X-Message-Number: 24637 From: "John de Rivaz" <> References: <> Subject: Re: surveillance Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 10:03:59 +0100 > Message #24618 > From: > Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 09:36:23 EDT > Subject: surveillance > I'm all for surveillance of everyone > by everyone. > Quite so. However it is a battle between those with good memories and those with bad. In a "closed society", ie on with little public surveillance, those with good memories find that they can easily set up a web of deceit that improves their position in the world. However to be a good liar you need a good memory, or you get tripped up. If there is an "open society", is one with lots of surveillance of everyone by everyone else, then you stand much more chance of being tripped up by those with poor memories relying on recordings or easily performed searches. In an open society, if you are ashamed of doing or saying something, then don't. Seems simple enough to me. Religions suggested that God could monitor your thoughts, so if you even think of breaking a Commandment, then this is as bad as doing it from God's viewpoint on the day of judgement. It was never considered unethical at the time it was proposed. Thought reading may be going unnecessarily far, but street surveillance certainly isn't. Look how people get very upset by recording or listening to telephone conversations. Yet a recent article revealed that far more people will lie over the telephone than by any other mode of interaction. This suggests why telephone recording is so upsetting to many people, even if it is by one of the parties to a conversation. Stockbrokers and other professional have to tell clients that calls are being recorded, otherwise it is illegal for them to do so. When it was totally illegal, it was possible for clients to telephone their broker and order stocks, and then deny it if the stocks went down after a few hours. Of course they could only do this once or twice before getting barred, but if the stock was volatile, and it went the right way, then they could make a fortune after getting being barred by only a few brokers. Of course, in a open society it is much easier to find out when a cryonicist needs help, and also it is much more difficult for anyone to interfere with a cryopreservation without knowing that his actions will be judged by others, both at the time and in the future. -- Sincerely, John de Rivaz: http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy, Nomad .. and more Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24637