Modern technology is so fragile and unreliable.

[krsna]

"Modern technology is so fragile and unreliable."

 

Srila Prabhupada has given us a warning in this regard:

 

• 
  
  "Yes there was all darkness in New York (City) on the 10th instant and it was not a happy incident. I learn that many people remained in the elevators (lifts) and in the subway trains (underground) for more than seven to eight hours in darkness. I do not read newspapers but there must have been some mishaps also which we do not know. That is the way of material civilisation too much depending on machine. At any time the whole thing may collapse and therefore we may not be self complacent depending so much on artificial life. The modern life of civilisation depends wholly on electricity and petrol and both of them are artificial for man."
  (His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada letter to "My dear daughter Sally," November 13, 1965)
  

 

[Kulapavana]

fragile and unreliable? this forum is a testimony of the power of modern technology. it can easily be argued that EVERYTHING in this world is fragile and unreliable. have you ever tried to grow your own food? now you are talking fragile and unreliable. weather, pests, disease can wipe out your crop in a very short order.

 

be thankful for what you have. how would Srila Prabhupada come to the West and spread his movement without the aid of modern technology?

[Guruvani]

how true.

Modern man is surely setting himself up for a global cataclysm of technological breakdown as governments, industry and the economy become totally dependent on petroleum, computers and nuclear energy.

 

ISKCON was supposed to become the world leader in return to "simple living and high thinking" but has simply become just another cog in the wheel of modern society and dependence on all the things that are destroying the planet - petroleum dependecy, nuclear power etc. etc.

 

ISKCON is living just like all the rest of the lemmings of modern civilization that are running off the cliff of technological dependence.

[krsnaraj1]

 

fragile and unreliable?

 

be thankful for what you have. how would Srila Prabhupada come to the West and spread his movement without the aid of modern technology?

 

Swami Prabhupad as far as I know advised that we should use anything modern technology has to offer if only we use them for propagating Krsna consciousness only.

[krsna]

 

fragile and unreliable? this forum is a testimony of the power of modern technology. it can easily be argued that EVERYTHING in this world is fragile and unreliable. have you ever tried to grow your own food? now you are talking fragile and unreliable. weather, pests, disease can wipe out your crop in a very short order.

 

be thankful for what you have. how would Srila Prabhupada come to the West and spread his movement without the aid of modern technology?

 

Is Kula advocating that we support modernity?

 

Are we to tread the path of the life extension movement?

 

Are we to worship at the temple of new stem techonolgy?

 

C'mon Kula give us all an update on how we can all benefit from living in the 21st century post-Soviet era!!!

[krsnaraj1]

 

Is Kula advocating that we support modernity?

 

Are we to tread the path of the life extension movement?

 

Are we to worship at the temple of new stem techonolgy?

 

C'mon Kula give us all an update on how we can all benefit from living in the 21st century post-Soviet era!!!

 

Nothing is permanent except change. No one is comfortable anymore these days whenever he/she goes out without bringing with him/her his/her celphone.

[krsna]

 

how true.

Modern man is surely setting himself up for a global cataclysm of technological breakdown as governments, industry and the economy become totally dependent on petroleum, computers and nuclear energy.

 

ISKCON was supposed to become the world leader in return to "simple living and high thinking" but has simply become just another cog in the wheel of modern society and dependence on all the things that are destroying the planet - petroleum dependecy, nuclear power etc. etc.

 

ISKCON is living just like all the rest of the lemmings of modern civilization that are running off the cliff of technological dependence.[/quote]

 

 

[Guruvani]

 

Swami Prabhupad as far as I know advised that we should use anything modern technology has to offer if only we use them for propagating Krsna consciousness only.

 

Good point.

Everything hinges on this.

Otherwise, the leaders of ISKCON should have been leading the society towards simply living and high thinking in self-sufficient agricultural based living.

They have been too busy as career ISKCON gurus and trying to gather up enough followers to support their jet-set lifestyles to worry about the longe-range future of ISKCON as a society based on Vedic principles.

[Kulapavana]

 

Is Kula advocating that we support modernity?

 

 

we are experts only at boasting of our own superiority. our farms are a failure, our schools are a failure, our own society is hardly an example for anybody to follow.

 

talk is cheap. show me how you are going to live without modern technology.

 

jet flying sannyasis in expensive robes, waited on hand and foot by eager disciples bringing them everything they need, preaching the ills of modernity... this is SO FAKE it makes me sick. nobody is buying this kind of a show and the empty temples are a proof.

 

I support HONESTY and REASON. Vedic civilization was very advanced. The problem is not in technology, but in motivation.

[Guruvani]

 

we are experts only at boasting of our own superiority. our farms are a failure, our schools are a failure, our own society is hardly an example for anybody to follow.

