We were promised superpowers!

Jan 8, 2016

But instead, we get computers we can't open. We get fancy CSS without any structure. We get Javascript that we can't trust, and spam in our inboxes. We get ads and celebrities and diversions and "free-to-play", and everything but actual data.

You don't believe me?

Try any of these things:

Find the price of a Nintendo game when it was released and inflation-adjust that price. Compare with current video game prices.
Which of the video games in your library has the best time/money ratio? Ie. for which game did you pay the least per hour played. Now inflation-adjust it!
If you save one € every day for the next 40 years into a compounding interest account, how much will you have at the end? Now inflation-adjust it!
Find the cheapest flight from here to there with yourself and your whole family. Find the cheapest final price, including all of the bogus taxes.
Now be flexible about the date.
Find that one picture from that castle that you saw on that vacation. Do it without giving all your pictures to an american company.
Find all pictures of your significant other. Again, without giving them to any company. Include profile and half-hidden pictures.
How many times did you go to the cinema last year? And how often with your best friend?
Draw five random cards. Now tell us the probability of winning against your three mates in five-card-draw poker. Also, how many and which cards should you exchange for maximum winning probability?
You're on a train, and the train is delayed. Are there any alternative routes you can take that get you there quicker?
Find the furthest place that you can get to for 20 €, with any means of transport.
Find the cheapest way to travel 500 km in any direction.
Find the fastest way to travel 500 km in any direction.
You're in a car, driving to your parents' place. You get hungry. Find a place where you can eat with minimum detour within the next 30 km. Same for fuel. Combine the two.
You took a picture with your cell phone. Now look at it on your computer. Do it without giving all your data to a company.
When will your driver's license expire? Will someone remind you?
Given the contents of your fridge, what is a meal you could cook with it? What's an ingredient you could buy to make more meals?

We were promised superpowers. Instead, we get the copyright police, corporate interests, walled gardens, corrupt politics and constant surveillance.