…between genius and madness is very fine indeed. Take the inestimable Dr. NakaMats, for example.
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Global Strategic Trends
One of the things that Shell has done for over 30 years is craft long term scenarios, looking at possible developments in societies and the world. Twenty years ago, I became involved in helping to set up similar exercises in Shell focusing on possible futures of Information Technology.I am reminded of that with the news that the UK Ministry of Defence has just published its own long term study of Global Strategic Trends, which attempts to forecast trends in the context of Defence out to 30 years. A summary is here, and the full study can be downloaded from here.As has already been noted, the report has definite Ballardian overtones, mixed, I would say, with a soupçon of Brunner…Leave a comment
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A Failed Experiment?
Jeff Atwood, over at Coding Horror, has a thoughtful analysis of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service, and why it might be said to show signs of failure. Worth reading.Leave a comment
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Edalat Square
The one act opera Edalat Square has its premiere next Sunday. The story behind the opera is worth reading.(hat tip to Robert over at Links and Things for the pointer)Leave a comment
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Piscine Pedicure
Fancy spending up to eight hours a day in a pool with hundreds of fish nibbling on your scabby old skin? Yes? Then "Doctor Fish" – otherwise known as Garra rufa sound just the thing for you. Me? I think I’ll pass, at least until some dependable clinical trials have been done…Leave a comment
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I Feel His Pain
As an ex-IT Architect, I know just what the presenter depicted here is going through… Architecture – a passion for me, pointlessness personified for most of my audience. Ah, purgatory, therein lies your sting…Leave a comment
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The Wonders of Science
Sometimes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It’s always best not to be in the vanguard, I feel. Although I do recall going into our local shoe shop as a child and seeing my feet illuminated with X-rays. Thankfully, we didn’t get new shoes all that often…Leave a comment
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The Luck of the Draw
Or, in this case, the non-luck of the draw. Ben Goldacre, over at Bad Science, draws our attention to the case of Lucia de Berk.One response to “The Luck of the Draw”
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Probability is a tricky subject, as I recall from my university days. For example I was able to baffle a group of educated oil industry types the other day when at a workshop. There were around 30 people, and I bet them that it was almost certain that two of them would share the same birthday. There was general disblelief at this, people thinkng that you would need many more people (at least 365/2 people) than this for it to be likely that two people in the group shared a birthday, yet in fact two people quickly identified themselves as having the same birthday, and I was not lucky. This is a well known probability theory issue called the "birthday problem". In fact it needs just 23 people in a group for it to be more likely than not that two people will share a birthday. There are many such things in probability that are not obvious to most people.
While such things may be counter-intuitive, it is sad in the court case that the defence team did not just call up a universoty maths department to check the prosecution’s figres.
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Copernicus and the Pantheon
There’s a fascinating interview with Walter Murch over at BLDBLOG. I strongly recommend that you go and read it. In it he explores the connections between the Pantheon in Rome and the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. It may all be fanciful, just a series of remarkable coincidences, but it’s a rattling good yarn, and it may even be true. Art and Astronomy combined.Leave a comment
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Metadata Mashup
I think this is one of the finest mashups that I have ever seen. Resonance on sooo many levels…Hat tip to Richard Dawkins Net for the link.Leave a comment
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Are You Sure?
Yes, just like Matthew Parris, I am sure. He didn’t, he isn’t, he won’t. Period.Leave a comment
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Canine Balance
Sir Alan Sugar got it right: "Nutters will spend a fortune on trinkets and gadgets for their dogs." Not only that, Sir Alan, but many of the nutters are definitely unhinged if they fall for claptrap such as this: Canine Balance. And, doubtless, many do. As David Hannum said: "There’s a sucker born every minute".Leave a comment
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The Novint Falcon
Another intriguing computer interface device – the Novint Falcon. Otherland is on its way. I just wish that game designers thought about something other than killing people though.2 responses to “The Novint Falcon”
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Yeah, me too. A bit of slash and stab is ok, but I like to be made to think a bit too. Did you ever see the game iCO? http://www.icothegame.com/en_GB/index.htm. It had the best graphics I’ve seen, sometimes just walking around looking was enough. But the game was a good mixture of ‘action’ and working out also. Did you play World of Warcraft? People keep telling me to get it, but I’m still gathering reviews. By the way, we won’t mention the gnu comment……. I gnu you’d rather it was forgotten.
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iCO? Nope, never heard of it – will follow up. World of Warcraft? I don’t think so. I played Dungeons and Dragons when I was a spotty youth. I’ve rather grown out of it by now. I’m afraid Myst and Syberia are about my limit these days. BTW, I finished the Game of Thrones, but I confess I’m finding the innumurable sequels a bit interminable. Just as I think I’ve reached the last book, that bugger Martin pops out another one. I’m beginning to think that birth control for authors is a good idea.
