CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-24 11:05:46 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The Iconoclast's Journal: Fashionable Misconceptions

Venture Capitalist, Paul Graham, muses on an arresting observation: In every generation there are fashionable misconceptions that no one but a fool would dare pull back the curtain on.

And while some fashionable misconceptions may be harmless, others may be much more problematic, perhaps threatening the long-term well-being (or even the very survival) of the culture, itself.

What pathological (but fashionable) misconceptions have you in their thrall? 

And if you succeed in identifying, one, what the devil do you propose to do about, buster?

[Hat Tip: Wayne Radinsky]

2013-05-24 11:04:20 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Iconoclast's Journal: Fashionable Misconceptions

Venture Capitalist, Paul Graham, muses on an arresting observation: In every generation there are fashionable misconceptions that no one but a fool would dare pull back the curtain on.

And while some fashionable misconceptions may be harmless, others may be much more problematic, perhaps threatening the long-term well-being (or even the very survival) of the culture, itself.

What pathological (but fashionable) misconceptions have you in their thrall? 

And if you succeed in identifying, one, what the devil do you propose to do about, buster?

[Hat Tip: Wayne Radinsky]

2013-05-21 16:54:15 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Live Organic Hi-Tech Crowd-Sourced Emergent Self-Organizing Art at MIT with CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab) and Pilobilus' Associate Artistic Director, Matt Kent ...

2013-05-20 20:35:13 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Larry Lessig on Chicago Public Radio ...

How We can Transform Legislative Dependency on Funders' Money vs. Opinions

Brian Babylon and Molly Adams on Morning AMp on WBEZ Chicago, talk to Larry Lessig about his hopes for transforming the dependence of elected legislators on funders’ money and not on voter’s opinions.

2013-05-20 14:18:57 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

In Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the Ninth Intelligence is the rarest of them all. 

Gardner calls it Existential Intelligence. 

Other candidate names are Spiritual Intelligence, Theological Intelligence, Religious Intelligence, Priestly Intelligence, Prophetic Intelligence, Mystical Intelligence, Kabbalistic Intelligence, Metaphysical Intelligence, Ethical Intelligence, Sustainability Intelligence, Cybernetic Intelligence, and (my favorite) Systems Intelligence.

Of all these flavors of the Ninth Intelligence, I prefer Systems Intelligence because it expressly exhibits the System Models and the calculus of their solution for Ethical Best Practices under an express Value System.

2013-05-20 14:17:59 (32 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

In Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the Ninth Intelligence is the rarest of them all. 

Gardner calls it Existential Intelligence.

Other candidate names are Spiritual Intelligence, Theological Intelligence, Religious Intelligence, Priestly Intelligence, Prophetic Intelligence, Mystical Intelligence, Kabbalistic Intelligence, Metaphysical Intelligence, Ethical Intelligence, Sustainability Intelligence, Cybernetic Intelligence, and (my favorite) Systems Intelligence.

Of all these flavors of the Ninth Intelligence, I prefer Systems Intelligence because it expressly exhibits the System Models and the calculus of their solution for Ethical Best Practices under an express Value System.

2013-05-19 22:20:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Our Place In the Cosmos and the Role of STEM in the Advance of Civilization

Two years ago, Wired Magazine reported that Neil deGrasse Tyson would host a sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos which originally aired on PBS three decades ago.

The producers of the new sequel say the new series will tell “the story of how human beings began to comprehend the laws of nature and find our place in space and time.”

This also creates a parallel opportunity to review our place in the story known as “The Advance of Civilization.”

2013-05-19 22:13:36 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

Turn a cube and a dodecaedron inside-out, and put them one inside the other... confuse?

2013-05-18 07:47:46 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Oblivious Empathy

The most commonplace and banal example of Oblivious Empathy is when both the Protagonist and Antagonist are mutually baffleplexed and bewildered by the seeming intractability of being jointly ensnared in an uncannily enthralling shreklisch drama of their own ironic making.

