Notorious Prankster

This very very naughty fellow frenchmen pulls a thousand unique "he can no do THAT" pranks (he is a living legend amongst french - the stunts are not staged): http://www.nimportequi.com/

KANGOUROU (REMI GAILLARD)
by nqtv

Humanizing Internet Governance

The two papers i co-authored for this years Symposium of the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) are available for download from the conference site:


The Humanization of Internet Governance: A Roadmap Towards a Comprehensive Global (Human) Rights Architecture for the Internet, together with Wolfgang Benedek and Matthias Ketteman paper presented at 3rd GigaNet Symposium.


Toward a Humanistic Conception of Cyberspace. A Twofold Challenge for Netizens Mobilizing for a Democratic Internet Governance, together with Elena Pavan and Konstantin Komaitis presented at 3rd GigaNet Symposium

The Path Towards Centralization of Internet Governance Under the UN

An interesting article appeared on Publius Project "Essays and conversations about constitutional moments on the Net collected by the Berkman Center". The article discusses ten steps that are (in the opinion of the author) bound to hinder the creation of a good Internet Governance (IG) regime.

Very provocative and a good "checkpoint" to have in mind when shaping IG

Reflections On "Fear of Knowledge" by Boghossian

Boghossian has surely written a well informed and thoroughly argued book entitled "Fear of Knowledge". And I have to admit in most cases he was able to make me doubt what I would call my “common sense” approach to knowledge . What Prof. Boghossian proclaims in very elaborate terms is that there is a historic evolution and that there exists a factual world outside of our cognition , and I won’t argue that it doesn’t seem to me like that.

However I found several sections where I think he is a bit out of balance, but I will focus on two fundamental problems with his well crafted rationalization. He himself states one contradiction on page 78, where he writes: “We ourselves seem to acknowledge that WE CANNOT HOPE TO DEMONSTRATE THE CORRECTNESS OF AN EPISTEMIC SYSTEM BY USING THAT VERY SYSTEM”. (emphasis added)

A) He is dealing with facts/truth/knowledge on a meta-level, because he already uses the we clause, hence indicating that his demonstration makes only sense when communicated with others

B) He is right – how can you possibly claim you are right based on your own observation.

I think that my relativism has is based on reason. It allows me to engage in constructive – as in productive/diplomatic/sythesis-seeking communication .

Hence a relativist position allows to accept the fact that you might be wrong (and as a package/worldview) allow to disregard aspects of believe e.g. religious, that you don’t share without disrespecting other positions – one theme at a time.

I’d describe my Weltanschauung in this case as pragmatic relativistic (rather than radical relativism).

At one point Boghossian uses the example of the perception that the world is flat, while in reality it is a sphere. Isn’t that a wonderful example of the usefulness of pragmatic relativist thinking: in everyday life the world is flat, for aeronautical engineers the earth is a sphere, but to a theoretical physisist the earth is a space with tons of molecules in a quantum state. It makes sense to accept ‘facts’ relative to what you want to do.

Especially in the case of scientific knowledge I am with Habermas’ existence–reality split. In this view existence describes the world of objective factual truth (as in the objects that you see in front of you) and existence is gradually (say hyperbolically) verified with the amount of observations that coincide. However just because you and nobody else has ever seen a pink elephant doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist – as discussed at length by philosophers of science under the theme of induction. It results that once again my pragmatism solves the problem – as long as the existing insight provides correct explanations to the phenomena I will use it as reference.
Or in other words so is my reality. Because reality is in Habermasian terms nothing but what one individually believes to be true. Hence each individual lives or constructs his/her own reality.

Which brings us to the second component, constructivism. It is relevant only for the description of the human construction of knowledge in the brain, rather than the collective construction and codification of scientific insights in the noosphere. Both are constructed, but on very different scales/dimensions.

I believe in radical constructivism (ala Watzlawick). The brain constructs reality out of the experience it is exposed to.

I have to end here (I just cant find more time right now), but if you want to engage in a discussion, feel free to comment – and I will follow up.

Also please check out the cyberphilosophy collaboratory some friends and myself just started.

you say Ohhh we say BAMA - what a great celebration

this was the most emotional and uplifting democratic experience ever - and i wasn't even able to vote ;-) No but really, i have never experienced anything similar - masses of people celebrating, taking over the streets - a stereo and a DJ emerged from nowhere and smiling faces all over...WOW i am really proud of this new generation of americans, i am so happy this country which has so many great people and that has so much power is reigned again by someone who is really smart and whats even more important who spreads hope and the spirit of optimism around the world - let's go and make this planet a better place - Yes we can.

Best Docu on Kids and the Internet

my sister always asks me what she should allow her kids to do online. It's a difficult question to answer, because she doesn't really understand what's going on so everytime i end up explaining here what this or that service is in the first place.

But as a good uncle i do reflect quite a bit about what my nephews and nice should be doing online and from a professional perspective i am really intrigued to understand how they can exploit the net for learning and "contextual intelligence booster'(checking wikipedia etc.).

