and absolutist propaganda

 

[gb2000ie]

In some ways technology has gone in a very 1984 direction, but the real world is different in at least two key respects:

1) there is no one Big Brother, there are many, and they are fighting each other for our allegiance. We have politicians, corporations, and religions all trying to win over our minds.
2) all though technology has made it very easy for big brothers out there to gather information on us, those same technologies make it easy for us to get at alternative points of view, so although Google and the FBI know a lot about us, they don't control what information we can see to any significant extent.

B.

 

[777]

I think he got it right. At the moment right wing politics/religion take to this direction, since the ones who want to hold economical and ideological power need to control the rest. It's been visible in stricter laws about what people are allowed to do and not, trying to control the freedom of press, Internet, bringing back the so called family values... Who does it benefit is the big question though... I'd say the economic elite, as it always has. 1984 is a pretty good view to what a totalitarian society might be, no matter what flavour.

 

[gtsrulez]

I think this picture sums it up really well.

 

[XMan101]

Don't forget "1984" was written as a comment on what he saw happening in 1948, the year he wrote it. It wasn't a future projection.

In principle not much ever changes, but it's more difficult to try and totally control!

 

[777]

I think this picture sums it up really well.

That was great I don't think either is purely correct, more like a mix of things that happen in the same time even for same people.

 

[c750dt]

The book describes some concepts that are similar to ones that exist now but with different implementations. Just about anyone can access a big brother file on someone and a significant chunk of said information is voluntarily put out there on sites including Facebook.

Most computers come with webcams now and those can be easily hacked by people with the right know-how. In public, cameras are everywhere but not as useful as one might expect them to be (why is it now, most security cameras still seem to struggle to achieve the same video quality as camera my childhood home movies were taken on?)

 

[jeansGuyOZ]

No.

 

[tiggertoo]

The book describes some concepts that are similar to ones that exist now but with different implementations. Just about anyone can access a big brother file on someone and a significant chunk of said information is voluntarily put out there on sites including Facebook.

Most computers come with webcams now and those can be easily hacked by people with the right know-how. In public, cameras are everywhere but not as useful as one might expect them to be (why is it now, most security cameras still seem to struggle to achieve the same video quality as camera my childhood home movies were taken on?)

I read the Orwell book. It isnt happening yet. Webcams and mics can be disconnected or locked down, I do it with mine. and only the stuff you put out there on facebook is really avail to people. public info is pretty much your phone, name and address unless some dude in the government leaks your tax info or stuff like that.