How to build a universe that doesn’t fall apart two days later (1978)
For me, the most powerful passage in this one is;<p><pre><code>   &quot;&quot;&quot; The authentic human being is one of us who instinctively knows
       what he should not do, and, in addition, he will balk at doing
       it. He will refuse to do it, even if this brings down dread
       consequences to him and to those whom he loves. This, to me, is
       the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to
       the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this
       resistance. Their deeds may be small, and almost always
       unnoticed, unmarked by history. Their names are not remembered,
       nor did these authentic humans expect their names to be
       remembered. I see their authenticity in an odd way: not in
       their willingness to perform great heroic deeds but in their
       quiet refusals. In essence, they cannot be compelled to be what
       they are not. - P.K Dick &quot;&quot;&quot;
</code></pre>
This underpins my selective abstinence from certain areas of
technological life. It lets me laugh at &quot;inevitability&quot; and
&quot;necessity, fear no &quot;inconvenience&quot; or being &quot;left behind&quot; or &quot;out of
the loop&quot;, and I could hardly care less that some others have a
&quot;competitive advantage&quot;. &quot;  I simply follow my own path, using the
tools that work for me, the ones I understand, as I see fit for my own
aims. And I feel oddly happy that most of what I do, my parochial
craft, will be washed away and forgotten.<p>But (quietly and not that it matters), I also suspect that such an
&quot;authentic&quot; attitude is something the great organising Moloch machine
shits its pants in fear of, because the authentic human cannot coexist
with it and thus requires its destruction.