Anyways PBS has produced a really good documentary about the reasons why kids love their online lifes and what's good and what's bad about it. I really have to say that this is probably the best docu on the subject i have ever seen!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/view/main.html

Goooo Barack!! Groovy Obama Vibes

The US elections end race is really giving me goose bumps and shivers. Depending whether i hear and think about the positive vibes and epochal advancement should Obama win, or whether i think about what a sad and scary scenario will unfold in case the world has to deal with a new rendition of a conservative commander in chief fear-monger.

Well, next week we'll know - that much is for sure. For now check out these pretty groovy Obama support songs:

Yes We Can - Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas)


Coco Tea - Barak Obahama



PRINCE THOMPSON - Obama Reggea



GOOOOOO Barack!!!!!

I love these Statistics

I usually argue for qualitative analysis, because i believe that statistical data might be good in describing trends, but it does not determine the individual case (which is what is IMHO most relevant most of the time).

In this TED video Hans Rosling presents some amazing data very nicely animated and passionately commented:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w

Book chapter published: Virtual worlds as environment for learning communities

I am happy to announce that the chapter i wrote together with Marc (Ludo) Alier (Sciences of Education Institute, UPC, Spain) in "Knowledge Networks: The Social Software Perspective" (editors: M. D. Lytras, R. Tennyson & P. O. d. Pablos) is available @ e.g. Amazon

Here is the abstract:

This chapter discusses the potential of three dimensional virtual worlds as venue for constructivist learning communities. To reach a balanced answer to the question whether virtual worlds are likely to evolve into satisfying educational instruments (1) Authors retrace the historic trajectory of virtual world development and computer based learning, second they describe how (2) learning communities function in general and how virtual worlds in particular can be exploited for collective educational experiences. With this basis, authors then present (3) a structured analysis of the strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) found to bound the potential of SecondLife for institutionalized learning based on their expertise from working and teaching in virtual worlds. In conclusion authors argue that a critical but optimistic approach towards virtual learning environments (and SecondLife in particular) is adequatee. In their assessment virtual worlds bear great opportunities for educational purposes; however most of today’s educational institutions will be challenged to encompass the informal and holistic learning scenario.

Just drop me a line and I am happy to send you a working draft of the chapter.

Concetrated multitasking and lost linear comprehension - what's cognitively happening when we are online

Some reflections on Nick Carr's pretty good article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?":
In general i have to commend him for writing a thought provoking article and I agree with his core argument: "The more [we] use the Web, the more [we] have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing."

But Scott Karp gives a good counter argument - in his reflections about the Atlantic's piece: "Maybe the reason why Nick and so many other literati are losing their patience with long form information is that it is so fundamentally inefficient and inferior to connected bits of information."

What i would like to add is that the even more fundamental shift is not the way we perceive information (surf the net) but how we are engaging and participating in the discourse (by blogging, etc.), hence not only taking in, but creatively processing the info. The web has the potential to transform couch-potatoes in creative activists!

But coming back to reading and concentration: I think Nick has a point in saying we don't read linear and the text must also keep us interested - in fact i have read at least 6 comments embedded in the article by an web-annotation service called diigo, and one of the comments send me off to read half of Scott's response to Nick quoting him. My point support's Scott's: We are searching, identifying and continuously critically assessing all the information opportunities we have in front of us - as I see it: the amount of relevant info processing is really high while on the other hand it is true that this type of learning/experiencing information has become my dominant style and it costs me to following one long linear experience.

After a quick google search resulting in a wikipedia lookup to confirm that my conceptualization is reasonable, I would like to also critique Nick's use of the term concentration: He writes: "Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text." Again I agree in principal, but it is attention span that is shorter, because there is a related/networked task or piece of information that draws the attention. Nevertheless i claim that when i - like now - working with 16 tabs and 8 programs open (involved in about 4/5 different work tracks) i am in a very concentrated (alert) state of mind. What's happening is I am jumping between tasks to maximize my productivity. While working on a task I am either instigated to switch to another by a thought triggering idea i perceived, or there is a certain boredom or lack of creative thought which drives me to look through the options running on the machine. No matter what is exactly going on with Being online (i am reflecting on these themes in the Cyberphilosophy classes @ SupercoolSchool) i would describe my state of mind as concentrated multitasking.


On a side note - I really grumbled when i read the following taylor'ist quote in Nick's article: “In the past the man has been first,” Taylor declared; “in the future the system must be first.”
Wow - know your enemy: This is exactly the contrary to what John Seely Brown, Howard Rheingold and myself are writing about in an article about the use of technology for humanistic education.

Rapping Physicists

Some folks at the CERN research center produced a rap video about what they are researching with the Large Hadron Collider. It uses original footage from the center, so you can see the actual machinery and visualization tools etc.

the future of browsing / web-collabloration

peter - a.k.a. the waving cat - pointed me to a really interesting video in which mozilla's concept browser labs showcase their vision of web-browsing/collaboration. Really cool interfaces. And I really liked the idea of having "objects"/mini-programs/macros that i can use e.g. to do certain things like visualization of tables, searching & clustering information, etc. etc. etc.


Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite)

I usually spear you the misery of my weekend adventures, but in this case I can not hold back - it was probably the most intense climbing i did in a long time (12 pitches fairview dome, 5 pitches cathedral, and 5 pitches eichorn pinnacle - all in two days).




(some pix are taken from the web)

next - car design revolution

this morning i had one of these moments when you find something on the net which makes you think - Jeeez that might well be the beginning of a very new way of doing X - in this case "build cars". Ideo's Diego Rodriguez commented in his metacool blog about BMW's GINA prototype:

Hail the Peer-Production Revolution

Yochai Benkler is possibly the man with the most convincing argument for a knowledge work revolution based on the radical change regarding the control of the means of production.

If you have not heard of his thesis developed in wealth of networks you have to watch this TED video. If you know about his work watch this video to re-engage, he is really convincing:

(should the video not work for you go here)

delicious visualizations

inspired by the hypergraph tool i blogged about in my last post i thought that delicious would be a great playground for this kind of visual navigation. and sure enough, there is a ton of really nice and (possibly :) usefull interfaces designed already. The only one's I handpicked:

Revealicious allows for pretty neat bubble network diagram style browsing of your bookmarks

Delicious Mind i haven't tried it out yet, but it looks like an awesome app which allows you to make a mindmap out of your delicious tags

please send me if you find widget style visualization in the hypergraph direction Please comment or contact me!

Hypergraph for navigation

about 8 years ago i experimented with the Brain as website navigation tool, and i was really won over by the smooth visualization that gives you a good impression of Where you are on a page.

Yesterday Sam finally showed me the open source equivalent - hypergraph was of course developed for more sophisticated purposes and it isn't as eye-candy as the brain, nevertheless i would reckon we see this type of navigation more and more on the web.

In fact Patrick immediately wondered why the heck we can't browse our delicious bookmark tags through a hypergraphed interface? I agree, that would be great! please make me aware of any similar tool esp. to be used with delicious!

Supercool Philosophy - Learning to be Free

I have recently written some substantial blogposts on the supercoolschool blog:

Supercool Philosophy - Learning to be Free

Is the most profound one as i am sharing the first 1.0 of the educational philosophy of supercool school. It links to the full text (22 pages) and a shortened manifesto (3 pages)

Supercool School will set minds on fire

Is a review of John Seely Brown's Minds on Fire. It elaborates on the multitude of synergies of his text and the supercool philosophy.

Supercool learning = to inquire and to create

Is a review of a 1971 text by Noam Chomsky. The text entitled "Toward a humanistic conception of education" also has several great passages that align perfectly with the educational approach of supercool school.

You know you are talking to the right people when...

...the "warning screen" for a conference registration contains Hail Discordia! propaganda ;-) (For those of you who don't know Discordia - check out the wonderfully anarchic/psychedelic world setup in Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminati).

I just registered for the iCommons Summit and when i made a mistake in the form it prompted me with the following message:

Pentabarf Meditation has been interrupted by worries.
The Erisian dwarfs have been notified. In the meantime you are encouraged to read The Five Commandments below or go back in history instead.

KNOW YE THIS O MAN OF FAITH!

1. There is no Goddess but Goddess and She is Your Goddess. There is no Erisian Movement but The Erisian Movement and it is The Erisian Movement. And every Golden Apple Corps is the beloved home of a Golden Worm.
2. A Discordian Shall Always use the Official Discordian Document Numbering System.
3. A Discordian is Required during his early Illumination to Go Off Alone & Partake Joyously of a Hot Dog on a Friday; this Devotive Ceremony to Remonstrate against the popular Paganisms of the Day: of Catholic Christendom (no meat on Friday), of Judaism (no meat of Pork), of Hindic Peoples (no meat of Beef), of Buddhists (no meat of animal), and of Discordians (no Hot Dog Buns).
4. A Discordian shall Partake of No Hot Dog Buns, for Such was the Solace of Our Goddess when She was Confronted with The Original Snub.
5. A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing what he reads.

IT IS SO WRITTEN! SO BE IT. HAIL DISCORDIA!
PROSECUTORS WILL BE TRANSGRESSICUTED

This is the way i want cyberspace to communicate with me! Of course it turns out Pentabarf is a conference management system programmed for the 21C3...

South Park: The Day The Internet Stood Still

I am usually not a big SouthPark fan, even though i think there are some very funny aspects, the aesthetic is not really appealing to me. BUT this episode is just VERY VERY FUNNY

"One day the citizens of South Park wake up and find the internet is gone. When Randy hears there may still be some internet out in California, he packs up his family and heads west."

The whole episode is great, and you can watch all 22min here.

