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Comment by namuorg | Hacker News Reader

For anyone who's curious what a world in which everyone is forced to throw away their privacy and embrace complete transparency might look like, Dave Eggers wrote a fantastic book called The Circle (http://www.amazon.com/The-Circle-Dave-Eggers/dp/0385351399) that explores that very concept. Highly recommended.

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Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check that book out.

Once, in thread similar to this one, I saw another recommendation for The Light of Other Days (http://smile.amazon.com/Light-Other-Days-Arthur-Clarke-ebook.... It explores a world where everyone can see and hear everyone else at any (past and present) time. While I did not always find the plot compelling, I still enjoyed reading it because it explores some cool ideas.

What I found most interesting about the story was when a character was confronted by the factual truth of a past event that didn't agree with what she strongly believed to be true. There is no room for objection as you can view all past (and present) events as they really happened.

But your comments are accurate. While, not always compelling, the concepts are pretty cool to indulge in.

I should add that the story is especially appropriate for the HN crowd because the privacy-less world is realized by a Google-like tech company that decides that complete transparency via omnipresent recording devices would lead to a healthier society. The arguments made by Noah in the article are identical to those used by the tech company in the book.

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