commit 7c2ea986d5074ac0e77de612b32e16a136eb8d0c
parent 56fd7132ebb586b21e2c80c6b1bc53a8b1beee85
Author: ugrnm <ultrageranium@bleu255.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2025 12:05:42 +0200
Merge branch 'master' of borok:/var/www/git.bleu255.com/repos/permacomputing
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)
diff --git a/principles2.mdwn b/principles2.mdwn
@@ -34,21 +34,7 @@ It is good practice to design systems that are resilient and tolerant to interru
By imagining a world shaped by scarcity, you sharpen your creativity and adaptability. Acknowledging breakages happen and taking into account the possibility of collapse can inspire self-imposed limitations that lead to resourceful solutions—often uncovering societal scenarios previously unexplored, while also acknowledging that less privileged groups are already experiencing harm and damage.
-What can YOU do?
-
-With or without a computer:
-- Learn how to make, fix, and repurpose things yourself—and share equipment and skills within your community (e.g., participate in repair cafés).
-- Build local relationships: get to know your neighbors and their (technical) skills. Collaborate, exchange, and build for mutual resilience.
-- Favor local storage (personal file collections, offline archives) rather than depending solely on online content services.
-
-When creating and maintaining software, digital tools or infrastructure:
-- Build systems that are resilient to intermittent energy supply and network connectivity.
-- Distributed computing approaches could offer greater resilience. However, their overall environmental footprint needs careful evaluation—distributed systems may be robust but not always energy-efficient.
-- Take inspiration from operating systems that can be installed on old or salvaged hardware, enabling continued computation even under conditions of technological scarcity. (lightweight Linux distributions, Collapse OS, Rockbox, etc).
-
-Principle in action & examples
-- For more ideas and interesting articles see: Low-tech Magazine (hyperlink)
-- Join or start a local repair cafe, pmc meetup, or neighbourhood tool swap.
+[[do you want to know more|hope for the best prepare for the worst]]
---
@@ -71,7 +57,7 @@ With or without a computer:
- Think before you buy. Ask yourself whether a new purchase is truly necessary, or if existing tools could meet your needs more sustainably.
- Support the growing market for refurbished hardware.Choose second-hand and refurbished electronics.
- Engage in sharing initiatives (device lending libraries, maker spaces) to avoid redundant consumption.
-- Participate in community repair spaces like Repair Cafés and hacklabs invested in this approach.
+ - Participate in community repair spaces like Repair Cafés and hacklabs invested in this approach.
When creating and maintaining software, digital tools or infrastructure:
- Design for adaptability and resilience. Build systems that can evolve without needing constant hardware replacement.
@@ -104,7 +90,7 @@ With or without a computer:
When creating and maintaining software, digital tools or infrastructure:
- Take time to observe the problem alongside the people you're designing for.
- Incorporate sensors and data on surrounding environment into support systems
-- Assess whether the problem you're trying to solve genuinely requires computation at all. (See Principle 3b).
+- Assess whether the problem you're trying to solve genuinely requires computation at all. (See Principle Not Doing).
Principle in action & examples
- varia project 'stock taking sense' https://another.varia.zone/
@@ -120,7 +106,7 @@ To reduce the resource use and waste generated by technology, embracing 'not doi
The history of computing is deeply intertwined with capitalism and militarism. From playing a role in warfare and geopolitical power struggles to driving the automation of labor, computing has significantly contributed to the increased use of resources and fossil energy. The latest example of this trend is the construction of hyperscale data centers for running generative AI. Despite the promise of increased efficiency, the [Jevons Paradox](https://permacomputing.net/Jevons_paradox/) applies: higher efficiency tends to lead to greater resource use. Efficiency is often presented as a technical solution to a political issue—making decisions about how and why we use computing on a heating planet—without questioning the extractive business model.
-Curbing demand through refusal has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce computing’s harm to people and the planet, and that's where the value of 'not doing' comes in. By observing and questioning what is truly needed, we bring attention to the broader issues: What is necessary? Who benefits? Who is harmed? And what are the impacts on the human and more-than-human environment?
+Curbing demand through refusal has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce computing’s harm to people and the planet, and that's where the value of 'not doing' comes in. By observing and questioning what is truly needed, we bring attention to the broader issues:** What is necessary? Who benefits? Who is harmed? And what are the impacts on the human and more-than-human environment?**
What can YOU do?
@@ -134,7 +120,7 @@ When creating and maintaining software, digital tools or infrastructure:
- Collectively refuse to work on harmful technologies.
Principle in action & examples
-Besides the many invisible non-acts of 'not doing', projects of refusal such as the tech worker initiative 'no tech for apartheid' https://www.notechforapartheid.com/, activism against the AI powered genocide in Gaza (link here?), activism against the arrival of data centers in your region such as citizens blocking the arrival of a Meta datacenter in Zeewolde (NL).
+Besides the many invisible non-acts of 'not doing', projects of refusal such as the tech worker initiative 'no tech for apartheid' https://www.notechforapartheid.com/, activism against the AI powered genocide in Gaza (https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1656285), activism against the arrival of data centers in your region such as citizens blocking the arrival of a Meta datacenter in Zeewolde (NL).
But also: The SIDN case illustrates not doing as a political and infrastructural stance: refusing to treat hyperscale cloud migration as inevitable, and instead questioning the logic of outsourcing critical public internet functions to corporate platforms like AWS. See: https://www.criticalinfralab.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CIL010.pdf