Here comes everybody

The latest episode of "Der elektrische Reporter" features an interview with Clay Shirky, author of "here comes everybody". I'll have to dig deeper, but what he had to say left a very very interesting impression:

"Like Lawrence Lessig on the effect of new technology on regimes of cultural creation, Shirky's assessment of the impact of new technology on the nature and use of groups is marvelously broad minded, lucid, and penetrating; it integrates the views of a number of other thinkers across a broad range of disciplines with his own pioneering work to provide a holistic framework for understanding the opportunities and the threats to the existing order that these new, spontaneous networks of social interaction represent. (from amazon)"

http://shirky.com/
http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/

Virtual World "Activism" inspires pro-Kremlin Political Action

something strange, innovative and remarkably funny happened the other day at a news conference by the former chess world champion Kasparov. While he was talking to the press about the Russian opposition movement, he was disturbed by a remote controlled mini-helicopter modified to look like a penis. Now this is strange "panorama" news which i wouldn't mention on my blog. What makes this intervention truly unique is that the young pro-kremlin activists took that idea from an earlier incident in SecondLife where a group of anti-capitalist hackers disturbed a press conference by in-world real-estate tycoon Anshe Chung.


To my knowledge this is the first time that political activism from a virtual world was copied in a real world scenario.

Great Modern Art

Mr. Stylewalker has spotted some really innovative, beautiful, awesome, argentinian modern art:


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

THANKS!

eLearning Social Media Competence

Some weeks ago i learned about Howard Rheingold's project to develop an online environment and curriculum to have students learn and practice Being (social) online and developing a Voice in the global cyber-discourse. Howard has summoned a team consisting of Samuel Rose, Brian Christiansen and myself to develop the online classroom and the course design for the Collaboratory.
Brian has created a great little video introducing the project's aim and components:

http://blip.tv/file/920630/

Holy Moly: iFlew

continuing the practice to post "private storries" if i feel that they might be interesting and relevant, i would like to share my excitement about www.iflysfbay.com.

I went indoor skydiving yesterday with my nephew and my niece; And IT ROCKED. I really really liked it, so go check it out if you have one of the 14 Ifly centers near you.

That's me:



And tha's a video (not me:)

Supercool School Introducation & How to (May 2008)

i finally managed to produce a screencast introducing the facebook application and live online classroom of www.supercoolschool.com

Social Media in Cyberspace & the public sphere

I recently had the chance to meet Howard Rheingold - godfather of the study and practice of virtual community building. We had a really interesting conversation and i am really excited to work, co-think and design a social media classroom.

Most of our philosophizing dealt however with the fundamental effects human expansion into cyberspace can potentially have. The next day I attended a class on Social Media Howard is teaching in Berkley and fittingly the theme of cyberspace and the public sphere was discussed.

Rather than paraphrasing his argument i found the following quote (1):

"Although civic engagement encompasses many dimensions, this chapter focuses on participation in the public sphere through direct experience with online publishing, discourse, debate, cocreation of culture, and collective action. By showing students how to use Web-based tools and channels to inform publics, advocate positions, contest claims, and organize action around issues that they truly care about, participatory media education can draw them into positive early experiences with citizenship that could influence their civic behavior throughout their lives. Formal theories of the public sphere could be introduced most productively after, and in the context of, direct experience of exercising a public voice. Talking about public opinion making is a richer experience if you’ve tried to do it."

In 2006 Habermas himself acknowledges that there is a second structural disruption of the public sphere by the internet:

“Use of the Internet has both broadened and fragmented the contexts of communication. This is why the Internet can have a subversive effect on intellectual life in authoritarian regimes. But at the same time, the less formal, horizontal cross-linking of communication channels weakens the achievements of traditional media. This focuses the attention of an anonymous and dispersed public on select topics and information, allowing citizens to concentrate on the same critically filtered issues and journalistic pieces at any given time. The price we pay for the growth in egalitarianism offered by the Internet is the decentralised access to unedited stories. In this medium, contributions by intellectuals lose their power to create a focus.” (translation and bold from signandsight)

I am not sure i agree with Habermas on this point. It seems to me that he has not fully grasped the cyber-logic of the blogosphere and the web-based media. The aggregated power of links pointing to authors with a special-knowledge reputation or exceptionally "on the spot" statements allows in my eyes for an increase in egalitarianism as well as space to enjoy positive freedom and the prudent evolution of a professional reputation or kleos.

IMHO it is exactly the media competence Howard alludes to a) develop a Voice online, as well as to b) navigate the public cyber-sphere and be able to perceive and understand the online Voices in their context.

(1)Using Participatory Media and Public Voice to Encourage Civic Engagement

Howard Rheingold Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth, Pages 97-118 - online @ www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/dmal.9780262524827.097


PS: I also really like the Yochai Benkler "The Wealth of Networks" quote in Howards text:

" We are witnessing a fundamental change in how individuals can interact with their democracy and experience their role as citizens. Ideal citizens need not be seen purely as trying to inform themselves about what others have found, so that they can vote intelligently. They need not be limited to reading the opinions of opinion makers and judging them in private conversations. They are no longer constrained to occupy the role of mere readers, viewers, and listeners. They can be, instead, participants in a conversation."

My web-tv channel & our video community?

some weeks ago i posted a request for recommendations for a web-tv player where one can have a list of videos recommended by my friends.

Miro seems to be the tool. I have played around with it in the last weeks and i like it.

