Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse
A notion I&#x27;m thinking over is the root meanings of <i>near</i> and <i>far</i>, and the implications of mediated experience.<p>Near is a cognate of <i>nigh</i>, whose superlative is <i>next</i>:  &quot;The Old English progression was neah - near - niehsta, for &quot;nigh - near - next.&quot;  Things which are <i>near</i> share borders, or cross few borders.  Or, from <i>close</i>, are confined within a common border or boundary.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;near" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;near</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;nigh" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;nigh</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;close" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;close</a><p>Conversely, <i>far</i> comes from the PIE root * per-, &quot;base of words for &#x27;through, forward,&#x27; with extended senses such as &#x27;across, beyond&#x27;&quot;.<p>To be distant is to stand apart, to be unconnected or not directly connected.  To be distant is to move bacck or push away.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;far" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;far</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;distant" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;distant</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;remote" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;remote</a><p>PIE roots are fun for all the derived words they point to -- they&#x27;re the superhubs of language:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;*per-" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;*per-</a><p><i>Media,</i> from <i>medium</i>, is that which stands between:  &quot;intermediate agency&quot;  Or, from the above, media is the agent of distance.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;medium" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;medium</a><p>I&#x27;m reading through a collection of Greek and Roman myths (H.A. Grueber, 1907), and it comes to mind that the Greek god of messengers -- that is, of intermediate agency, media, distance -- was also a the trickster god:  Hermes (Mercury).<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hermes" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hermes</a><p>Which brings us back to the <i>Times</i> piece, and the subject of which maany of us form our livelihoods.<p>Digital gadgets give the illusion of immediateness, nearness, and simplicity, but in truth they are too often complex, rely on remote capabilities, and may respond to many masters.<p>Drawing in one more allusion, driving victims mad by regulating environmental ssystems was a key plot device of R.A. Heinlein&#x27;s <i>The Moon is a Harsh Mistress</i> (1966).<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress</a>