My parents were kind of like me in that they had tons and tons of weird, amazing stuff. Jaron Lanier amazekindparent Change image and share on social
The mass culture of childhood right now is astonishingly technical. Little kids know their Unix path punctuation so they can get around the Web, and they know their HTML and stuff. It's pretty shocking to me. Jaron Lanier astonishinglychildhoodculture share on social
Anonymous blog comments, vapid video pranks and lightweight mash-ups may seem trivial and harmless, but as a whole, this widespread practice of fragmentary, impersonal communication has demeaned personal interaction. Jaron Lanier anonymousblogcomment share on social
I've always felt that the human-centered approach to computer science leads to more interesting, more exotic, more wild, and more heroic adventures than the machine-supremacy approach, where information is the highest goal. Jaron Lanier adventureapproachcenter share on social
Human beings either function as individuals or as members of a pack. There's a switch inside us, deep in our spirit, that you can turn one way or the other. It's almost always the case that our worst behaviour comes out when we're switched to the mob setting. The problem with a lot of software designs is that they switch us to that setting. Jaron Lanier badbehaviourbeing share on social
After my mother's death, I had such difficulty relating to people. Jaron Lanier deathdifficultymother Change image and share on social
A remarkable thing about the Silicon Valley culture is that its status structure is so based on technical accomplishment and prowess. Jaron Lanier accomplishmentbaseculture Change image and share on social
Technologists provide tools that can improve people's lives. But I want to be clear that I don't think technology by itself improves people's lives, since often I'm criticized for being too pro-technology. Unless there's commensurate ethical and moral improvements to go along with it, it's for naught. Jaron Lanier clearcommensuratecriticize share on social
If there's any object in human experience that's a precedent for what a computer should be like, it's a musical instrument: a device where you can explore a huge range of possibilities through an interface that connects your mind and your body, allowing you to be emotionally authentic and expressive. Jaron Lanier allowauthenticbody share on social