social darwinism and the squiggly line of Fiction
i begin to get the strong impression that i'm among the more socially conservative in the new media group. i'm cool with contrary.
the obsession of the LDSs with record has fascinated me since high school - the families of many of my LDS friends have in their homes near shrines to their ancestry. it's a fascinating tribute to the need for "memory" as a cultural group that the CoJCoLDS exhibits - they're proud of their heritage, for reasons i won't comment on. that'll keep for another post, perhaps.
the idea of bringing touch and smell to mass media is mostly in its infancy - smell strips in magazines, feel patches in children's books - but has potential. smell marketing is no new idea - restaurants have been known to pump the smell of baking bread into their dining spaces. touch presents a particular challenge, but tele-Braille machines are increasingly common and functional. the same concept that drives a tele-Braille machine certainly has the potential to bring touch to a large audience, but at this point it's something of a solution with no problem.
whether or not one believes that pushing technology as far as it can go will be beneficial to society depends, i suppose, on how one views the fabric of the global society. if one mentally models humanity as a taut canvas that can be universally elevated by pressure on a small area, then the wisest decision is to PUSH, and to push as hard as possible. if, however, one views humanity as a silk cloth that will no more than drape around the point of progress, then the most important thing is to SPREAD the pressure as evenly as possible.
i certainly joke about my computer/the internet being "remote storage" for my brain, but it's not really a joke.
there are two categories of engineer inventors: those who make what they think people need, and those who make what they think is cool. those in the first category are usually wrong. the who that decides where technology is going, generally, may be anyone, but the person making the most decisions about a new tech, numerically, is the engineer - an unusual breed with interests foreign to 99% of ummericans, let alone the world.
emp grenades - you heard it herefirst today. i have a blueprint in my brain; i need a marketing director.
total war requires the destruction of those things that the enemy values - food, homes, roads - and so now a compact device able to destroy information without destroying material is highly to be valued. papers? ADD strikes again.
the obsession of the LDSs with record has fascinated me since high school - the families of many of my LDS friends have in their homes near shrines to their ancestry. it's a fascinating tribute to the need for "memory" as a cultural group that the CoJCoLDS exhibits - they're proud of their heritage, for reasons i won't comment on. that'll keep for another post, perhaps.
the idea of bringing touch and smell to mass media is mostly in its infancy - smell strips in magazines, feel patches in children's books - but has potential. smell marketing is no new idea - restaurants have been known to pump the smell of baking bread into their dining spaces. touch presents a particular challenge, but tele-Braille machines are increasingly common and functional. the same concept that drives a tele-Braille machine certainly has the potential to bring touch to a large audience, but at this point it's something of a solution with no problem.
whether or not one believes that pushing technology as far as it can go will be beneficial to society depends, i suppose, on how one views the fabric of the global society. if one mentally models humanity as a taut canvas that can be universally elevated by pressure on a small area, then the wisest decision is to PUSH, and to push as hard as possible. if, however, one views humanity as a silk cloth that will no more than drape around the point of progress, then the most important thing is to SPREAD the pressure as evenly as possible.
i certainly joke about my computer/the internet being "remote storage" for my brain, but it's not really a joke.
there are two categories of engineer inventors: those who make what they think people need, and those who make what they think is cool. those in the first category are usually wrong. the who that decides where technology is going, generally, may be anyone, but the person making the most decisions about a new tech, numerically, is the engineer - an unusual breed with interests foreign to 99% of ummericans, let alone the world.
emp grenades - you heard it here
total war requires the destruction of those things that the enemy values - food, homes, roads - and so now a compact device able to destroy information without destroying material is highly to be valued. papers? ADD strikes again.