Pathetic dot theory

It discusses how lives of individuals (the pathetic dots in question) are regulated by four forces: the law, social norms, the market, and architecture (technical infrastructure).

Lessig identifies four forces that constrain our actions: the law, social norms, the market, and architecture.

[2] Lessig says that those four forces together are the totality of what constrains our action, in fashion both direct and indirect, ex post and ex ante.

[1] Lessig noted that the key difference in regulation of the Internet (cyberspace), compared to regulation of the "real world" ("realspace"), is the fact that the architecture of the internet – the computer code that underlies all software – is created by humans, whereas in the real world much of the architecture, based on laws of physics, biology, and major social and cultural forces, is beyond our control.

[1] Lessig sees code as an important force that should be of interest to the wider public, and not only to the programmers.