Spiral Linking. Whilst investigating back-linking options the issue of exponentially increasing links that link to each other has been bugging me for several weeks. Some recursive web that might explode to consume all the web resources in some unstoppable nightmare – I’ve seen it happen on mail servers with automated replies anyway. This particular story [...]
Entries from November 2002
Spiral Linking
0
November 29, 2002 at 5:45pm
by Psybertron
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
OK, What’s a Quine ?
0
November 29, 2002 at 5:32pm
by Psybertron
OK, What’s a Quine ? Via (Miscoranda). Named after the eponymous “Van”, but not apparent why.[I guess I'll have to research Hofstadter to work that out.]Picked up on Miscoranda via the backlink from the Heisenberg story.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Nonaka’s Knowledge Model
0
November 29, 2002 at 5:23pm
by Psybertron
Nonaka’s Knowledge Model. Thanks to Spike for this link to the Knowledge Board summary of Nonaka’s stuff.Made several references to Nonaka earlier but this is a neat summary.[Added Spike's blog to the side bar links - looks like some thoughtful contributions to the debate.]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
The Rhetoric of Economics
0
November 27, 2002 at 1:45pm
by Psybertron
Given the number of figures and stats quoted by economists and economic commentators, it is refreshing to find one (Gavin Davies of the Beeb speaking on More or Less yesterday) who recognises that what matters is telling a good (convincing) story – irrespective of the figures. No economist worth his salt believes the numbers etc. [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
The Memory of Water
0
November 27, 2002 at 1:31pm
by Psybertron
The Memory of Water. The office chat around here is last night’s Beeb programme on Homeopathy, and several mentions of the 1984 Jacques Benvensita theory on “The Memory of Water” . The dilution levels at finite numbers of molecules of active agents per unit volume of solution makes it seem preposterous that a sample further [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Why Did I Vote for Brunel ?
0
November 25, 2002 at 7:02pm
by Psybertron
…. in the BBC “Great Britons” poll. Well I’d like to have voted for an original genius thinker with an important legacy, given my current line of research, but I have to say the Brits in the top 100, all seemed a bit “derivative” of others. Our “revolution” never quite went the way of the [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Zen River Crossing
0
November 25, 2002 at 6:54pm
by Psybertron
Zen River Crossing. Nice one from Gimbo. I voted for Brunel (came 2nd) WTF ? Anyway Zen, bridges and Klogging, I couldn’t resist this one. [Quote] Interesting… I’d always thought of the Second Severn Crossing as just another suspension bridge (like the first one), but it is in fact a “cable-stayed” bridge. I think I [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
The Official Truth
0
November 25, 2002 at 6:39pm
by Psybertron
The Official Truth ? Link via Seb [Quote] … how people find each other rather than just the officially published work …. [Unquote]. Same message again – knowledge is human – the “official ” story merely serves some transient purpose. See my earlier Cringley link.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Skilled Incompetence
0
November 25, 2002 at 6:22pm
by Psybertron
Skilled Incompetence. Thanks to Danny for this 1995 essay on “Structured Procrastination” by John Perry. Magic. This is my main theme about information models Danny. Spot on the Argyris thread about how normal (western) culture in organisations institutionalises bad practices justified by rationalisations. I have a colleague that regularly characterises “displacement activities” when it is [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Wayback Machine
0
November 25, 2002 at 6:10pm
by Psybertron
Wayback Machine. New Scientist article via Danny about the 100 tera-bytes of web archives. [Quote] The average life of a web page is 100 days. [Unquote] See my broken links plea below.[Quote] And where is the Wayback archive ? physically? It’s now in three places, two in the San Francisco Bay Area and one at [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Dismantling Walls
0
November 25, 2002 at 6:02pm
by Psybertron
Dismantling Walls – “Dad,” he said. “You know I said I want to be a doctor when I grow up?” “Yes, son.” “And I want to be a footballer, too?” “Yes.” “Well, now I’ve decided I want to be a martyr.” [Davos via John Robb] Don’t normally link to national politics in this blog but [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
The Plot Thickens
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:57pm
by Psybertron
The Plot Thickens. Doh ! – I didn’t even know Larry had been an Apple director – now he’s bought a slug of shares. Should we care ? (link via Adam Curry)
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Epictetus Says …
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:54pm
by Psybertron
Epictetus Says … Adam Curry’s latest link to the “quotations page” throws up some bon mots from Epictetus – too true.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Upgrade Denied
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:51pm
by Psybertron
Upgrade Denied. Cringely tells it like it is as usual in his report on Comdex from a week ago.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
News Just In – Stress is Psychological
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:43pm
by Psybertron
News Just In – Stress is Psychological. If there was ever any doubt about the mind-matter link – here’s more “scientific” evidence via Science Daily of anecdotal truth that physical health is (at least in part) a state of mind.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
All Human Life is Here
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:37pm
by Psybertron
All Human Life is Here. Another gem via Jorn – a Guardian review of “Sex Crimes: From Renaissance to Enlightenment” by William Naphy [Quote] Naphy’s careful study draws heavily on the official court reports from that unforgiving time and yet manages to see past them to the warm, messy human dramas that lie beneath. [Unquote]. [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Dynamic Bio-Nano-Machines
0
November 25, 2002 at 5:32pm
by Psybertron
Dynamic Bio-Nano-Machines. Thanks to [Jorn] for this Science Daily link. Seems even apparently stable (static) genetic protein structures in living cells are just the “emergent” properties of a continuum of dynamic interactions between components in the protein soup. This dynamic / static levels issue is cropping up in more and more fundamental ways.
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Is The Answer 42 ?
0
November 21, 2002 at 1:16pm
by Psybertron
Is The Answer 42 ? Thanks to John Robb for this link. How long before 42 becomes the number of dimensions required to make string theory into the unifying theory of life, the universe and everything – currently now stands at 26 apparently. What planet (in what dimension) are these guys on ?
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Straight Talking on the Beeb
0
November 21, 2002 at 12:57pm
by Psybertron
Jim Naughtie on BBC’s Today this morning, interviewing some expert about the latest conclusions, that prescribing below strength spectacle lenses was actually damaging to the future eyesight of child wearers, got the answers “Yes”, “Yes, that’s right” and “Yes, exactly” to his first three questions and was left floundering momentarily like a fish (flounder ?) [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Progress with the Platypus
0
November 21, 2002 at 12:52pm
by Psybertron
Two weeks or more since I last posted – been incredibly busy recently – but in the last couple of days of air-travel and hotels I’ve managed to catch-up on reading Eco’s Kant and the Platypus. 80% finished now. Still on-message – much good stuff in here on the sociology of knowledge and so many [...]
Uncategorized Add Your Comment
Rene Thom Obituary
0
November 21, 2002 at 12:41pm
by Psybertron
Rene Thom Obituary. Thanks to Jorn for the Guardian link. Never quite understood the relationship between catastrophe and chaos theories, so this is useful source. Also interesting in that starting from Bourbaki school of French mathematics and a particular interest in Topology, Thom moved into philosophical biology and linguistics. Very much on the same page [...]
