Not even saying that openness makes things more secure and this was supposed proven in late 90s and early 00s.

The world feels as if it’s generally become dumber.

I remember that in my childhood (born 1996, thinking 2004-2009) most adults would have right ideas about computing philosophically, even if not knowing a single specific thing and just pushing buttons.

Like that if somebody tries to frighten you into some action, they are crooks. Or that repairable things cost you less. Or that openness, modularity and interoperability are what our modern civilization is built upon, so these can’t be worse than their opposites.