Monthly Archives: February 2009

ephemeralization

http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13208736 Pianos are being replaced by digital replicas. The lead of this story, though, is that Yamaha has gone to great lengths to get the player’s experience to mimic that of playing an analog grand piano, as well as the … Continue reading

Posted in art, interaction_design, media, news | Comments Off

consumerism

Watched “The Reader” yesterday and realized that our irresponsible consumerism is enabled/created by the same sort of dysfunctional social system that allowed the Nazis and the SS to kill millions of innocent people.

Posted in cultural evolution, geopolitical theory | Comments Off

compression

Reading too many books and magazine articles, I keep coming across more that I should read. The tenth or twentieth time I’m recommended to read something I’ll go to the library and pick it up, but this is dangerous because … Continue reading

Posted in art, information diet, information overload | Comments Off

postmodern fairytales

Sunday: I remember it bothered my family when I started to say things like, “god – that stupid bastard – I doubt he’d understand what we wanted if he was sober and awake enough pay attention.” I have a dream … Continue reading

Posted in religion, screed | Comments Off

assertionism

When trying to lead, the most effective statements are assertions. Laying out a form or structure gives people something to see and feel – even if they don’t like it, they can hardly ignore it, and since most people don’t … Continue reading

Posted in communication, government, theory of knowledge | Comments Off

network anxiety

A couple of days ago two satellites collided, creating an unknown amount of debris in orbit. There’s some small chance that one of these pieces will collide with another satellite, creating lots more debris and setting of a chain reaction … Continue reading

Posted in news, social network | Comments Off

Ambiguity or opacity?

The mechanisms of society and culture are a great mystery to most people. My time in college – especially in Washington – helped reveal to me how and why things work, and my time here in Chicago is opening up … Continue reading

Posted in power theory | Comments Off