system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[1984]When Winston and Julia first meet in the woods Winston worries that there might be a microphone hidden in one of the trees. was that a realistic probability or was he just been paranoid?

every time I read 1984 I wonder how much the state is relying on people assuming the surveillance is taking place because actually watching everyone would obviously be a logistical impossibility?
gpt
This is the theory of the panopticon- you can't watch everyone, but you can watch anyone. The state might not be watching all the time, but at any time they *could* be watching, and you can't tell.

So, eventually, people assume they always are.