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One Woman’s Story
I’ve been lucky, I know. I’ve never been in a relationship such as this; either as the victim or the transgressor. Natasha managed to come through. Not everyone is so lucky. And sometimes, it is the victim who snaps.2 responses to “One Woman’s Story”
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It’s weird reading this account, because although I obviously didn’t go through what she did, I know that exact feeling of being afraid of someone you live with and can’t escape from. Of wanting to lock your door at night, of being afraid for the rest of your family. I just hope she doesn’t take what he told her she was into her future life with her, that can be the worst thing.
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Gelert, my sympathies. As I say, I’m glad I’ve never been there.
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The Book of Curiosities
Thanks to the wonders of the Web, the Bodleian Library has made available online the Kitāb Gharāʾib al-funūn wa-mulaḥ al-ʿuyūn, otherwise known as the Book of Curiosities. Simply wonderful.(hat tip to BibliOdyssey for the link)Leave a comment
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The Mundaneum
The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society turns up another forgotten gem: the work of Paul Otlet and his Mundaneum. The forerunner of the World Wide Web – but built on index cards. I’ve just one quibble with the article in the Proceedings – it mistakenly confuses the Internet with the World Wide Web. It’s a common enough mistake, but it’s completely wrong to confuse the two, and it irritates the hell out of a pedant like me. Still, the article is worth reading, and particularly the referenced article from Boxes and Arrows.4 responses to “The Mundaneum”
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umm… give us your version of the diff geoff? I think I have it right but just in case….
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OK, the Internet is simply an infrastructure, upon which higher level applications, such as the Web, run. The Internet’s function is to transport bits of information from one place to another in a reliable manner. That’s all it does.
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I’m having a little difficulty with the difference of the two concepts. Apologies for being stupid. From what (little) i understand: The internet is the system which transports the information, say, the index cards of Otlet’s Mundaneum, while the World Wide Web is the information carried through this system, i.e. the writing on these cards. Is that right?
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Not quite… The web is not "the information", it is the manner in which the information is packaged. A sort of analogy (it’s not perfect, but it may do to begin with) is to think of the Internet as the road infrastructure, with its highways, byways, rules and signage. Then you could envisage the web as being public transport (buses, coaches), carrying information to people. Roads also carry other forms of transport – e.g. mail wagons (email), heavy goods (FTP), and so on…
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Viral Rubbish
The third series of Doctor Who got underway last weekend. The first episode was pretty good, with lots of hints about future storylines. Vote for Saxon – for example – the posters were fairly obvious in the background to some scenes. So, as is in keeping with 21st Century entertainment, we have to have some fake web sites to beef up the viral marketing. Except this web site is so lame. It might just as well have been done by a six year old, except that I’m probably denigrating today’s six year olds.This, on the other hand, has possibilities. Only possibilities, mind, I’m a hard critic of something so personal as Doctor Who.Leave a comment
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Mushrooms That Glow In The Dark
I’m very cautious about wild mushrooms, so I doubt that I would have picked these specimens, thinking that they were Chanterelles. But the clincher would have to be – they glow in the dark. What more do you need to know before you accept that they are not good for you?Leave a comment
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Love Your Family
Louis Theroux ventures where most of us would be afraid to go. Say hello to the Phelps.4 responses to “Love Your Family”
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I saw this programme the other night and what I found chilling was that the Phelps family in most respects seemed like any average American family anywhere. The children were healthy and polite, had good teeth and good manners, went to church and had the courage of their convictions. It was only the convictions that were off.
These were not evil, hateful people, that’s what makes them dangerous. They are arrogant, to be sure, and they don’t think and indeed avoid any questions that would make them think as if trained to do so. The horror of seeing a six-year-old carrying a sign saying God Hates, and not knowing yet what that means is matched by being poltitely told one is going to hell by a very sweet 21-year-old girl who would offer you a glass of ice tea for the journey. Any argument to the contrary is dismissed as one would an annoying gnat. They’re convinced that they are right and will not be turned. So convinced are they of their own righteousness, they fling hate and call it kindness.
This is precisely why I can not accept the argument that Hitler was a monster. If we dismiss evil with exceptionalism, then we fail to recognise that perfectly ordinary people are capable of perfectly monstrous behaviour. Hitler was human and humans have the capacity for such monumental cruelty in the name of an idealogy.
It’s too easy to dismiss such people and kooks. They’re not. If we’re going to address they hate these people disseminate on behalf of God (they don’t seem to hate very much on their own behalf), we have to realise that we’re dealing with. This family is so dangerous because they’re so normal. -
Coboró, absolutely right. It is the sheer banality of evil that makes it so difficult to deal with. Ordinary people do extraordinary things – both good and bad. I was struck how Gramps seemed to be the core and wellspring of everything. I wonder what will happen when he dies?
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When Gramps dies? A single word to make the Almight shudder: Shirley. Bitch scared the shit out of me.
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Yes, I think you’re right. She seemed to be the chip off the old block. Certainly doesn’t help the public image of lawyers either.
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