jazzy_dave | Book 54 - Aaron Swartz " The Boy Who Could Change The World" (Reply)

Aaron Swartz " The Boy Who Could Change The World" (The New Press)

Some stuff feels dated, most of it was pretty interesting. It's definitely a shame that he didn't get to develop his thoughts more.

Here's some of what I got out of the book:
- a sense that other computer people care about good things without being total techno-utopians.
- a lot of Swartz's influences seem like they'd be good reading - sometimes it feels like his thoughts are not quite as well-developed as whatever inspired them if that makes sense.
- the idea/distinction between measuring one's legacy by what the world would have been like without one's existence. This biases against competing to do the same Big Thing that lots of other people are trying to do, and instead of trying to change the world in a way that only you would have. Not sure how much I agree with this but it's an interesting way to think about things.

So, whilst many of these essays seem unfinished, they give you something to cogitate over. Each entry is introduced and placed in some sort of context. Should be of interest to anyone who appreciates the internet.