2013-05-18 07:45:51 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Oblivious Empathy

The most commonplace and banal example of Oblivious Empathy is when both the Protagonist and Antagonist are mutually baffleplexed and bewildered by the seeming intractability of being jointly ensnared in an uncannily enthralling shreklisch drama of their own ironic making.

2013-05-16 15:00:50 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

James Gleick, author of Chaos: Making a New Science, is one of the nation's preeminent science writers. He became an international sensation with Chaos, in which he explained how, half a century ago, a small group of innovative and insightful mathematicians upset the over-simplified foundation of traditional scientific modeling by placing new importance on the tiny experimental irregularities and perturbations that scientists had long learned to ignore. 

Here is a brief video in which Gleick explains the fundamentals of Chaos Theory.

2013-05-16 01:58:50 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

The federal judge who would have overseen the trial of Aaron Swartz on computer hacking charges has ordered the prosecution to reveal much of the evidence it had against him. However, the government and MIT will be allowed to keep most of the relevant names of MIT personnel redacted.

2013-05-15 14:08:03 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Jiddu Krishnamurti and David Bohm discuss the future of humanity.

The Future Of Humanity
Dialogue with Dr David Bohm at Brockwood Park, 1983.

Jiddu Krishnamurti and physicist David Bohm explore the prospects for the future of human beings, given our immense capacity for self-destruction. They note that we are still pursuing the age-old patterns of thinking which create humanity's suffering, and discuss the possibility of a change in our conditioning.

As there is no psychological evolution and becoming is an illusion, Krishnamurti suggests, change may require a mutation in the very cells of the brain. Exploring this, they touch on consciousness, brain, mind and intelligence.

[h/t higs; http://moultonlava.blogspot.com/2013/05/bloody-hell.html#c8411733065214913557]

2013-05-15 13:06:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

New pair of blog posts ...

Bloody Hell

2013-05-15 09:33:25 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

My autobiography will be entitled, "Dr. Baffleplex or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Puzzle."

2013-05-15 09:31:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My autobiography will be entitled, "Dr. Baffleplex or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Puzzle."

2013-05-13 03:26:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

For a while now, I've been talking about adding Artistry to STEM to get up a full head of STEAM. 

Here are two young entrepreneurs at Two-Bit Circus who are fixing to do just that.

2013-05-13 03:24:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

For a while now, I've been talking about adding Artistry to STEM to get up a full head of STEAM. 

Here are two young entrepreneurs at Two-Bit Circus who are fixing to do just that.

2013-05-11 12:50:01 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

From Science Daily comes this report:

Enhanced Motion Perception in Autism May Point to an Underlying Cause of the Disorder

May 8, 2013 — Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study.

I'm roughly midway between NT (Neurotypical) and AS (Aspergers Syndrome) on Simon Baron-Cohen's "Eyes Test" which assesses an individual's ability to infer another person's emotional state from just looking at their eyes alone.

The environment that I find most bewildering is the hubbub of crowds, traffic, and noise in urban centers. For me, that's a Seventeen-Ring Circus. As a child, I could barely keep from being overloaded by the conventional Three-Ring Circusu... more »

2013-05-10 06:53:25 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

To hell with the new DSM-5.  I don't need it to tell me that I'm "at sea" in a turbulent and chaotic world.

2013-05-13 03:37:08 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I, Pet Goat II is an astonishingly rich, deep, and lovingly crafted animation by Louis Lefebvre of Heliofant Studios near Montreal.

As Lefebvre explains in an interview with Alex Jones, this film is the culmination of 5 years of labor to reveal his own spiritual journey out of personal suffering, through the medium of animation, symbolism, and allegory.

Here is my blog post featuring I, Pet Goat II and brief commentary about it.

2013-05-13 03:37:23 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I, Pet Goat II is an astonishingly rich, deep, and lovingly crafted animation by Louis Lefebvre of Heliofant Studios near Montreal.

As Lefebvre explains in an interview with Alex Jones, this film is the culmination of 5 years of labor to reveal his own spiritual journey out of personal suffering, through the medium of animation, symbolism, and allegory.

Here is my blog post featuring I, Pet Goat II and brief commentary about it.

