If there's one thing that I'm sure of while reading, Andrew Blum's Tubes, it's that he's met a lot of people who I have never heard of, but sound undoubtedly important when he describes them throughout the chapters.
Chapter 3 has been my least favorite so far. Palo Alto seems like a foreign city full of nerds with no social skills. Blum related them to "priests in Rome, fingering smartphones rather than rosary beads, but similarly sticking close, for reasons both practical and spiritual, to the center of power. From my understanding, everyone who has moved to Palo Alto has moved there to have a success future in "connecting" with others through internet technology. It is also evident that the internet had no "rise to success", because nobody understand its potential. The internet was underestimated. For example, Digital Equipment Corporation linked up two important networks "for the good of the internet" without expectations for it to become what it is today, a mess of of intersecting tubes.
I had some interesting reactions and realizations throughout the chapter.
First, I wondered, what would happen if the internet completely failed one day, and we lost connection forever?
I also began thinking about the amount of energy that maintaining the internet consumes. By the sounds of it, it should be more aware to the public. They have generators incase the electricity goes out and they have loads of diesel fuel (in case of emergency). I am surprised that this amount of energy use has not hit headline.
How much energy does it take to run the internet?
I repeatedly enjoy how Blum relates the internet and his experiences during his journey back to pop culture. His recap of the South Park episode is exactly what my first question asked, what would happen to society if there internet failed? Blum's narration keeps a potentially dry subject interesting and intriguing.
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