Category Archives: New Media

Nunberg on Wikipedia

John Timmons sent me this podcast of Geoff Nunberg commenting on Wikipedia. It’s cogent. The one observation I find most cogent is when Nunberg talks about the evasive nature of encyclopedic knowledge and the difficulties of its synthesis. We know a lot about the Romans. But we also don’t know a lot about what we know about the Romans.

Nunberg notes the “wisdom of the crowd” relation to the methodological intent of the online service and claims that one of its limitations is that its form cannot produce a “consistent viewpoint” on a subject. This, I think is all okay, but there’s another, finer point to make about Wikipedia. In my view, above all else, Wikipedia is about “obligatory participation,” not knowledge at all. There is an expectation to each entry–such as a gap on the subject of asteismus, a rhetorical figure used a lot on sitcoms such as Frasier and in Shakespeare: people who can and should contribute are obligated to do so. Nunberg could write this entry on asteismus, thus producing a new version of Wikipedia.

Lybrel, Schools, and Word Frequencies

I found these two strange articles in the paper and had a sense that certain words were repeated, either for emphasis or because of the nature and contexts of the subjects. I decided to use Daniel Steinbock’s TagCrowd application to test what I sensed from the reading. Here’s a link to the article on Hartford’s schools. Here’s the link to the article on new products for women.

The frequency for the first example reveals the repetition of the words “school” and “schools.” This repetition in the reading made for a sense that schools are going to spread like bubbles in Hartford. The article hints at the superintendent’s plans (Adamowski and plan are also repeated signifiers) to reorganize the school system into several types of schools. “Schools on” this theme and “schools on” that theme scaffolded the article.

created at TagCrowd.com

The idea of “more schools” stands out in the article. “Learning” and “well-being” are never mentioned.

My sense of the second article was that “bleeding” and “period” would have high frequency. This sense may be explained by the oddness of the subject from my own perspective. It seems presumptuous to me that such a pill would be devised in the first place. Then again, research and development in this area seems logical in an era of performance enhancing pills for men.

Lybrel, from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, takes the trend to its logical conclusion by attempting to suppress periods altogether.

“Why have a period at all?” asked Dr. Gerardo Bustillo, assistant chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif.

I don’t know. I’m sure there’s some reason. Maybe medical school exams ask the question, too. Why not a drug that will grow one of my fingers into a penis or eliminate nuisance facial hair?

created at TagCrowd.com

In the second case, it’s the product that stands out. “Consequences” gets a tiny glow. “Women,” “period,” “pills.”

Mashup Quest

The comments on this post by Nik at TechCrunch are somewhat revealing about the actuality of mashup concepts.

Popfly might be used to create an interesting tool for synchronizing different kinds of communications and data into an educational weblog or library site.

At this point I can’t think of any mashup use except to modify something like Sphere to target kinds of journals and subject matter weblogs, but sphere may evolve to cover this anyway.

Connecticut Geography

Rick Green in this column scratches his head at the recent Julie Amero case, where new media meets law

The state of Connecticut spent two years investigating before it won a speedy conviction of Julie Amero – the infamous Norwich porn teacher – this January.

But it was never as tidy as the Norwich Public Schools, the Norwich police, the state of Connecticut and the Norwich Bulletin newspaper made it seem.

In truth, Amero, a clumsy computer novice, was the victim of malicious software that took over the PC in the classroom where she was substituting on Oct. 19, 2004. Since Amero’s arrest, the state has refused to even consider this possibility.

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This case has been a mystery to many people, especially the degree to which officials, including ASA Smith, have expressed ignorance of pretty basic technology and IT issues. The state’s inflexibility has also been strange, as illustrated by Green in this section of the piece:

“The evidence is overwhelming … she purposefully went to these websites. … We know that the images on there were offensive,” Smith said, ramming his point home. “She clearly should not have allowed this to happen. The evidence is clear. She is guilty of all the charges.”

Except when you consider the facts.

Thankfully, a team of computer security experts from throughout the country, drawn to the case by outraged Internet bloggers and a handful of journalists, has presented Smith and his bosses with the truth.

Amero didn’t click on the porn. Software that might have blocked the porn was months out of date. Critical evidence was mishandled. School and police computer “experts” who testified were woefully ignorant about computer security and porn spyware to the point that their testimony was blatantly false.

The state’s case began unraveling soon after the hapless jury voted to convict. A firestorm of pressure – from university professors and software executives to programmers – forced repeated postponements of Amero’s sentencing.

Smith “closes the case,” then reality slowly sinks in. That the case even went to trial reveals what?

This gets me to the point. I often talk to students about what we mean by relationship building under the rubric of critical thinking. In a critical context, linking seemingly unrelated information together is important to innovation and problem solving. A classic example of this is the Cosmic Background Radiation and the Big Bang.

It may be that the Amero case relates to more than just pop ups, aging IT, and the the welfare of children. Kevin Minor, in a Courant opinion piece titled Why I’m Leaving Connecticut Just as Fast as I Can, outlines his reasons for seeking a living in Texas. He writes:

At 25, I am part of the fastest-growing age segment that is leaving Connecticut. I did not want to leave, but a prohibitively high cost of living coupled with widespread complacency and ineptitude at the state Capitol have sealed my fate. I liked Connecticut’s shorelines, its state parks and its midsize, human-scale cities. How many more people like me have to leave before the rest of the state gets the message?

