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I like this spirited defense from a Materialist - and, in an intriguing coincidence, it connects to what I’ve been thinking about regarding the “materiality” of writing and information - or the lack thereof. What happens to our connection with words when it’s all virtual? (in related news, political philosophers now talk about the challenges to the “materiality of democracy” when discussing disinformation and AI).

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Thanks, Martha. It's interesting to think about what happens to words and ideas when we leave books and pens and note-cards behind for screens. What do they mean, though, by "materiality of democracy"?

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Materiality as in paper ballots or going to a physical polling place to vote - it’s possible civic participation feels less real in virtual spaces - one of many reasons why “voter fraud” may seem more plausible to some ☹️

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Gotcha. Ironic that they're focusing on the one moment in the entire process when people do something in the physical rather than the virtual format. Says something, I think, about how tenuous our engagement has become.

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