a priori language?

A priori language via Gemma

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Feels like Google's hire of Matias Duarte from Palm to Android was a good move. I'm certainly feeling better about Android over Apple after this interview at CES, which gets into the 'to and fro' of designing for people as well as open source developers (though of course the latter are people too).

Entheogen

This documentary on Entheogens is quite uplifting. I recommend bookmarking it for one of those times when being cheered up isn't going to work or help, but taking your mind off things will or if you just want to skip to the Stanford and MIT geek-mafia talking about the inseparable relationship of computing and LSD when pitching the hippies against the pocket protector brigade for creative output (no contest). It's at 50 minutes 30 seconds. 


In case you know of any good documentaries, talks and so forth, I'm in the process of hoovering up as much of the internet's video content on quantum mechanics, relativity, entropy, and of course big bucking bang as well as mysticism including all the deisms. so please do let me know of any gems.

The Internet's Mid-Life Crisis

Tim Wu is the guy who coined the phrase net neutrality. I've blogged about him before as his grasp of the internet, media and commerce is well thought out, as exemplified by his ability to identify and reconcile the dangers of corporate narrow interests along with the need for Stalinist self interest in the face of egregious competition. Uncomfortable business thinking indeed.

In this video he elegantly entangles the dynamics of censorship, vertical integration, technology suppression and the emergence of Apple as a record label/TV Station or even old school film studio. He makes great use of historical but little known precedents to support his claims.

Steve Fuller

I rate Steve Fuller in this. He has  dazzling verbiage skills  and at least talks from his heart though I still say he's unwilling to pay homage to the nicompoop(s) deer-in-the-headlights reverence on the right. 

Anybody else feel that way or is it a bit too boring and grown up?

Update: I got Steve Buller mixed up with Simon Conway when originally posting this so I've amended the title and post. Sorry about that.

Dark Matter

One

This is the best I've seen yet (you generally know something is good on Youtube if it's under 50000 views and preferably under 5000). Sean Carroll is brilliantly lucid and engaging in this presentation.

Intel

Cocks (Look Mum This Colour's Perfect)

There's always Charlie Brookers 10 Biggest cocks (and she-cocks) in advertising if you wish to pursue the theme.

Oh go on. Do some more.

Less Is More

Junk Science?

This dramatic European Space Agency image shows all the satellites and human-made debris now orbiting space. What are your views? From the Holistic Quantum Relativity Initiative.

Minimalism

Less is more (over here)

London Adland

Via iboy

Is This The Voice Of Consumerism?

Asymmetric Follow

Twitter is a hyper contextual communicaton tool.

The number of different types of user experience is infinite (a big claim that I am prepared to stand by)

This means for example that the user experience of a person with 100 followers is not the same as 200 followers.

The next obvious context is the users preference for follow-back which is in itself a ratio.

Then there is the intent or purpose of use. Al Jazeera, Financial Times, BBC Podcasts are all monologue, but there are also power users that choose to mainly hold a monologue.

Which leads to the content of the 140 character limit. That in itself is almost impossible to describe.

So while this is a terrific post about the asymmetrical twitter experience the point is, that how people experience the service is really up to them. So get stuck in and define how you like to use it. It’s a remarkable evolutionary development in human communication on a par with the telegraph wire.

More over here

Evolvify

Sure. He's a human and takes a shit like all of us on this painfully extraordinary planet but equally it's hilarious listening to Sam Harris trip over his snooty superiority and resort to ad homs on non locality plus I can't ignore that funniest for me so far (and thank you so much for putting this my way) is Michael Shermer answering the question of whether it's him or his x squllion neurons firing off when he's thinking and he replies it's his neurons. 

Chopra calls him a Zombie. The Scientist snookered on logic and the mystic hurling epithets? This is what Youtube was made for. 

Maddeningly frustrating is the inability not to join in and take both sides on as I have my own point of view which is deeper and darker heresy ;)

More over here

Aflockalypse

More Karmageddon over here.

7 Billion Reasons 2 Think Twice

Swift

I Hated You, I Loved You Too.

Written at the age of 18 years old and performed here at the age of 19. It's a remarkable song if only for the way Kate Bush squeezes the lyrics and syntax to achieve something different for "so cold, let me in your window" with emphasis on the second syllable of the last word not the first syllable as would be expected. 

As soon as I understood what she did just now here, I realised it was as pure as art gets in a singer, song writing (not forgetting interperative dance) and then I thought of the parallels (lines) with Debbie Harry's lyrical contortions and Mezzo Soprano vocal transitions in Heart of Glass that made the song worth posting too. They both sing of the love/hate dynamic often found between lovers, which I have to say I'm not a fan of in real life, but recognise as productive and useful in many relationships I've observed.

Whatever you think of these two songs I've yet to hear someone sing them so that they are indistinguishable from the original. If you do let me know.