The Real Paul Jones

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Thinkism at the Wolfsonian Museum

Welcome toThinkism
Signed on and was recently confirmed for a panel at Web Wise 08 to be put on by the Institute for Museum and Library Services and Florida International University at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami on March 5 – 7.

The Wolfsonian send a large packet about itself explaining among other things their concept of Thinkism: What man makes, makes man. This has inspired quite a bit of discussion on Thinkism here in the ibiblio brain-center. Does it mean I don’t have to clean up my office, for example?

Willy Volk explains Thinkism in Gadling’s Weekend in Miami this way:

The idea behind Thinkism is contained in Wolfson‘s phrase, “What man makes, makes man.” In other words, by examining the products, propaganda, and artwork that people have created over the years — and thinking about them — we can begin to understand objects as human ideas, concerns, and aspirations and start to understand why the world looks the way it does.

It’s more than just looking at a beautiful painting; it’s about considering an object, thinking about where and why it was made, and what role it plays in society. In this way, we make connections among everything in the world, and come to realize that everything is inter-connected. Everything. From old book covers to old stoves…

Call for a Science Debate

Call for Science Debate
Bora and about half of my Facebook friends alert us to the Call for a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology.

Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.

Zygotic Social Networking?

Almost missed in reading through the NYTimes Magazine annual special ideas issue: Zygotic Social Networking or tying genetic testing results to social networking. The idea shared and exploited by Ancestry.com, GeneTree.com and startup 23andMe is that you can connect with people who are like you — at a DNA level of some sort. This takes friend-of-a-friend to a different depth. It also assumes that you will want to make friends or mate with someone a lot like yourself. So much for genetic diversity. Or will our already confusing diversity confound the companies who are building on research that is so new and undeveloped that the answers are only slightly more reliable than say a Chinese horoscope?

Cuteness Studies

Japan Defence Force is cute  too
Marcella alerts us to an important conference upcoming in Cape Town this February, Designing Cute Interactive Media. I need to get a paper ready but the deadline is tight — they’re due December 31.

Cuteness
is more that attractiveness, which my colleague Sri knows quite a bit about — to the point of reciting a bibliography on attractiveness and the media effect of the same whilst we stood on the steps this afternoon. Where attractiveness is an aesthetic value and perhaps even culturally bound, cuteness may be deeper in our genetic encoding as Lorenz points out. What that says about Japan’s complete embrace of cuteness as kawaisa, I’m not quite sure. But the cultural impact of the Japanese identity and connections to cuteness (kawaii) and innocence is undeniable.

How to generate a paper with some serious consideration of kawaii and interactivity? Suggestions welcomed.

Cuteness has an effective design philosophy that can be used in many areas to make emotionally engaging user interactive systems, as well as evaluate existing systems. Cuteness can also be included as an engineering design framework that can assist designers and engineers when creating engaging interactive systems that motivate the user in a happy, positive manner.

We look at a range of experiences involving the idea of “cuteness” and its related components. From a psychological standpoint, there are cues that are well known that are instilled in us at an instinctual level. An example is the features of babies that bring out a nurturing and adoration response. Measuring these reactions however is less discrete and is more qualitative in nature. From a cultural standpoint, the definition of how cute something is and what it drives the user to do in response is not yet fully explored.

The main goal of this workshop is to provide designers with a better understanding of developing ways to enhance the positive experience and effectiveness of interactive media by utilizing the psychological and culturally developed effects of cuteness. We would also like to explore a range of interactive experiences involving the idea of cuteness and examine the related components. Based on these experiences, the next generation user interfaces can be built to take advantage of the cuteness factor and its unique effects on the experience which can establish and maintain more meaningful relationships with the users and encourage happiness, self confidence, motivate the user to action, and provide overall positive experiences.

Land of 10,000 Uggs

The winter is here in Chapel Hill, the first snow flakes fell and melted even before they touched the ground. But more tellingly, no coeds were wearing flipflops. The plastic shoes of summer have given way to Uggs. There has been an Ugg convergence on campus. More Uggs than Crocs. Crocs, the Uggs of summer!

Speaking of Uggs and other ugly mistakes, Mark Zuckerberg of FaceBook has had some ‘splainin’ to do. And though you might not like or agree with his explanation of Beacon and of FaceBook policy, he does step up and own up to the problem that Beacon has created with a blog post this morning Special upside of the post is that Mark has a link for opting OUT of Beacon!

