Well done USA. And Japan too.
Entries from December 2004
Credit Where Credit’s Due
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December 31, 2004 at 11:24pm
by Psybertron
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What About Myanmar (Burma) ?
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December 31, 2004 at 2:55pm
by Psybertron
Looking at maps of South East Asia and the Indian Ocean, it was striking that whilst Thailand, Bangladesh and the Anadaman & Nicobar Islands (not to mention Sumatra/Aceh, India, Sri-Lanka and West Africa) were all making the tsunami news in the last few days, it was as if Burma was off the map ? If [...]
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Blogs Make The (BBC) Mainstream Again.
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December 31, 2004 at 1:32pm
by Psybertron
This news story repeats some stats on the growth and importance of blogging but includes, for the first time I’ve seen, Microsoft’s beta “MSN Spaces” alongside “Google’s” Blogger.
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Creative Destruction
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December 31, 2004 at 1:01pm
by Psybertron
Creative destruction probably pre-dates Noah’s biblical flood, or the possibly catastrophic extinction of the dinosaurs, but I’ve seen the term itself used since Marx and Schumpeter coined it. Eggs need to be broken to make an omelette, or anything revolutionarily different from its antecendents. Many, in all seriousness, including myself, tagged 9/11 the same way [...]
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It’s A Funny Old Brain
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December 22, 2004 at 9:27am
by Psybertron
As you may have noticed, I’m reading my way through a number books by neurosurgeons and brain scientists, as part of reviewing state of the art understanding of “perception”. Recently I read Edeleman, Zeman and Austin’s books, and more recently started Oliver Sacks “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”, full of intriguing [...]
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Political Correctness Disguises Facts
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December 21, 2004 at 1:35pm
by Psybertron
Here it’s the debate about the “right to offend” sparked by the recent Sikh religious debate over the content of the play at the Birmingham Rep. This is at the highest political / public / human / artistic rights level, but Chris Argyris showed that avoidance of offence (and embarrassment) was at the root of [...]
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Muse Take 2
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December 20, 2004 at 10:47pm
by Psybertron
Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing. Just relived the whole of Muse Sunday night gig from Earls Court again live on Monday night via XFM On-line, this time with lyrics courtesy of Microcuts. Magic. (Oh, and with a little help from Kingston On-line.) This is Sunday’s set list. Hysteria Butterflies And Hurricanes Newborn Sing For [...]
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5000 Books Per Day
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December 20, 2004 at 2:05pm
by Psybertron
The contents of 5000 (out of copyright) books per day are to be scanned into Google under a new agreement with major university libraries. [Wall Steet Journal][via John Udell]
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Muse – That’s Entertainment.
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December 20, 2004 at 8:57am
by Psybertron
I saw Muse at Earl’s Court last night, with The Zutons and SoulWax supporting. I do not know why Matt Bellamy is not a more major superstar. Admittedly it’s all done with the aid of electronic gizmos and a huge team of sound and lighting techies, but on guitar, keyboard and vocals he is an [...]
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Updated Pirsig Timeline
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December 18, 2004 at 7:32pm
by Psybertron
I have had the pleasure and benefit of corresponding with Robert Pirsig in recent months, and as a result have been able to make and publish a significant update to my Robert Pirsig Biographical Timeline. See my Pirsig Project Pages for the significance of Robert Pirsig, author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” [...]
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Modelling Truth ? That really is daily life.
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December 18, 2004 at 8:39am
by Psybertron
Geoff Boycott reporting on the England v South Africa test on Radio 4 Today Program this morning, made a telling comment … When the sports anchor man said of one bowler “his figures look good, but you say he didn’t play well”, Geoff responded with “ah yes, but you’re just looking at the numbers, I [...]
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Voltaire does it again.
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December 15, 2004 at 9:22am
by Psybertron
After Candide, I’ve now read Micromegas. Candide is beyond satirical, plainly a negative lampoon directed squarely, with disturbing imagination but little subtlety, at the “all’s right with God in this best of all possible worlds” view. Micromegas’ satire is so much more subtle and miles ahead of its time. His evocation of the absurd – [...]
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Being Run Over By A Bus ? Never Fear.
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December 14, 2004 at 5:55pm
by Psybertron
Got a search hit to day with someone looking for “How to capture the knowledge contents of a brain after the human has died“. Nice trick if you can pull it off. Problem solved. I just love the optimism and faith people have in internet search engines.
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Measure what counts …
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December 10, 2004 at 1:10pm
by Psybertron
… not what can be counted. Thread by Piers and Anu says it. Einstein right again, shock !
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Quantum Consciousness
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December 9, 2004 at 9:05am
by Psybertron
I’m still working my way through Dr James Austin’s “Zen and the Brain”, and I’ve reached a section on anesthesia and other consciousness altering chemical effects. Actually, I took a break from Dr Austin, to read Voltaire’s Candide – short and sweet – humorous Swiftian-style satire on the “best of all possible worlds” view that [...]
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Blog is Last Year’s Word
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December 2, 2004 at 10:13am
by Psybertron
The word Blog was the most searched word according to Merriam-Webster on-line dictionaries in the past year.[via BBC][via Blogger] A new Blog is created every 6 seconds. (Interesting given the Fallujah situation that “insurgent” made it into the top four, along with other US election related jargon.) Microsoft blogging too.[via BBC], and of course, broadband [...]
