Friday, January 29, 2021

Privacy

 About the blog

   What generally counts as an invasion of privacy today? Does someone going through another person's garbage qualify?  What about when technology makes it simple and virtually undetectable?

   How would someone make a case that their privacy had been invaded at all? 

   One example of this (hopefully rare) situation involved 2 apartments in the same footprint of a building.  One on the first floor and the other on the second.

   During the evening the renter pf the 2nd floor apartment would leave and someone else enter.  For the first 10 or 15 minutes the visitor would walk back and forth until every square foot had been stepped on. Every time the visitor finished inspecting the floors his walking stopped directly above the head of the 1st floor renter.

   If you've ever listened to someone walk on a floor above... you recognize this as backwards.

   After a dozen or so eerie repeats during evenings the 1st floor renter tried changing his routine and habits in case those made him easy to locate.

   There was no noticeable change.

   It didn't seem to matter where in the apartment he was or what he was doing.  Kitchen, living room, or bathroom... the ceiling seemed transparent to whoever was above.

   After some months the 1st floor renter found a single method that put a stop to having his "head stood on".  By sitting as still as possible and taking slow shallow breaths his location seemed to stay private.  But after 10 minutes he'd switch back to normal breathing (still without moving) and immediately hear footsteps that stopped directly above his head. 

   For reference - if you ever realize your head's being stood on - google "handheld radar" to what's available now.

   Anyone who asserts there's no such thing as privacy anymore should be required to spend a month where it's literally true.

   Privacy is alive and well... if you're allowed to keep it.

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