tools not toys

I’m increasingly convinced, then, that the next big vector for inequality is around this most fundamental of human capabilities. The elites are going to reclaim the ability to chain together more than three thoughts in succession before reaching for a device.

In the late 1970s, Jef Raskin, a pioneering technologist who was one of Apple’s earliest employees, sketched out a radical vision for the future of computing.

Computers, he argued, should work like home appliances. The ideal computer would require almost no learning curve or upkeep. You wouldn’t have to upgrade its operating system, say, or install ... See more

“There’s the old anecdote we were all taught in Psych 101,” Martin said, “which is that physical environment matters. I think a separate device matters here: sometimes you’re reading, and you’re in a slow section, and you have that random thought, like, what was that thing I wanted to buy on Amazon? And you’re there without thinking about it.” A de... See more