We are the People (or is that Ones)

In his Sunday NYTimes column “The People We Have Been Waiting For”, Tom Friedman rejoices in the role of Google and of MIT students in accelerating the work on energy problems and efficiencies. So far so good. Engineers see a problem and work on solutions whilst politicians argue. Each set doing what they are best at ;->

Friedman is especially intrigued by MIT’s Vehicle Design Summit where the “Linux of cars” may be being developed by distributed and social production. What Friedman loves most and what he uses to conclude his column is the VDS tag line “We are the people we have been waiting for.”

Friedman doesn’t quite get the quote right and he doesn’t credit the author of the phrase “We are the people we have been waiting for.” She is the late poet June Jordan. The phrase “we are the ones we have been waiting for” from Poem for South African Women (1980) was picked up by many graduation speakers (I may use it myself) and others including most notably the singers Sweet Honey in the Rock who made the phrase into a song and Alice Walker who took the phrase as title for her most recent collection of essays (2006).

I’ll have to say I was somewhat surprised, yet satisfied, to see June Jordan’s words taken up by MIT students but surprised and unsatisfied that Friedman missed the travels for the phrase entirely.

More on Jordan who has had a school named for her at her website BTW the poem is there too.

News of the Blogs

LiveJournal moves to Moscow:
Six Apart sells LiveJournal to Moscow-based SUP. Will Friendster soon sell to a Sao Paulo firm?

Seasons Greetings from McGuinn:
Roger McGuinn posting before a visit to Utah offers “O Come All Ye Faithful” for the Christmas season. Camilla blogs about the Rolling Thunder Review.

Reputation Economics at Yale:
“Symposium on Reputation Economies in Cyberspace” this week, which I can’t make but hope to follow, has a great list of participants

Bob Young Explained:
Roger Martin of the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business explains that makes Bob Young and Red Hat different thinkers and different actors in an excerpt from his “The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking” (Harvard, 2007).

Who Hates Tech?
PC World’s Mark Sullivan writes about The Most Anti-Tech Organizations in America. “These groups line up against tech interests in courtrooms and corridors of power across the country.”

We’re baaaaack! Net Neutrality to live again in Congress

This just in from CNet (full story here):

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the chairman of a House of Representatives Internet and telecommunications panel, is readying a new version of his Network Neutrality Act […]

Markey plans to introduce the new effort, which will “closely follow” the old one, during the next two to three weeks, shortly before Congress adjourns for the year, a spokeswoman told CNET News.com on Tuesday. Further action, including hearings, is expected in the new year.

[…]

Daze of meetings

I spent today in a series of interesting conversations. First with Historian of Science and Duke “recycle” Fellow Andrew Russell who works on the construction of standards for technologies. Later a lunch to talk about Media Law, Privacy, Defamation, and Libel and the like with Lolly Gasaway, Mike Kautsch, and Deb Aikat. And lastly (not counting email, phone and other discussions) a talk about Facebook and privacy and secrecy with Kelly Davies, a student doing social network research for a class in the J-school.

Although, I’m complaining a bit; this is the best part of my job. If the University is one long conversation, then I’m feeling a part of it all today. I get to listen to smart people thinking about a variety of issues and challenges — if I can keep my own mouth shut long enough ;->

Thursday: Meet Congressman Brad Miller and talk about blogging and blog about talking

Brian alerts us to this event that he will be co-hosting at the border of Chapel Hill and Carrboro on Thursday.

Join Rep. Brad Miller for a discussion hosted by Ruby Sinreich of OrangePolitics.org and Brian Russell of Yesh.com about the impact of blogging on today’s political environment.

When:
Thursday, November 29, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Where: Mill Town Restaurant, 307 E Main St, Carrboro

Suggested Donation: $10
Cash Bar

Congressman Brad Miller is currently serving his third term representing North Carolina?s 13th Congressional District. He has often blogged on many progressive sites, including the DailyKos and Blue NC. Congressman Miller serves on the House Financial Services Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, and Science and Technology Committee where he chairs the subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.

RSVP by calling 919-834-2343 or e-mail andy@bradmiller.org or just stop by www.bradmiller.org

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