How are the fumbling of the Amero case and Miner’s perception of a stagnant Connecticut related? The Amero case appears to reveal an inability to meet new technological demands, a reluctance to approach people with decency, and a failure in Connecticut’s leadership to keep up with the realities of change. My technological premise is not to plunk technology into a space for its own sake but to use it as a tool with which to engage people in new and different ways. If computers are going to placed into classrooms, then these items should be used and maintained appropriately. “Appropriateness” is a key criteria for judging technological use and digital application. Teachers should be trained to manipulate the equipment and to tease out its potential and they should be provided equipment that meets their evolving needs and knowhow. This costs loads of money, but if done properly, it can surely be more beneficial than a court case that may do more to push good people out of teaching than to invite them in. Smart people don’t like being bullied. And smart citizens shouldn’t bow to dumb government.

The Amero case could have been handled with a meeting between parents, Amero herself, the principle, and an IT person who knew what they were talking about. This would have been the decent approach. Instead, the State’s legal engine got going and in its typical Kafkaesque rotundity, made a fool of itself. Why would Miner want to remain in a state that appears to enjoy ignorance and ineptitude. The state loves education but doesn’t put its resources behind learning. It loves to claim high SAT scores but will not design and maintain spaces that encourage people to remain and revise the revision, wifi or no wifi. Park development, scenic urban boulevards, local markets, public garden space, new media industry, controlled traffic flow, art space, energy innovation, local design, deschooled learning.

By the state, I mean its leadership and its decision-making citizens, who appear lost to the power of good design and to the power of urban potential and networks. In this world, change is inevitable. OS will be upgraded and idiots will attempt to destroy systems, thus one of the critical abilities for which Connecticut’s leaders should go back to school is an attitude that simply says: “I will keep up so that when it comes time to legislate, moderate, litigate, and amplify, will know what I’m talking and thinking about.”

I think we need to instill good critical and analytical habits into our students (speaking from the POV of a college teacher). We also need leaders who have them as well (one of the lessons of Beowulf, who was praised for his fairness, intelligence, as well as fighting skill). Speaking from the POV of a citizen, I think we all need schooling in relationship building.

I wonder how long it would take to create the clean energy sector if Connecticut up and said: “We will be converting all our schools to solar power within 5 years.”

But what politician would dare make such a call. We can’t even get Simsbury citizens to get out and vote on their own budget.

Memory and the Web

Dan at if:book writes:

I won’t pretend to be the first to see in the Internet parallels to the all-remembering mind of Funes; a book could be written, if it hasn’t already been, on how Borges invented the Internet. It’s interesting, however, to see that the problems of Funes are increasingly everyone’s problems. As humans, we forget by default; maybe it’s the greatest sign of the Internet’s inhumanity that it remembers. With time things become more obscure on the Internet; you might need to plumb the Wayback Machine at archive.org rather than Google to find a website from 1997. History becomes obscure, but it only very rarely disappears entirely on the Internet.

One important element of social memory here is the idea of historical presence: the meaning we give to events, objects, and actions. I don’t know what is on the web until I encounter it or add to its bulk. We add to the network, but the network exists to degrees of use, otherwise it stores, without filter, unlike memory.

HDMI and Wire Strangle

So, we recently upgraded to a DVR. I figured why go with 5 component cables into the TV when you could just use one. I didn’t know that HDMI would force an analogue signal to 4:3 aspect and so we now have 2 HDMI cables going into the TV, on top of the 5 component, then A/V cable out to the speakers. We must also scroll through the inputs when seeking the proper signal. Does anyone have suggestions? I want less cabling not more.

Macbeth in Red Tartan

Katherine Nowakowski on CT Repertory’s Macbeth:

The first appearance of Macbeth himself in Act 1, Scene 3 as he and Banquo are returning from their recent battle, our “hero” dons a red colored tartan. Banquo pales in comparison in his earthy browns. Lady Macbeth’s first appearance is even more impressive. Her brilliant blood red dress is simple in style, but slaps you in the face with impact. With huge bell sleeves and a trail behind her about two feet she appears to be dripping wet with blood as she reads the letter from her husband. Moving into Act III, as Macbeth and his Lady appear as King and Queen, both are carrying even more layers representing this color of extreme passion. Our lady now wears the same red tartan as her husband’s over her drippy dress while her King now wears an exquisite regal bloody red robe over his. The only time these two do not appear wearing red is the scene when Duncan’s dead body is found. Both Macbeth and his Lady have changed their garments to hide the bloody evidence. They both almost look like they’re in disquise. It’s easy to lose them among the chaos without their trademark color.

Susan Gibb on 3-D thinking:

I’m thinking that the multilayers of story within a hyperfiction piece lend themselves easily to 3-D, (I’m not talking 3-D animation here, but rather still on the storyboard layout and the eventual finished piece) and I can imagine it as similar to a universe where the objects (textboxes, or images, sounds, etc) are self-contained within an object, let’s say a cube–connected to appropriate other cubes that follow a story line–that can be clicked on, would come forward and open up to be read/viewed/enjoyed. Another click would send it back into the background so that another choice can be made.