“It was pretty much 100 percent yes right from the get-go for me,” said Sam Bengtson, a software engineer. “In the next five to 10 years, this is going to be something that isn’t scoffed at so much, or is more normal. So I like to jump on the bandwagon with these kind of things early, just to say that I have it.”...What future do you have in a technology company that is about the future if you don't want the technology of the future?
“Because it’s new, I don’t know enough about it yet,” [Melissa Timmins, the company’s sales director]. “I’m a little nervous about implanting something into my body.... I think it’s pretty exciting to be part of something new like this... I know down the road, it’s going to be the next big thing, and we’re on the cutting edge of it.”...
“We are a technology company, when all is said and done, and they’re excited about it,” [said Dewey Wahlin, general manager of Three Square.] “They see this as the future.”
How can you be the nervous person who says no, when the other employees are openly enthusing about liking to "jump on the bandwagon"?
The jumping-on-the-bandwagon metaphor has traditionally been a way of disparaging people who are acting unthinkingly out of a fear of getting left behind. Making it seems as though there's a bandwagon is a way to get people to go along without serious contemplation.
In the OED, we see the development of "bandwagon" as a metaphor:
855 P. T. Barnum Life 205 At Vicksburg we sold all our land conveyances excepting four horses and the ‘band wagon’.
1893 Congress. Rec. 25 Aug. 897/1 It is a lamentable fact that.. our commercial enemy..should come along with a band wagon loaded with hobgoblins.
1899 T. Roosevelt Let. 28 Apr. (1951) II. 999 When I once became sure of one majority they tumbled over each other to get aboard the band wagon....
1933 Amer. Speech 8 i. 22/2 The socialists climbed on the alliteration band-wagon with Sail safely and surely with Socialism....
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Aug. p. xxxii/1 The whipping-up of public emotions has been made the excuse for the cult of band-waggon personalities.
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61 comments:
So our alien overlords are slowly getting us used to the idea of the tracking and control device?
Phase seven must be commencing.
"I'm having trouble reading this sentence."
The aliens have learned if they just keep repeating the words "technology" and "future" they can get the Earth leadership to do whatever they demand.
I .am more inclined to identify this as following a herd/bunch? of lemmings.
What future do you have as a technology company that is about the future if you don't want the technology of the future?"
I appreciate your subtle correction, Laslo, but now it's a distraction. I want to take it out for that reason and because you did that thing of putting in extra line breaks, but Kevin has already quoted it.
Okay, I'll just say thank you once again, then take your comment out, and I'll preserve what Kevin said which is: "The aliens have learned if they just keep repeating the words "technology" and "future" they can get the Earth leadership to do whatever they demand."
Electronic ID marking of one's property replaces livestock branding and numeric or bar coding ID with tattoos. It's the new and efficient way for the Owner/Master to work the prisoners after they are arrested for Vagrancy. That is what replaced Plantation Slavery, and is spelled out as a still legal slavery in Lincoln's 13th Amendment.
Stick as many chips in me as you want. But you have to pay me as long as they are there.
"What future do you have [[[[as]]]] a technology company that is about the future if you don't want the technology of the future?""
Darrell is trying to help with the missing word in the original, uncorrected post. The word was "in."
("as" is a different meaning and isn't what I'd meant to say, but thanks for helping.)
" I want to take it out for that reason and because you did that thing of putting in extra line breaks,"
Sorry about the line breaks, not intentional.
I do not want to be one of those who does THAT THING.
I am Laslo.
I'm always glad to help, Ann. And be wrong.
" The word was "in." "
I went with 'with'.
Distraction aside, a good question. How much of yourself ARE you expected to give to your employer?
Commitment is being measured by a harsher metric in the World Of The Future.
I am Laslo.
AH, Lemmings. Wonder if I convince them that full lobotomy's are all the rage in HT?
Many years ago I worked at a low level on the development of the cell phone. I thought at the time that it was a terrible idea to have a phone you couldn't get away from.
This reminds me of the scene in "Ghostbusters" where the woman in the New York public library has seen the ghost.
Egon (Harold Ramis) says they would like to take a sample of her brain. She say, "OK."
On the Effectiveness of Aluminium[sic] Foil Helmets:
An Empirical Study
Conclusion
The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and 1.4 Ghz. ...
Though not affiliated by government, these bands are at the hands of multinational corporations.
So the microchips are to allow employees to log onto computers, enter rooms and buy snacks in the vending machines. That last one seems a most important reason to have a microchip implanted in your body. Just think! you will never have to search for change or dollars again. (sarcasm)
On the other hand, if the reason is security, all someone has to do to breach the security is to chop off that other hand (where the chip is embedded) and use the severed hand pass through the security. I saw this in a movie once, I think. Except it was with an eyeball.
Ah...technology.
Rev. 13:16-18 (NASB) "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."
