The time machine came to a halt. Was this paradise at last? "You're under arrest for being an irresponsible, time-traveling blockhead."
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petrg @hotmom4 bury the body under floorboards.
4 minutes ago
hotmom4 @petrg waaat! they found me how did they know???
1 minute ago
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
I have a dream.
Technology is changing faster than our perception of technology is changing. Additionally, new technologies are beginning to be invented faster than we know what to DO with them! The World Wide Web is 20 years old, and we are even now seeing revolutionary phenomena like on-demand-TV, flashmobs, and political protest co-ordination in suppressed countries. And I believe that we are far from seeing the end of new utilizations of the Internet's capabilities. It's been said that a technology's full potential only becomes realized when it becomes universal, transparent, and boring.
One of the greatest advances in 21st Century is the utilization of technology already available: the social revolution that has resulted from Internet technology.
As the size of a social group increases linearly, the complexity of that group increases factorially. This is a big deal, because it means the overhead cost of co-ordination, management, and communication of very large groups in monumental. For nearly ALL OF HISTORY, people have dealt with this problem by using the hierarchy system: manageably sized groups are formed; then, each group is given a leader, which acts representatively for that group, as if the entire group were one simplified entity, one person. A group is then formed from these entities. This process can continue recursively.
Now, however, the overhead of organization is dwindling: user-based groups do not have to be efficient, they only have to be effective. Communication is almost limitless and free. Each person takes care of their own organizing overhead. In a parody of the words of Mr. King Jr., "I have a dream, that one day people will no longer will people be organized by the location of their homes, but by the content of their 'about me' box." That dream is today!
Reference: Shirky: Here Comes Everyone
One of the greatest advances in 21st Century is the utilization of technology already available: the social revolution that has resulted from Internet technology.
As the size of a social group increases linearly, the complexity of that group increases factorially. This is a big deal, because it means the overhead cost of co-ordination, management, and communication of very large groups in monumental. For nearly ALL OF HISTORY, people have dealt with this problem by using the hierarchy system: manageably sized groups are formed; then, each group is given a leader, which acts representatively for that group, as if the entire group were one simplified entity, one person. A group is then formed from these entities. This process can continue recursively.
Now, however, the overhead of organization is dwindling: user-based groups do not have to be efficient, they only have to be effective. Communication is almost limitless and free. Each person takes care of their own organizing overhead. In a parody of the words of Mr. King Jr., "I have a dream, that one day people will no longer will people be organized by the location of their homes, but by the content of their 'about me' box." That dream is today!
Reference: Shirky: Here Comes Everyone
Saturday, April 9, 2011
conTextual Revolution
Internet and SMS social networking has changed us forever. Or has it? Have we really changed that much? And if so, is it for the worse?
Social networking has not change the basic nature of the way we socialize. It has just allowed us to do it faster, across any distance, and at any time.
A person may now carry out a conversation with another user without the constraint of being expected to reply within a short amount of time and without needing to set time aside to engage in conversation.
In Japan, studies showed participants rated friendships in which they communicated face-to-face and through text messaging as being more intimate than those in which they communicated solely face-to-face.
Which makes sense, because you can think about what you’re going to say and you can form your answers really easily.
I am a fan.
Ishii, Kenichi. "Implications of Mobility: The Uses of Personal Communication Media in Everyday Life." Journal of Communication 56 (2006): 346–65.
Social networking has not change the basic nature of the way we socialize. It has just allowed us to do it faster, across any distance, and at any time.
A person may now carry out a conversation with another user without the constraint of being expected to reply within a short amount of time and without needing to set time aside to engage in conversation.
In Japan, studies showed participants rated friendships in which they communicated face-to-face and through text messaging as being more intimate than those in which they communicated solely face-to-face.
Which makes sense, because you can think about what you’re going to say and you can form your answers really easily.
I am a fan.
Ishii, Kenichi. "Implications of Mobility: The Uses of Personal Communication Media in Everyday Life." Journal of Communication 56 (2006): 346–65.
Texting? Bah, humbug.
Online Social networking has changed, revolutionized the way in which we interact as humans, as anybody can see. Many think that this is in large part cause by the 1. the anonymity available on the internet, and 2. the distantness / detachment inherent in online communication.
Protected by anonymity, people can behave differently. They can express ideas that don't truly epitomize their average feelings and attitude. They also become more detached. Not having to see someone face-to-face, and being able to disconnect in an instant? Kinda makes it easy. And a lack of spacial/social context, along with a lack of body language, creates miscommunication.
http://universe.byu.edu/node/15293
Protected by anonymity, people can behave differently. They can express ideas that don't truly epitomize their average feelings and attitude. They also become more detached. Not having to see someone face-to-face, and being able to disconnect in an instant? Kinda makes it easy. And a lack of spacial/social context, along with a lack of body language, creates miscommunication.
http://universe.byu.edu/node/15293
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Copybright
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: Democracy just doesn't work." Kent Brockman may have had an insight here, but what is truly broken is Copyright Law™.
Myth: Copyrights lasts as long as they should.
My take: Copyrights were originally 52 year, later 20 years past the artist's death (to account for an increase in life expectancy). Today they are owned by corporations which have no death date.
Myth: Copyrights protect the artist
My take: Copyrights may marginally benefit the artists, but usually benefit the distribution companies
Myth: File sharing is killing the record industry
My take: File sharing often helps sales, and the drop in the record industry sales is likely due to really stupid decisions as they tried to guess what we consumers would want to buy.
For more information, see: http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-09-07-1.html
For more information on fair use, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo
Myth: Copyrights lasts as long as they should.
My take: Copyrights were originally 52 year, later 20 years past the artist's death (to account for an increase in life expectancy). Today they are owned by corporations which have no death date.
Myth: Copyrights protect the artist
My take: Copyrights may marginally benefit the artists, but usually benefit the distribution companies
Myth: File sharing is killing the record industry
My take: File sharing often helps sales, and the drop in the record industry sales is likely due to really stupid decisions as they tried to guess what we consumers would want to buy.
For more information, see: http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-09-07-1.html
For more information on fair use, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo
Monday, March 21, 2011
Women: Know your Bigots
Men outnumber Women in the "hard sciences", particularly in the Computer Sciences, by orders of magnitude. Why? This has been discussed extensively, and with (as far as I can tell) no solid conclusion. Ideas include not enough daycare services at universities, and making the field hyper-theoretical to accommodate a non-tinkering personality. As I am not a woman (suprise!), I will not pretend to be an authority on this subject. I will say that this will likely not change in the near future, as women seem to be opting out (at least in part).
This makes me sad.
This makes me sad.
Family Bliss-tory
Although most love their family, not many know of their fore-bears preceding their grandparents. It seems ironic, but our world-wide journey into the future has brought us closer to the past. FamilySearch and other genealogical research and database resources have begun to connect the family tree of the whole human race at a pace never before imagined. And many people find themselves drawn to this work of genealogy, to find out who they are and where they've come from, and simply because they love their precursors.
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