Jaron Lanier: “it takes ten years to give up a bad idea”

Jaron Lanier, Photo by Aaron Salcido

This is perhaps the most significant lecture in a decade (as is the book, reading it now). Jaron Lanier reflects on the cultural and economic crossroads through the defining prism of the internet culture. Some of his observations like the one about ten years required to overcome a sinisterly held idea is an enlightened epiphany, how true. Jaron Lanier spoke at Zócalo Public Square in Culver City, CA on January 28th, 2010. The full lecture is about 50 minutes plus 20 minutes for questions – Staying Human in a Tech-Driven World (video). “The worst examples of human behavior, Lanier said, occur when humans act as mob members rather than as individuals, which democracies tend to cultivate. The desire to join a mob is within everyone, Lanier said, citing the pack mentality of “people in the comments section of a blog.”