Wednesday, October 14, 2020

First Paragraph

Until recently, it was easy to define our most widely known corporations. Any third grader could describe their essence. Exxon sells oil; McDonald's makes hamburgers; Walmart is a place to buy stuff. This is no longer so. The ascendant monopolies of today aspire to encompass all of existence. Some of these companies have named themselves for their limitless aspirations. Amazon, as in the most voluminous river on the planet, has a logo that points from A to Z; Google derives from googol, a number (1 followed by 100 zeros) that mathematicians use as shorthand for unimaginably large quantities.

- From World Without End: The Existential Threat of Big Tech by Franklin Foer

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