 

talk is cheap. show me how you are going to live without modern technology.

 

jet flying sannyasis in expensive robes, waited on hand and foot by eager disciples bringing them everything they need, preaching the ills of modernity... this is SO FAKE it makes me sick. nobody is buying this kind of a show and the empty temples are a proof.

 

I support HONESTY and REASON. Vedic civilization was very advanced. The problem is not in technology, but in motivation.

 

Yep.

[suchandra]

 

......nobody is buying this kind of a show and the empty temples are a proof....

The temple at Prabhupada's Village is empty? No wonder, looks like that people of Kulapavana's caliber are scaring new bhaktas off?

[Kulapavana]

 

The temple at Prabhupada's Village is empty?

 

come for a mangala-arati one day and find out for yourself

[Murali_Mohan_das]

My friend recently described the panic that quickly set in during the most recent NYC black-out.

 

Hurricane Katrina demonstrated just how quickly our "civilization" can degenerate into chaos.

 

Certainly, our technology-dependent way of life *is* more tenuous than self-sufficient simple-lving, high-thinking.

 

That said, it *is* wonderful to see how technology is being used by the Vaishnavas to expand Mahaprabhu's movement of mercy-distribution.

[Kulapavana]

"My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted land. But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max". To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the black fuel. And the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel, they were nothing. They built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads it was a white line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed. Men like Max. The warrior Max. In the roar of an engine, he lost everything. And became a shell of a man, a burnt out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here, in this blighted place, that he learned to live again... "

[Inedible]

The important thing about modern technology is that we keep trying to improve it. The only complaint about it that I would suggest as valid is that we don't always use it the way we should. It is one thing to develop a "worm" to search for information about a type of cancer and another thing entirely to use a "worm" to steal credit card information.

[theist]

 

Is Kula advocating that we support modernity?

 

Are we to tread the path of the life extension movement?

 

Are we to worship at the temple of new stem techonolgy?

 

C'mon Kula give us all an update on how we can all benefit from living in the 21st century post-Soviet era!!!

 

Never seems to miss a chance to throw a jab at Srila Prabhupada by misconstruing his statement.

[Kulapavana]

 

Never seems to miss a chance to throw a jab at Srila Prabhupada by misconstruing his statement.

 

Actually, the jab was at his disciples, who cant seem to develop a realistic approach to preaching, and who misconstrue isolated statements like the one above into utopian visions.

[Murali_Mohan_das]

I appreciate your sentiment, but, if that's your only complaint, then, clearly, you are not privy to the inner workings of technology.

 

The "four defects" loom large in my mind these days. Having seen any number of "secure" web front-ended database systems using "sa" with an empty password for credentials, I have many more concerns regarding technology. There are many more examples I could cite (like incompetent administrators resetting permissions on my web applications so that anybody can get in without any credentials at all).

 

Even if you don't work in the guts of computer systems, all you have to do is look at the news to see how dangerous technology can be (in terms of privacy, data-security, etc.).

 

Then there's the whole issue of RF (radio frequency) radiation and its long-term effects on us (birds, etc.).

 

Even used for the noblest of purposes, technology is dangerous.

 

 

The important thing about modern technology is that we keep trying to improve it. The only complaint about it that I would suggest as valid is that we don't always use it the way we should. It is one thing to develop a "worm" to search for information about a type of cancer and another thing entirely to use a "worm" to steal credit card information.

[krsnaraj1]

Man`s developing sophisticated technology because he`s planning to go to outerspace. Planet earth is dying. I watched that movie Stargate and it seemed so real to me. Of course, we can go to the other planets only if we lose this body by accident or suicide. All we have to do is tune-in to say, Pluto or Polestar, then give-up this body ASAP. But first we have to have a vision of these planets before we could go there. As I said, modern technology`s contribution is that someday Mankind can immediately evacuate planet earth anytime the moment she becomes inhabitable, " Spark, activate Startrek and let`s go to Dhruvaloka!" Aye, aye, captain!"

[Murali_Mohan_das]

There goes the neighborhood!!

 

 

 

" Spark, activate Startrek and let`s go to Dhruvaloka!" Aye, aye, captain!"

[shvu]

Without modern technology and advancements in science it is a resonable claim that some of us and/or our family members would not even be alive today.

 

So instead of harping on and on about the "evils" of technology while simultanously using it in almost every aspect of your lives, be honest to yourselves and stop parroting pointless quotes made by someone else.

 

I know, I know...you will now get defensive and try to tap dance by revising your criticism that you are only targetting a particular section of scientists. We have seen these games before and no one is gonna be fooled.

