One Nation under CCTV
Out of context: Reply #20
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- Spookytim0
This may possibly turn into the seed of another Baader-Meinhoff phenomena, but reading this thread brought to mind the 19th Century English Philospher who invented a new kind of prison called soemthing like the Omnicom or something, which was based on the principle that people didn't NEED to be watched, they just had to live under the possibility that they were being watched. His prison was a hexagonal shape that housed 1000s of prisoners, but all walkways and all cells faced a central observation hub into which they couldn't see, but which meant the could be seen. The purpose was to bring the inmate to guard ratio right down to 1000 to 1 and maximise prison obseqiuence (sp?).
When he died, he had himself stuffed and mounted and placed on display in the foyer of a prominent London Academic institution. He's still there to this day I believe, but the question is
What was his name????
(Aside from that, his relevance here is that he proved people will behave under perceived observation and so was the godfather of social surveillance systems)
I don't really like the piece above, I think like everyone else I want to be excited by Banksie like in the 'good old days', but you do have to admire his chutzpah I think, even if it is dressed in a bit of a woolly cardigan these days.
- Jeremy Bentham.
Carry on about your business.Spookytim - Panopticon. And the reason it is so oft-cited in postmodern culture (qua: poststructuralist theory), is Michel Foucault.paraselene
- http://www.cla.purdu…paraselene
- Panopticon. Thats the bugger. Thanks P.Spookytim
- In a similar vein is the concept of sousveillance - or inverse surveillance.. http://en.wikipedia.…detritus
- The Panopticon aptly describes every middle England cul de sac or curved road estate.detritus
- You really are a strange one Bagsie.Spookytim
- I'm half asleep, but there is a point in there somwhere.detritus
- That makes you even stranger, its not what you just said that is strange.Spookytim
- Jeremy Bentham.