Hence i started my video channel at video bomb which allows for direct integration into miro.

Check out and subscribe to my recommended videos feed - AND tell me about your channel so i can subscribe!

WANTED: A confederated peer online-tv

I dont have a TV for many years, and I have to say that online video has been more than a sufficient substitute for news and the occational dose of special interest videos and "funny stuff". However what i don't like is that there is no "online tv-player" (the software equivalent of that traditional single-purpose technology called TV) where i can watch all the streaming formats or at least where i can share and receive recommendations for videos in all formats. It is annoying to have a youtube favourits, some real media streams that i like, joost chanels, etc, etc.

Is there a application or site that allows me to network with my folks exclusively on video recommendations so when i sit down for a meal (which is when i get my daily dose of news and video) i can switch on my online-tv and see what you folks have been recommending?

More than One - I am the two sides of my brain

This video starts of as a "normal" presentation of a neurologist but transforms into a furiously inspiring spiritual happening.... left-right, left-right, left-

Knowledge Entrepreneurship as Mindset for Leaders in Education

I will hold a talk at Stanford's School of Education this Wednesday. Here are the slides (which are a variation of my phd defense presentation):

| View | Upload your own

Wikipedia Game

(english below)

Eine praktische idee(1) fuer ein intelligentes (famielen)internet-lern-spiel:

jeder spieler sitzt an einem computer mit internet

ein "schiedsrichter" waehlt zwei worte z.b. erdnussbutter und alexander der grosse

das erste wort wird in wikipedia nachgeschlagen (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdnussbutter)

ziel des spieles ist es von erdnussbutter zu alexander der grosse (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_der_Grosse) zu kommen ohne die tastatur zu benutzen

man kann drei varianten spielen: a)wer als erster fertig ist (denke hier haben kids einen vorteil, da sie schneller klicken/sich besser zurechtfinden) oder b) wer mit weniger klicks hinkommt (ich erwarte die erwachsenen gewinnen da ein weiteres wissen bessere links ermoeglicht). Die dritte variante is nich ganz so funkey: wer schneller von der homepage zu einem wort findet.

logischerweise is die alfabetische listen verboten

als benchmark ich war beim 5ten klick und nach 4 min. beim alexander

Im englischen teil is noch ne variante

(1) ich hab mir das game nich ausgedacht sondern es von jemandem erzaehlt bekommen, weiss aber leider nich mehr von wem - naja jetzt hab ich kurz gegooglet und verschiedene englische sources gefunden

-----------------------
English

a first version (what i described in german above)
"Shaggy Hair was working on his chemistry homework and so [the wikipedia article on] "Chemical Sources" is traditionally the place where they begin. Then someone calls out a word or term or person, like "Bob Dylan," and they race to see who can get there first. The rule is you can't type anything; you can only click on links. And you can't go backwards." (blog link)

a second version:
"We invented a game where you try to find a certain item (for example, pancakes) the fastest, measured in either time or clicks. Here are the rules:

• You cannot edit any pages
• You must start from the home page (http://wikipedia.org/)
• You cannot type anything. Everything must be done via mouse clicks.
• You cannot use the categories, A-Z listings, etc

Here's a sample game, searching for "witchcraft."

Wikipedia > English Wikipedia > United States > Massachusetts > Salem > Salem Witch Trials > Witchcraft" (forum link)

Chilenian Communists & Cybernetitians invented another Internet in 1970

"Project Cybersyn was a Chilean attempt at real-time computer-controlled planned economy in the years 1970–1973 (during the government of president Salvador Allende). It was essentially a network of telex machines that linked factories with a single computer center in Santiago, which controlled them using principles of cybernetics. The principal architect of the system was British operations research scientist Stafford Beer." (wikipedia)

Check out the whole Wikipedia entry, and some chilenian activists prepared a pretty good website and an installation at the ZKM a great museum in Karlsruhe.

Open Source Mobile Phone Initiatives

I wrote a post about a couple of interesting initiatives working on open source mobile phone products & services. Read it @ the entrepreneurship.de blog (yes i will start to syndicate these posts soon ;-)

Larry Lessig for Congress

I just learned that Lawrence Lessig is considering to run for a seat in US congress and i call upon everybody to support his candidacy and help build the grassroots movement he proposes is necessary to CHANGE the way Washington works.

On the website http://lessig08.org/ there is a really good presentation about his stance & plans.

Entrepreneurship @ Stanford

I just published a post @ entrepreneurship.de listing all the interesting entrepreneurship activities i found here at stanford.

You find it @ labor.entrepreneurship.de/blog/entrepreneurship-stanford/

Igloo's are more difficult

so as promised, i went up to Tahoe this weekend to build and sleep in an igloo. Having done my homework and after the success with the snow cave i felt rather confident my buddy Sean and I would be able to build a luxurious igloo in his front yard.
Well - igloo's and esp. the statics of the dome proved to be much more difficult to build. After 4,5 hours of sweat and cold we had to acknowledge our defeat - - - for this time!

