Power vs Power

I was born in 1988, so technically I am a child of the 80s yet the bulk of my childhood was spent growing up in the 90s. Even though the Internet existed for a few decades before I was born, the World Wide Web, the software application that has now become synonymous with the word "Internet" wasn't invented until the early 90s, it grew up and came of age alongside me which gives me and many of my generation a particular perspective when it comes to recognizing the potential that a technology can hold and the realisation of its application.

I grew up seeing some people fear the internet, surreptitiously some might admit that stance proved prescient, but from a more pragmatic mindset that ideological opposition was beyond prudent and decidedly pedantic. That fear lead them to resist the internet as much as they could, to the point that some of the older opponents in particular still don't use it, and whilst they live healthy and fulfilling lives without it, they do make their lives needlessly complicated and suffer from the self-imposed disadvantage that result.

Leopards and Leaders

I've been thinking about the concept of Leadership and what I think it means to me, after hearing other peoples' definitions of it I've realised that my definition differs quite starkly, whilst others define it in terms of vision, imagination, creativity, and direction, I define it in terms of conflict.

There is a difference between an opinion going unchallenged because there is no valid counter argument that anyone can think of, versus an opinion going unchallenged because of the nature of the person who holds it as they are perceived by others. I think of the gap between these two concepts is part of the reason why the Peter Principle exists, which if you're unaware of, the basic principle is that anyone in any job who is promoted for doing that job well will inevitably be promoted above their competence thereby guaranteeing that people always end up incompetent, doing jobs they're not actually good at doing.

Chapters

I think one of the biggest problems with the internet is continuity. Your online experience is continuous, there's no break, no stopping point, no logical partition. For everyone, with every platform you use, the presence you have on it grows and with that growth, the weight of what you contribute to that platform is carried with you.

Memories in real life fade for a reason, we hold on to what is important and we let go of the things that no longer serve us but the internet doesn't let you do that unless you go out of your way to make the conscious decision to "reset" your online presence but as a creator or as someone with a reputation that's pretty much impossible to do.

Momentary Relief

If you've been following my recent updates regarding my health this post is just a minor update, if you have no interest in that then feel free to skip it.

I still don't have the answers I wanted from Doctors, I don't have a diagnosis and that's the most frustrating part right now. I kept track of my diet for 6 months and how many times I threw up, in the end the total came to 36 which averages once or twice a week. I was prescribed a tablet called Pantoprazole to see if it would remedy the situation but for the two weeks I was on it I threw up every single day, so after consulting my Doctor we agreed to stop it.

The good news is that means it's probably not a stomach ulcer as Pantoprazole and all other -prazole tablets are a class of drugs called Proton Pump Inhibitors which act by lowering stomach acid levels. The fact this made my symptoms worse is a good indication this isn't a problem with stomach acid, and likely not an ulcer. This provided me with some relief mentally but it didn't last long as I still don't know what else it might be.