John Reagle Journal

In class we discussed the topics of General information and privacy and how the two realms are interconnected in the Stars in my Pocket. However, I was intrigued by the notions of general knowledge and how our current society’s ability is limited based on the constraints of privacy that we are entitled to.  Privacy to whatever extent allows us to be uninhibited in our actions and make progress without the perceptions of others.

The ability to act without the consciousness of others views or opinions allows oneself the ability to explore investigate and learn about what may not be socially accepted or allowed. In doing so, people are able to generate more knowledge and understanding. With the imposition of being monitored, one forfeits the ability to act whimsically on ones personal desires because of the possibility of going against social norms. When a society is collectibly able to explore and learn freely, that society will in turn develop into a more knowledgable and accepting space as a result of the general information and knowledge that it had developed.

For example, countries that experience large amounts of government control fall being on progressive fronts that enable greater acception and personal understanding. China, because of the governments censorship, is drastically behind in social and general rational because of the lack of freedom given to its citizens. In comparison to the United States, where privacy and freedom is much more abundant, our society as whole is leagues ahead of China’s. As a result, the idea of developing general information is born from the privacy that a society has.