@ Ipernity I put up some pix; and to prove that we didn't turn too melancholic there is also some from the mountain we climbed the next day. Apparently the locals have made it a tradition to hang up their underwear to the summit flag pole - so did I ;-)

Future of the internet & social phsychology podcasts

Just came across two very good podcasts:

Ramesh Johari, assistant professor at Stanfords Engineering Department gives a highly recommened course entitled "The Future of the Internet". Considering the content of the course I dont like the title to much - he explains very well how the internet is working today and wants the students to think about questions regarding the future development of the internet. Naming issues apart, he gives a very interesting and insightful account about the internet's fundamental architecture and the inter-play of technology, policy and business in shaping this increasingly critical infrastructure. Especially lecture 3 on the economics of the internet (on the level of carriers and e.g. the niche that akamai was able to create) i felt was really good.

You can download all 6 lectures @ iTunes U and here are the lecture notes

------------------

At Berkeley's webcast series i discovered the Social Psychology class, which proves to be an excellent introduction to the field, allowing the learner to develop a good overview of the core concepts and the main academic protagonists in the very dynamic science.

Again all lectures are available from Berkeley or @ iTunes. The lecture notes and syllabus etc. are available here (this course will run until mid-june)

the future of charging your mobile divices

patrick just pointed me to www.wildcharge.com. they have a really powerful value proposition: charge your mobile devices - mp3-player, phone, laptop, etc. - without fuddling and plugging no wires. They are still in the "start-up" phase and dont have their product ready to be 100% satisfying but it is potentially a technology that we will all want to use - just like wireless internet.

In the year 2014 the New York times has gone offline

i have a really bussy day, but i have to share this. It's really really powerful fiction-future-forcast. (Allow the backdrop to develop in the first few minutes)

"Set in 2014 it charts the history of the Internet, the evolving mediascape and the way news and newspapers were affected by the growth in online news.

It coined the word "Googlezon" from a future merger of Google and Amazon to form the Google grid, and speaks of news wars with the Times becoming a print only paper for the elite culminating in EPIC Evolving Personalised Information Construct

As a flash animation, this film is extraordinary, not just for it's use of technology but for it's fantastic perception looking forward."

Epic 2015 (new updated version)
Click here to launch the new movie
Click here to launch the movie full screen

Finally, my first snow cave

Introduction
My friends and I first talked about sleeping in a snow cave about five years ago when we where ski-touring in Norway, and the idea of building and sleeping in such a traditional shelter has been with me ever since. On several occasions we discussed whether or not to do it and NOW with these 2meters of perfect snow in the Sierra Nevada I was finally mentally prepared to do it :-)

I first consulted some websites. Especially this, and this (good pix) and this one (scroll to bottom) were quite helpful.

Then i went to a close by outdoor shop and bought a cheap 32$ bivvy sack and a 6$ three square meter silver-foil to reflect my body heat (not sure i really needed the latter).

As my partner from last weekend had to work i decided to go by myself. Naturally I was a bit ambiguous about the whole project. Hell would i do when the cave collapsed? As always traffic was worse than expected and I got to the trailhead around 12.00. Luckily the 3 miles to the Peter Grubb hut (at Mount Castle near Lake Tahoe) next to which i planned to dig my cave were not too difficult and i got there by around 3.30 pm.

The Building Process
The websites had recommended to look for a small not to steep hill and build the cave on the lee side where the wind had transported the drifting snow. I had also read to take advantage of a tree if possible. So i chose my spot at the tree you see at the right.

I dug a pretty deep whole in order to have the necessary depth to setup the cold-trap (the entry tunnel needs to be lower than your "bed"). On the picture you see the entry as well as the tunnel photographed from the sleeping position.

















Things got a bit complicated once the horizontal entry tunnel was complete and i had to dig up vertically. I couldn't think of another way than to lay on my back, shove myself into the tunnel and work overhead -- with the result that a got my face etc. all wet from the falling snow. Once the tunnel was big enough for me to crawl into it things got gradually more comfortable. However the fact that i was by myself made the procedure more difficult as i had to gouge the "body" of the cave while constantly squeezing out to remove the snow from the entry hole.

The Night
The idea to build the cave next to the hut proved pretty clever, because all my cloth were completely wet after muddling through the wet snow for so long. I could have them dry in the hut, prepare a soup and some noodles and read a bit. At around 23.00 i prepared my gear: loaded the sleeping bag in the bivvy and filled the sleeping pad halfway with air. Then i went in my cave, spread the silver foil, draged the crash pad inside and filled it up. Last was the sleeping bag. Shit and the cave was full full full. But it was much too late for second thoughts. I got got rid of the outer shells of my ski boots (which was quite acrobatic given the tightness of the place) and climbed into my "bed" - not without reassuring myself that the shovel, which would allow me to dig myself out in case of an emergency, was right behind my head.

I fell to sleep without a problem, but kept waking up every two hours or so, because i couldn't really turn around, plus there were these ice water drops that interrupted my dreams. But overall it was pretty comfy and warm. In fact when i woke up at around 6.45 it was light already - a really awesome ice-blue light - and i decided to take another nap which lasted until almost nine o'clock when i rose out of my cave, completely relaxed and rested.