2013-05-08 01:47:29 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Systems Intelligence
Complex Systems
#Glia   #economicscomplexity   #systemsthinking   #complexadaptivesystems  

Re-inventing out economics systems starts with understanding or seeing the more advanced perspectives and theory on complex systems. 
This is a pretty cool entry point in developing these advanced perspectives and understanding. 

Via +Walter H Groth  and +Alessio Dessi 

2013-05-06 11:15:59 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Two years ago, Wired Magazine reported that Neil deGrasse Tyson would host a sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos which aired on PBS three decades ago.

The producers of the new sequel say the new series will tell “the story of how human beings began to comprehend the laws of nature and find our place in space and time.”

This also creates a parallel opportunity to review our place in the story known as “The Advance of Civilization.”

2013-05-06 11:14:38 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Two years ago, Wired Magazine reported that Neil deGrasse Tyson would host a sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos which aired on PBS three decades ago.

The producers of the new sequel say the new series will tell “the story of how human beings began to comprehend the laws of nature and find our place in space and time.”

This also creates a parallel opportunity to review our place in the story known as “The Advance of Civilization.”

2013-05-04 09:04:33 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

The New Algebra: Solving for the Backstory

When you find yourself sucked into a shreklisch drama, can you solve for the backstory of your antagonist?

In this essay, I present the perspective that it amounts to an intriguing algebra problem in Drama Theory, solving for the backstory of an unfamiliar character.

2013-05-03 15:31:07 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education.

ISTE has a new Conference Forum Site (powered by Ning) that is open to both ISTE Members and to the wider education community.

I invite my colleagues who are interested in Technology in Education to join the ISTE Conference Forum.

2013-05-03 01:44:36 (4 comments, 4 reshares, 5 +1s)

Call for Response from STEM Educators at ISTE 2013: Sixteen-year old honor student, Kiera Wilmot, expelled, arrested and charged with a felony over a commonplace science project.

2013-05-02 00:08:50 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is a disheartening travesty that cries out for attention.

I have proposed to +Bonnie Sutton that we team up with other science educators, journalists, and other colleagues of ours who are passionate about STEM education, ethics, and justice and weigh in on this story.

2013-04-29 13:27:44 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

+Bernie DeKoven, you might find this intriguing, as it speaks to how one masters games like Super Mario Brothers.

2013-04-28 15:37:11 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

For those in this conversation who have followed the story from earlier this year of the suicide of Internet activist, Aaron Swartz, I direct to your attention a sidebar to the story that sharpens up the deep divisions in our culture that have surfaced in the aftermath of this Geek Tragedy.

2013-04-28 12:07:24 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

In a tragic conflict of biblical proportions, Larry Lessig is pitted against his Harvard colleague, Phil Heymann, the father of the US Assistant Prosecutor, Stephen Heymann, whose remorseless persecution of the young Internet activist ended in the tragic suicide of Aaron Swartz.

2013-04-28 09:56:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Where are we, and what are we doing in this hand-basket?

2013-04-27 05:45:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Hear my voice -- Alexander Graham Bell."

The Smithsonian has released audio recovered from a wax and cardboard disc dated April 15, 1885. In it, you can clearly hear the inventor speak the words: "Hear my voice -- Alexander Graham Bell."

2013-04-26 15:21:52 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Now on the air. You can listen to it live via streaming audio, or catch the podcast later.

Tom Ashbrook's guests for the hour are:

Douglas Hofstadter, Distinguished College of Arts and Sciences Professor of Cognitive Science and Comparative Literature at Indiana University. Author of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “Gödel, Escher, Bach.” Co-author of “Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking.”

Emmanuel Sander, professor of Cognitive and Developmental Psychology at the University of Paris (Saint-Denis), specializing in the study of analogy-making and categorization and their connections to education. Co-author of “Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking.”

2013-04-26 14:50:48 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I have a new blog post this morning, documenting my curious, remarkable, and ultimately exasperating experiences with a secret society that goes by the name of "Volant."

2013-04-24 10:49:36 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

The Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (EPCA) is in the process of becoming obsolete and all holes in it will have been plugged by this high-functioning technology.

