{"id":4810,"date":"2026-03-22T18:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/?p=4810"},"modified":"2026-03-22T18:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:31:07","slug":"think-for-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/22\/think-for-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Think for Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I had someone’s doordasher mis-deliver their order to my home the other day. I would check periodically to see if the paper bag was still on my porch, hoping that it’s rightful owner would come and retrieve it. Instead, it sat rather ominously next to my welcome mat going unclaimed as day turned into night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I shared about this on bluesky and started to wonder if perhaps the growing rate of illiteracy in the United States, and packages being mis-delivered, were somehow connected. Because if you can\u2019t read properly, how will you know which house is the correct one? How can you double-check the shipping label or sticker receipt on the bag to make sure you’re where you’re supposed to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It ended up creating a little discussion surrounding illiteracy and the consequences of people becoming overly reliant on technology\u2014even when it\u2019s wrong\u2014and what that means to ignore your own critical thinking and agency choosing instead to trust in a machine.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It just so happens that I\u2019m reading Kurt Vonnegut\u2019s Player Piano<\/em> at this time. And much of the discussion that was had about mis-delivered packages and driving apps brought to mind some of the themes in this novel about humans and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example that deeply disturbed me in particular was that UPS drivers must listen to their little scanner-doohickey thing when it tells them where a package must be delivered. They must drop it off at that location\u2014even if the thingamajig wrong. The driver is not allowed to use their critical thinking skills and ignore what the machine says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These drivers are being coerced into giving up their critical thinking and agency. And over time, I imagine that they no longer question it or feel annoyed by the stupidity of it all. But rather, they just accept that this is just the way things are done.
It might not be such a big deal in this scenario, but this normalises and behaviourally conditions people to willingly relinquish their critical thinking and free will to listen to the machines in other areas of their life, society, and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find it so perverted and, in a way, violating that people are expected\u2014or inadvertently being trained\u2014to obey and depend on a computer even when it\u2019s wrong. Or simply automatically assume that the machine is correct and never question it. And I see this growing with the cancer of AI.
These pieces of hardware and software do not have a consciousness, a soul, or agency.
And you want me, a human being<\/strong>, to surrender my free will, my ability to think for myself, my ability to problem solve, and instead rely on these man-made artificial things<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n

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And it disturbs me that more and more people are becoming so reliant on technology and not using their own minds\u2014whether that be critically thinking or forming an opinion, for example. I see this especially with religion, but I can see it happening with how people engage with art, media, and culture.

\u2028People are now using such frivolous metrics like streaming numbers, ticket sales, units sold, or some arbitrary score to measure whether or not they should like something rather than just experience it for themselves and form their own opinion about it. On top of that, instead of seeking out new music in a record shop, or hunting for a new book in a library or bookstore, they let the algorithm feed them what it assumes they will enjoy.
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People are losing the ability to have their own sense of self; or perhaps the ability (maybe even the desire) to take ownership of their lives. And it bothers me so much because you don\u2019t need someone telling you what to do, what to like, or what to feel. You shouldn\u2019t desire that either, and it deeply troubles me that maybe people do<\/em> want someone telling them what to do, what to think, and what to feel. They want a Master.\u2028 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it\u2019s easier if someone (or something<\/em>) else is telling you what to do, what to think, what to believe, and what to like. You then don\u2019t have to form your own opinion. You don\u2019t have to think for yourself and be your own person. You don\u2019t have to be in charge of your life, assuming full responsibility over yourself and the choices you make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with technology as it is in this current moment, for some people the algorithm and tech have become a new God; a new Master. The algorithm and the machines will tell you what to do, what to think, what to like, what to feel, and what to believe about yourself and the world around you.
The algorithm\u2014something owned and controlled by truly vile people\u2014will mold you, shape you, and tell you what kind of human they want you to be which I find wrong and spiritually corruptive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had someone’s doordasher mis-deliver their order to my home the other day. I would check periodically to see if the paper bag was still on my porch, hoping that it’s rightful owner would come and retrieve it. Instead, it sat rather ominously next to my welcome mat going unclaimed as day turned into night. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-4810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brain-dump-2","tag-brain-dump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4810"}],"version-history":[{"count":103,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4915,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4810\/revisions\/4915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lioninthetrees.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}