Just sayin'
I have a chip so if I get lost a veterinarian can scan me and contact my Mom!
Bandwagons are so nineteenth century. "Hop on the peoplemover!" gets us to the twentieth. What would Elon say?
Dust Bunny Queen said...
I saw this in a movie once, I think. Except it was with an eyeball.
Here ("Zygote"), in order to open a door, she cuts off the hand(s) of the most disgusting movie monster I've ever enjoyed.
During the 1980s, I proposed an office chair with a pressure plate that would be connected to the payroll department that would stop paying people for the time the chair was empty. Now, your whole day can be mapped and appropriate action taken.
Wow. It turns out the crazy anti-government militia people of the 90's were not crazy, but prescient.
"What future do you have in a technology company that is about the future if you don't want the technology of the future?"
Perhaps "the future" needs some defining here? This reminds me of those who have had the names of lovers tatooed in visible places, and thus all-too-visible when the lover moves on and the relationship ends. Do you think you're going to work for this company forever?
For me, the argument for uptake of a new technology revolves around the potential downsides, especially including the ability to reverse the decision. If my RFID is on a lanyard I can remove it easily whenever I wish; if it's embedded, not so much.
But perhaps I am an outlier? I decline vendor offers to turn off paper mail for electronic-only not because I really want the paper mail all that much, but because those making these offers invariably make it easy to turn off the paper mail but almost impossible to ever get it turned back on again.
And the near universal auto-renew requirement for paper or electronic media access: well fine if you insist, BUT I'm buying with a one-time-use credit card number. Why would I commit to buy your product forever (or until I cancel, which I know you'll make as difficult as possible)?
(Besides, these RFID implants are a deep dark plot to eliminate cash and thus make all transactions traceable.)
(And no, embedded RFID won't work for tracking criminals, it'll just start a black market in removing the devices.)
Bonkti said...
Bandwagons are so nineteenth century.
Forsooth! Do you grok my jive, me hearties?
"I'm going to cross the streams of this post and the preceding "Confederates" post.
Imagine a world where manual labor has been replaced by robots. The government subsidizes these lives under the Lifetime Support for Workers Replaced By Robots Act.
Meanwhile, those with jobs are expected by their employers to be connected to work 24/7, by smart phone and implanted chips: meanwhile, higher and higher taxes need to be paid to keep the system afloat.
You can quit your job, but because you are 'employable' the government sees you as now acting against the state, and you will receive no benefits: you might even be coerced by law back to your employer under the Amazon Pact (signed after the Lifetime Support for Workers Replaced By Robots Act, of course)
Start the Story Here.
I am Laslo.
This is deplorable as a "voluntary" act. My fear is that it will soon become mandatory. And the chip/chains will be assumed willingly by those who say "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." That is how it starts. Then it is "for the good of the children" that everyone will be tracked at all times and opting out will become a felony. Eventually the Title IX nazis will monitor erections and declare those that are not pre-approved by committee to be forbidden. The future looks ugly.
I'm sure there was no subtle coercion used. Who would dare think a technology company would not expect its employees to use company approved technology?
Oso imagine if these chips were required to get unearned benefits. Let's see all purchases tracked and compared to allowable purchases. Can't use the swipeless pay for beer or junk food but it will track all the purchases made. Then every quarter the welfare recipient will have to account where they got the money to buy unapproved goods and services.
"....a chip the size of a grain of rice injected between their thumb and index finger."
Well, that'd make me think twice before jerking off again.
At Disney, u just wear a bracelet. So, chipped for "free" stuff?
@Bob, Thank you posting before I had the chance.
I am not surprised. Such fools. Reminds of people lining up outside the iPhone for days for the latest iteration, but far worse. Or EZ Pass will never be used for tracking, only invoicing. *cough*
I predicted having micro chips implanted with access codes for your bank accounts, car and house etc at least twenty years ago to my friends.
It is already common to chip your pets, and people have even begun chipping their children.
There will be the usual "number of the beast" nonsense...but within twenty years this will be commonplace.
I thought at the time that it was a terrible idea to have a phone you couldn't get away from.
I still do..which is why I have never owned a cell phone.
Gahrie said: "There will be the usual "number of the beast" nonsense...but within twenty years this will be commonplace."
The portion of your comment is nonsense. I do agree with the second half.
Are these hard to remove? Do we get a new chip when we transfer to a different company or do they reprogram the chip you already have. Will people who switch jobs frequently end up with a dozen+ chips.Will your ex be able to hack the chip to track your movements. Creepy.
he portion of your comment is nonsense.
Go back and look at what was said when Social Security numbers were introduced. The same thing happens whenever someone brings up the idea of a national id card.
My supposition is so mainstream that Wikipedia even covers it.
We had finger print readers in my last job. You put your finger in the reader, and pressed your badge to the sensor, and the door unlatched.
