Post by @aartaka@merveilles.town

2026-04-09 17:39 UTC

This Low Tech magazine post on marine navigation &lt;https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/01/satellite-navigation-in-the-18th-century/&gt; perfectly mirrors my worries about tech propaganda and digital-only services. I cannot simply use pen and paper anymore, because I have to have OTP codes, electronic registration, GPS, dedicated service apps, NFC cards, and whatnot. Analogue alternatives to these are being phased out, to the detriment of privacy, resilience, and healthy system redundancy. I don’t like that.

Replies (3)

@neauoire@merveilles.town 2026-04-09 17:43

@aartaka we can fight back! ✊ https://rabbitwaves.ca/site/celestial_compass.html

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@khinsen@scholar.social 2026-04-10 06:11

@aartaka That's what Ivan Illich calls "radical monopolies" (in his 1973 book "Tools for conviviality"): technologies that people can no longer opt out of because society at large has decided to adopt them. However, before you decide to fight against radical monopolies, keep in mind that agriculture is one as well! As are fridges, or the power grid. For me, the priority is understanding and then equilibrating the power structures that each radical monopoly creates.

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@dalke@toots.nu 2026-04-10 10:19

@aartaka The statement 'This may sound a little outdated, but this system was perfected to such an extent that in the second half of the eighteenth century it was almost as accurate as the present-day GPS.' remains me of the discussion on mapping in "The Ring of Truth" by the Morrisons in the late 1980s. The image from the book, https://archive.org/details/ringoftruthinqui00morrrich/page/138/mode/2up?q=gps compares a 1798 position (off by 8 miles), the 1980s position using old methods, and GPS (within 50 feet). Video at https://archive.org/details/TheRingofTruth/Ring.of.Truth.S01E03.Mapping.1987.VHSRip.AAC2.0.x264-rattera.mp4 .

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