Don't worry about the technicals here.  I know these guys and they know their math and the associated algorithms.  Trust me on that.

What you need to know is that the government spies can no longer be the Man in the Middle.  You can sync up your personal files across multiple platforms and nobody -- not your ISP, not some eavesdropper on your LAN, not some government goon with a search warrant or National Security Letter -- can apprehend or decode the true content of your personal files.

2013-04-21 23:37:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Couch potatoes are glued to the tube, proving that the medium is the mucilage.

2013-05-15 14:26:47 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Solution of the Fist 
Dostoevsky and the Roots of Modern Terrorism
by John P. Moran, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw Georgia

The first novel ever written about terrorism, Dostoevsky's The Demons, is also the most instructive, for in it he addresses better than any writer before or since the two persistent riddles of terrorism: why are terrorists so new to our civilization, and how is it that they can kill others so easily in the name of a political idea?

As a first-generation observer of terrorism, Dostoevsky came to the conclusion that this new political movement was the product of modern culture, politics, and psychology. He felt that modernity created a unique shame and humiliation that fueled terrorism.

The "demons" that he brings to life in this novel are not... more »

2013-04-15 21:28:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Euler's Relation is my all-time favorite mathematical expression.

2013-04-15 15:21:29 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Last week I posted a new blog entry chronicling an exasperating experience over on the popular law blog, Volokh Conspiracy.

Today I have added a bit of comic opera to the story.

I decided to write yet another silly song parody, as a bit of comic opera for this otherwise banal and mind-numbing story.

Song Parody: It's My Party

2013-04-12 12:04:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Consider the following quote from Orin Kerr. What do you make of it?

"Fighting for freedom and the rule of law is fun, I guess." ~Orin Kerr

Source from Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything"):

2013-04-10 22:58:24 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A Study In Exasperation

My experiences as a participant in the popular law blog, Volokh Conspiracy.

2013-04-08 11:38:47 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Is this for real? Only your banker knows for sure.

2013-04-07 20:12:29 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Hermione: "It's sort of exciting, isn't it? Breaking the rules!"

Ron: "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

2013-04-07 12:54:43 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I am fascinated and exasperated by the seemingly intractable problem of communicating the ineffable, even though I was pretty sure I had effed it just fine.

2013-04-07 01:05:22 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

From Lauren Weinstein comes this blast from the past.

Popcorn by Hot Butter (1972), adapted from an original composition by Gershon Kingsley (1969), was the first piece of electronically synthesized music to hit the US Top-30 charts. 

What's remarkable about this piece is that the melody beautifully illustrates the 1/f statistics of aesthetically pleasing music. You can almost, but not quite anticipate the next note. It's typically one of two or three probable next notes, but you can't predict it reliably. And so the music has just enough surprise to be interesting without being either too sing-song or too jarring or cacophonous.

2013-04-06 16:41:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Laura, do you have a lolcat poster for ipse dixit?

Why should you provide one, you ask coyly?

Um, because I said so?

2013-04-06 13:45:42 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Ipse dixit?

How a distinguished lawyer explains his line of reasoning in a case of contempt for a judicial opinion.

Consider, if you will, the curious case of a judge being found in criminal contempt for "inflammatory remarks" in a judicial opinion.

2013-04-05 11:37:45 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Contagion (or mimesis) is an insightful sociological model attributed to Rene Girard, Emeritus of Stanford University. Girard crafted his model after studying the dynamics of the dysfunctional society caricatured in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novels (e.g. Crime and Punishment).

It’s instructive to go back to Professor Girard’s model. It looks something like this:

1. Mimetic Desire
One party identifies an object of desire and other parties imitate that desire. Examples of things children and adults desire: respect, attention, money, happiness, power, land, jobs, knowledge. Whatever the culture tells us is desirable, that’s what people adopt as worth having.

2. Mimetic Rivalry
Now the parties begin competing for some common object of desire. Whatever good competitive strategies emerge, others copy them. Since it’s a rivalry, it’s played as a win/lose game. Towin, you on... more »