So the way to thwart this system is to kill the person, chop their finger off, steal their badge, and waltz in and do a Number 6 on everyone (except the women folk, of course).
Nitwits.
If you change employers, won't you have to get a new chip?
These are the same dumbasses who willingly put spying devices in their own homes (Alexa, Google Home)
Individuals were doing experiments with implants a few years ago. I'm not sure how the device described here is superior to an employee ID card with an embedded RFID or other tracking chip. Why implant it?
Gahrie said: "Go back and look at what was said when Social Security numbers were introduced. The same thing happens whenever someone brings up the idea of a national id card.
My supposition is so mainstream that Wikipedia even covers it."
It will be mainstream, that's the whole point.
Amen, Bob
My supposition is so mainstream that Wikipedia even covers it."
It will be mainstream, that's the whole point.
I was referring to my supposition that people would resist the chips through a fear of the number of the beast, which was dismissed.
Michael K,
Egon asks Rick Moranis' character (I forget the name) for a brain sample, not the librarian.
"So our alien overlords are slowly getting us used to the idea of the tracking and control device?"
Absolutely. No tracking chip for me. [pulls out phone, checks email, texts, package delivery schedule, emails again, verifies location with GPS-loaded map app...]
O noes, scary RFID!
(Tracking devices! With a range of about a foot, tops.
Worried about your employer tracking you at work? They have cameras for that, typically, as part of normal physical plant security.
At home? An RFID chip can't do that - and note that RFID badges are ubiquitous.
This is a silly stunt, nothing more. In the real world, people just keep using badges, which are much more replaceable, even if they can be stolen.
If you need that level of security, that card theft is a big worry, you need a biometric or ... an actual guard.)
The cool tracking stuff right now is with cell phones--lots of companies are working hard to use data on how you move through stores and malls, and they're getting that info from tracking your phone's physical location. You're broadcasting signals while you move about their property so they don't need any kind of permission to track you and use that data. Sometimes they'll make it easy and just give you an app that gathers the data for them, but really all they need are suitable detectors in the correct places.
How long did you walk down aisle #4, and when you stopped to look at the sale poster on the next aisle did you end up buying two or just one of the items they were advertising?
They...don't need an implant.
Fear of the Number of the Beast is sick, sick, sick.
"lots of companies are working hard to use data on how you move through stores and malls, and they're getting that info from tracking your phone's physical location
Ha. They probably think I'm dead or being held prisoner in some dungeon. My phone usually resides in a basket on the kitchen island. Turned off and stationary 90% of the time. I rarely use my cell phone. I buy time by the minute. $25 at a time for 25 minutes and lasts for 3 months and almost always have minutes left over.
I use my phone if I am traveling alone in my car. Or if my husband and I are going someplace where we might be separated and need to check in with each other. No one other than my husband knows my phone number because I don't want anyone to call me on the cell phone. In fact, because the minutes sometimes lapse, so does my number. I've had several numbers in the last couple of years.
How can you be the nervous person who says no, when the other employees are openly enthusing about liking to "jump on the bandwagon"?
You just do it. And without any nervousness at all. I've always been the guy who looks at something stupid and says "that's effing stupid."
Savage, in Brave New World?
Known Unknown suggests: These are the same dumbasses who willingly put spying devices in their own homes (Alexa, Google Home)
Indeed. Lord, what fools these mortals be!
It is just a test to see how many employees will accept/reject it. There is no GPS tracking.....for now.
It's part of the marketing plan to condition people to accept the implantation of a chip. When version 11.3 comes out, we can stop people from doing bad things via electrical charge or poison release. Perhaps, just a sedative release, but this is just the beginning. We used to use cell phones just to call people. Now, it tells the world all about us and can even track our location.
"Fear of the Number of the Beast is sick, sick, sick."
No fear at all. We call it discernment. Just as we do not label the slaughter of the unborn as family planning. Or a right to choose.
"Fear of the Number of the Beast is sick, sick, sick."
Beast, Big Brother, Ceasar, Capitalism, Communism, Nanny State, etc., etc., etc.
Choose your own fear then. You won't be wrong. They're all out to get you.
And they're all coming.
Soon implanted chips will monitor your health condition constantly. Your house will prepare your meals that match your current metabolic needs.
The ways to communicate will be may and varied and some will be implanted. Telepathy will be a thing.
Pretty much every body part will be "upgradeable."
You will be able to control a robot to go out and do the shopping.
I would recommend learning how to program and learning about encryption so you can protect yourself.
Achilles, I, for one, don't want my health condition constantly monitored. Nor do I want robots to do things for me that I can do myself. If this is the future, I'm glad I'm old enough not to have to see it.
The sheep will line up to have implants.....You would have to cut my arm to put one into and I'll probably take you down with me...good luck tech. nerds.
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