In religious texts, thereās the whole concept of
true names. Basically, that someone knowing your name gives them power over you.
In Jewish tradition, when several children have died in a family the next that is born has no name given to it, but is referred to as ā
Alterā (literally āoldā), the view being that theĀ
Angel of Death, not knowing the name of the child, will not be able to seize it.
I was listening to this unbelievable
4-hour podcast, in which Balaji makes the argument for using a pseudonym online. His argument is as followsā
1ļøā£ Ancient societies understood that giving someone your real name gives them power over you. Youāve suddenly gone from āthat guy with black hair from Newcastleā to āMustafa Sultanā. You can find out a lot of information about me with this.
2ļøā£ Our āreal nameā ā should actually be called a āstate nameā. Itās been a way for the state to keep track of you (death, marriage, tax, property).
3ļøā£ But you can unbundle some of the functions of your name ā broadly, these are: 1) state name 2) day-to-day name 3) online name.
4ļøā£ Separating these three identities gives you armour. Now, something you say online under (3) canāt be connected to (1) and reported to your university/workplace by
the mob.
Let me add my own masala to the mix ā
5ļøā£ As a medic, anyone can disagree with you and report you to the GMC ā potentially triggering an investigation and threatening your medical career.
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