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▲ aslilac 4 hours ago

imagine if we just turned off 90% of the non-critical internet for two weeks, hardened up in an absolute mad dash where everyone has access to top tier cyber models, and then afterwards we go back to business as usual. it’d be a disaster short-term but long-term would it be worse than the years of slow drip we’re about to go through? idk! I kinda think it’d be interesting to find out!

▲AlecSchueler 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Imagine if everyone had just stayed at home for a week in 2020.

▲jtolmar 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It'd take more than a week, but even now, if the whole world coordinated a simultaneous quarantine, we'd eliminate covid, the flu, the common cold, and a thousand nameless respiratory cruds.

▲yfontana 32 minutes ago | parent [-]

No we wouldn't, most of those viruses infect other animals as well, and would just start reinfecting humans.

▲mmwelt 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Everyone would be very difficult. You'd still need some people to make sure essential services are still functioning, and that still involves quite a large number of people.

▲fyredge 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That was my first thought as well. With COVID, we recognised that WFH was viable for white collar work. Perhaps a global 2 week cleanse will allow everyone to re-evaluate life priorities outside of the internet.

I see hope in what happened during the blackout in Spain/Portugal.

▲mentalgear 3 hours ago | parent [-]

what happened there ?

▲fyredge an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Sorry about that, you can see this for reference: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70zg3e5ej2o

But essentially, with the power down, people came out as a community and life went on without technology. Granted, the power came back within a day, but I have confidence that they would have found a way.

▲okeuro49 41 minutes ago | parent [-]

Don't you think it is odd that the BBC led with this feature, for what would have been a critical failure of infrastructure for a Western nation?

Losing electricity causes significant disruption, emergency generators have to turn on for hospitals, the transport system stops.

The BBC is not what it once was, so assume it is no better than any other outlet in wanting to create a narrative.

The actual reality on the ground for many people would have been far from the whimsical event the BBC portrays.

▲fyredge 12 minutes ago | parent [-]

I was not under the impression that it was a feature. I just googled the blackout and copied the first link to provide context. Could be a Spanish blog for all I care.

Emergency blackouts are a disruption for sure and I believe people were injured in that event, but the lesson I took from it is that nothing is more reliable than community. Technology comes and goes, but we will always have each other.

▲bertylicious 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think they are referring to the reports of people suddenly meeting on the streets and hanging out together back then.

▲fodkodrasz 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nothing, I guess, and that is a good thing, I guess: the world didn't even by a day (few days?) without electricity.