 

Give it a rest folks. You are only showing yourself and your affiliates in a bad light with your hypocritical criticisms.

 

Cheers

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Nobody is saying that technology is "evil", merely that it is fragile and often unreliable (I can provide plenty of references from the media if you do not accept my personal anecdotes). Furthermore, for almost every technological "advance" that we employ, there are unintended side-effects (Thalidimide and Vioxx anybody?).

 

The Vaishnava tries to use *everything* in the service of the Lord.

 

 

Without modern technology and advancements in science it is a resonable claim that some of us and/or our family members would not even be alive today.

 

So instead of harping on and on about the "evils" of technology while simultanously using it in almost every aspect of your lives, be honest to yourselves and stop parroting pointless quotes made by someone else.

 

I know, I know...you will now get defensive and try to tap dance by revising your criticism that you are only targetting a particular section of scientists. We have seen these games before and no one is gonna be fooled.

 

Give it a rest folks. You are only showing yourself and your affiliates in a bad light with your hypocritical criticisms.

 

Cheers

[Murali_Mohan_das]

 

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/06/1537256

 

 

"More than half of computer users who think they are protected against online threats like spyware, viruses, and hackers actually have inadequate or no online protection, according to an independent research study conducted for Verizon... While 92 percent of participants thought they were safe, the scans revealed that 59 percent were actually vulnerable to a variety of online dangers. Ninety-four percent of those surveyed said they would find it helpful to be able to diagnose or check their online security status on a regular basis to make sure their PCs were safe."

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Another example:

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/05/swat_conspiracy_guilty_pleas/

 

 

Phone phreaks spoof LSD-induced multiple homicide

 

Dial-a-SWAT-team

 

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco <small class="MoreByAuthor">→ More by this author</small>

<small>Published Wednesday 5th December 2007 22:25 GMT

 

</small>Three more individuals have admitted they participated in a series of phone phreak hoaxes that prompted raids by armed special weapons and tactic police teams on the homes of unsuspecting victims.

 

Jason Trowbridge, of Louisiana and Texas, and Chad Ward of Texas pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including conspiracy, access device fraud and unauthorized access of a protected computer. Each faces maximum penalties of five years in prison, fines of $250,000 and costs for restitution.

 

As previously reported, Stuart Rosoff also pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the pranks, which over a course of almost five years snared more than 100 victims and resulted in as much as $250,000 in losses, according to court documents. Angela Roberson, who was charged alongside the trio, also entered a guilty plea but court documents did not elaborate.

 

A sentencing hearing for Trowbridge is scheduled for late February. Hearings for Ward and Roberson are scheduled for mid March.

 

Swatters, as the malicious pranksters are referred to, use a combination of social engineering, phone phreaking prowess and computer hacking to spoof the phone numbers of individuals they want to harass. They then make emergency calls to police departments and report crimes in progress, in many cases prompting a response from SWAT teams who conduct emergency raids on the homes of people whose numbers were spoofed.

In many cases, the victims were fellow participants in telephone party lines, which largely act as the phone equivalent of internet relay chat groups. Trowbridge, who went by the names "Jason from California" and "John from California," furthered the scheme by mining personal information about the victims from a host of sources, including consumer reporting agencies, pizza delivery records and newspaper subscription records, according to court documents signed by the defendant.

 

The personal information Trowbridge provided allowed the gang to make fake emergency calls that had the ring of authenticity. In one case, they posed as an Alvarado, Texas man whose daughter was a party line participant. They told a police dispatcher that he had shot and killed members of his family and was armed with an AK47 machine gun. The caller, who claimed to be high on hallucinogenic drugs, then threatened to kill his remaining hostages unless he was given $50,000 and safe passage out of the country.

 

Police responded by sending police to the residence of the real man.

In September of last year, Ward himself was swatted by members of the gang. But just a month later, as he admitted in court documents filed last month, he offered money to anyone who would carry out a Swat attack on the Alvarado family. Ward, who went by the name "Dark Angel," also confessed to obtaining personal information on victims by socially engineering telephone company employees.

 

The documents provide other colorful details. Among them, Rosoff threatened to have the phone service of a Cheboygan, Michigan woman disconnected unless she agreed to provide him with phone sex. When she refused, Rosoff used social engineering to terminate her phone service. He also made false reports to police claiming the woman's children were being abused and discussed ways of having her falsely arrested.

 

During the course of the conspiracy - which lasted from late 2002 to June of this year and involved as many as 20 individuals - the participants also initiated calls to employers, landlords, families and friends of party line members they held a grudge against. Some of the members who refused to stop using the line found their friends and families swatted.

The case was investigated by the FBI field office in Dallas and prosecuted the the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.®

 

[gHari]

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