Hacker News Reader

Comment by altotrees | Hacker News Reader

His story is tragic. Tragic in that he was seemingly so smart even he couldn't handle it. Tragic in that people lost their lives. Tragic in the fact that we lost a mind like his and the advancements he could've brought to mathematics potentially. Sad in that he was so impacted by MK ultra. It's a truly terrible, yet captivating story.

His neo-Luddism has always been of interest to me also, as one of my classes read his essays in college. They just seem so uneven, like they are trying to grasp at a logical idea but fall short. Yeah, interesting and really sad.

View on HN

The article paraphrases Ellul criticizing the modern world, "mankind no longer saw technology as merely a tool but now pursued its advancement as an end in itself. Society served technology, not vice versa. Individuals were valued only insofar as they served this end." That was a major influence on Kaczynski.

When you say it's tragic that he didn't end up contributing to mathematics, you're judging his life by the values he revolted against.

I believe that advancing technology (and knowledge in general) is among the highest callings a person can have, so I agree with you. But he wouldn't.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people!

The advancement of technology and furthering of knowledge is a noble endeavor, but only in pursuit of a higher goal. Advanced technology not used, or great knowledge never applied, is of no value. It is only with a higher intention for the use of these things that they have any value at all. That higher purpose could be a number of things - The betterment of mankind, of all forms of life, of society. But something greater than the self and certainly greater than no purpose at all.

Of course, it's not possible to specifically link advancements in technology and knowledge with specific goals before the advancements are made.

What I'm curious about is: Do you view what I've said above as agreeing with your belief, or closer to the view of Jaques Ellul?

If you think that overall, knowledge improve people's lives, then you can take either position and act the same way. If you think that knowledge overall hurts people, then you have to decide (and you should probably go with the people.)

Hell is other people.

You are basically painting the simplistic picture the article argues against.

"We need to see Kaczynski as exceptional—madman or genius—because the alternative is so much more frightening."

Do you happen to have a good source on this experiment being part of MK Ultra? As far as I can tell this article doesn't mention MK Ultra at all, and I can't seem to find much else that explicitly says this experiment was part of MK Ultra.

His works are incredibly well-written and precise. They are only unconvincing to us because we have incompatible preferences.

Although not covered in the article, it is also tragic that at a mere nine months old he had to be placed in isolation in a hospital, and was unresponsive when he returned. Who knows what kind effect that had on his long term development?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com