Reflections
The whole building procedure took me about 2 and 1/2 hours and i have to say there is plenty of room for improvement :-) Even though it did remember to smoothen the caves ceiling (this is supposed to make melted snow run down the side walls), i apparently wasn't thorough enough because i had small but constant amount of drops drip on me all night. Also my cave was really small. It would have been much more comfortable if i could have sat up. A bigger would have prevented me slowly sliding towards the tunnel also. Well next time. I am optimistic that from now on snow caves (and igloos) will - slowly but surely - become my specialty :-)

Serious Times

i just met my new back country skiing partner out here at Lake Tahoe (California). What a perfect day! We did Mount Tallac (see pic) which was a relaxed 4 hours up and probably the best adrenalin-rushed powder run i had in years :-) They have a solid layer of no less than 2m of perfect snow - hmmmmmmm

Anyways, I don't wanna bother you with my miserable life. Rather i have to share THIS ABLSOLUTELY BADASS VIDEO of a guy skiing-or-better-flying down the EIGER!! 

      

And while i am at it. LEt me recommend two other outstanding YouTubes:

The power of ten is an amazing visualization of perspective-us-and-the-universe:

And last but not least: An awesome animation about what cyberspace does to human verbal practices:

Virtual Xmas Mail

Hello friends & colleagues

It is slowly becoming a tradition that i send out an xmas/new year mail sharing some of what i consider exquisite brainfood i consumed during the last year. It is also become a tradition that this xmas mail comes substantially delayed, but i trust you are always prepared to receive gifts. I hope you find some bits of your taste. This year the menu contains:

1) Philosophy
2) Futurology
3) Techie (some applications i enjoy using)
4) Fabulous Flicks (movie recommendations)

Before the you unwrap the treats, allow me to give you a short update of the state of my life's venture:
In 2007 I finally managed to travel through Latin America. I backpacked Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. It was a bit of a rushed and schizophrenic trip, as i had only about 10 days per country and shifted between chilled backpacker and proper professional, because i realized about 20 job interviews along the way. Overall the trip was very successful; I know that, regarding professional opportunities, I like Ecuador best; I found plenty of good friends & professional contacts, and I verified that there are some wonderful mountains to be conquered e.g. the Alpa Mayo (5985m), which was the most amazing climb i have ever done in my life - just check out this picture of the 900m icewall before the peak :-) http://foros.construaprende.com/files/alpamayo_.jpg

Even more relevant to my paths progress, I got my PhD, published a small book on virtual worlds, and taught my first class in Philosophy of Technology. Everyone who is not put off by the bulky title: "Knowledge Entrepreneurship in Universities: Practice and Strategy in the Case of Internet based Innovation Appropriation" can quench his/her curiosity by watching the 42min. video of my defense @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB3nXTNRgPM&feature=user, or listen to the mp3/podcast download my intellectual offspring @ http://entrepreneur.jot.com (the new branded website is still under development @ www.knowledgeentrepreneur.com).
The book i wrote in collaboration with Thomas Stylewalker and Pit Bihr is dealing with virtual worlds and SecondLife in particular. It is available for purchase in spanish @ http://tinyurl.com/2d8h2k but you can access the english version as Open Educational Resource for free @ http://www.thewavingcat.com/virtual-worlds-book/ (there is also a free audio-book version of some parts).
Also in early 2007 I supported my friend David Casacuberta, who is professor at the Universitat Autonoma, in the design and conduct of an introductory course on Applied Philosophy / Philosophy of Technology with particular focus on ethical and meta-physical questions arising in Cyberspace. I found out I really like teaching. I made the typical mistake of believing the students found the matter as mindblowingly interesting as myself and are hence highly motivated to prepare the texts, contribute to forum discussions, collabowrite in a wiki. Well, I hope it only took me one class to remember what my strategy was for most of my early student life... Nevertheless it was good fun and in the long run I'd like to teach.

Last but not least i'd like to share the little i know about my future: I have accepted an invitation to go to Stanford University as a visiting scholar until end of July 2008. I have never been to California, but takin into account that i will have access to the lectures, library and scholars of one of the best univerrsities, that silicon valley with all its entrepreneurial energy is just around the corner, and that this area has some of the best climbs and backcountry skiing, i am optimistic i will not wither.

So without further delay, here is the best-of-max's-brainfood 2007:

PHILOPSOPHY
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JUSTICE vs. POWER: This is the most interesting youtube i have ever seen. When a friend of mine told me about a 12 min clip from the sixties where Noam Chomsky and Michelle Focault disputed the nature of justice versus power, i knew this would be fun, and indeed the SuperNerd and the SuperHomo say very interesting things in a funky way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUYsQR3Mes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXBfOxfmSDw&feature=related


BEING ONLINE: One constant theme in my meta-physical reflections treats the condition of Being online and the general question of what the Virtual is. A particularly well done 4.30 min multi-media clip has been produced at the university of kansas in a department that deals with digital etnography. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE



POLITICS & THINK TANKS & FUTUROLOGY
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When i traveled through Colombia i met with the director of the Latin American Office of www.crisisgroup.org. It turns out Crisis Group is a very well regarded group of political analysts (they have many ex-foreign ministers on their board), who write in depth and high quality countries reports. If you are traveling to a potentialy unstable country/region or if you just want to read a professional political analysis I highly recommend their reviews. E.g. for Venezuela the report gives you the history of how Chavez came to power and how the situation in the country develop since then.

I believe i recommended these before, but as I come across them as a source of super interesting material again and again...
The RAND corporation is a think tank that published quite famous future forecasts in the 60 where men live on the moon and under bubbles on in ground of the sea. Since then they have learned to be more cautious, but they still publish very insightful reports on a wide range of subjects, from child policy to military technology: www.rand.org/pubs/online/

One of the finds of 2008 is Ray Kurzweil. I posted a short piece on my blog when i read about his extremely optimistic view of the future ( http://maximiliansenges.blogspot.com/2007/06/bright-side-of-future.html) but the chap is really a jack of all trades, has about 12 PhDs and it is really fun and inspiring to browse his website www.kurzweilai.net/brain/

Another outstanding futurologist is Matthias Horx (http://www.horx.com/English/Home.aspx) he has a lot of very interesting analysis and prognosis to share, and - at least for me highly controversial - he is the contrary of an alarmist, basically saying we made a big fuzz about Waldsterben and that climate change will be, or at least can be tackled. On the one hand i agree that it is bad to loose hope&optimism and it's no use crying wolf all the time, but on the other i do see serious reasons to act more responsibly.


TECHIE
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http://www.yousendit.com/ - Send 100MB "attachments"
Wanna send your holliday fotos to you friends but your email account only allows 10MB attachments? This site allows you to send (upload) files up to 100MB and then sends a mail containing a download link to your friends.

http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2007/12/23/skype-for-interviews/
This little tutorial shows you how to feel what this web 2.0 thing is all about - you can learn how to produce professional radio interviews within half an hour. Let's see whether I get my first podcasts/interviews done in 2008 :-)

http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?flash=1
This is actually a tool recommended in the tutorial above, there are several tools that allow you to test your internet connection and find out what your download and upload seep really is.

FABULOUS FLICKS (Movies)
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Persepolis - an outstanding comic about a girl growing up the 80ies in a liberal family in iran (i really think this is a very suitable way to communicate modern values especially to muslim women, but no worries this comes implicit, in the forefront it is a very funny, intelligent and subliminally rebel movie) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/

Matchpoint - The best Woody Allan i have ever seen - not too funny but rather breathtaking - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416320/

Munich (München) - starts with shokin pictures from the real 1972 Palestinian Olymic Terror Act and then develops into a realistic and very exiting spy story - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408306/

Stranger than fiction - this is truly really and honestly very funny - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/

Against the Wall (Gegen die Wand) - a very good german road-movie style rough romance between german turks http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347048/

Last King of Scotland - young adventurous medic goes to uganda and become the personal physician of the charismatic maniac who is the president of the country - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/

The Serpent's Egg by Ingmar Bergman - I always sort of avoided Ingmar Bergman movies, because i figured they must be hyper-intellectual and mindful but boring - Well I was very wrong i saw a couple now and found them all entertaining and exciting. The serpents egg is the most thriller-like and definitely good psychological entertainment - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076686/


24 (second series) - it was the first series i watched in ages, and i got hooked with the first episode. it is a truly innovative format (you see 24 hours in 24 episodes, so the plot unfolds in real time) and they always manage the timing so that you end up longing for the next shot (i know its an old method, but i have never seen it so well done) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331

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Thats it for this year. I hope you found something you like, and that makes you get in touch with me so we dont loose sight! (Which is rather easy given that i am every-&no-where)

All the best & good vibes to you and your loved ones
Max


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"I am a wanderer and mountain-climber, said he to his heart. I love not the
plains, and it seemeth I cannot long sit still.

And whatever may still overtake me as fate and experience- a wandering will
be therein, and a mountain-climbing: in the end one experienceth only oneself."

(Friedrich Nietzsche, Also spoke Zarathustra)

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Dr. Max Senges
UOC Researcher & Freelance Consultant

maxsenges@gmail.com
www.maxsenges.com
http://entrepreneur.jot.com
https://www.openbc.com/hp/Max_Senges/
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Share - It's fair

The European Greens have once more won my support. Digital media and the internet make it possible not only to recommend, but to share content (links, but also movies and music). The global players of the industry haven't been able to come up with business models that exploit this ability to make perfect copies but are attempting to transpose the scarcity of the physical business ecosystem to cyberspace. They are criminalizing file sharing and compare it with stealing - but to make a copy is not stealing. I agree the discourse is controversial and both sides have to be heard, but the ideal way forward is to find new business models and this is what the European Greens are suggesting with their new campain: Share - It's fair.

A bold political move. Check it out @ www.iwouldntsteal.net/support.htm