Jim Hamilton's Blog: My Jibber-Jabber, page 2
March 14, 2019
PI Day
In the midst of all of the special days that have been set aside, today is March 14th, or 3/14 ... the first three significant figures of the irrational number we call "PI".
Stretching from 3.1415926(...) to infinity, PI has been used in calculating mathematical quantities for more than two millennia. While PI may not make the World go 'round, it is handy when trying to determine how 'round the World is.
Happy PI Day!
Stretching from 3.1415926(...) to infinity, PI has been used in calculating mathematical quantities for more than two millennia. While PI may not make the World go 'round, it is handy when trying to determine how 'round the World is.
Happy PI Day!
March 12, 2019
I'm a Time Traveler
I happen to live in a part of the World that doesn't use Daylight Savings Time. This past Sunday morning, at 2:00 a.m. local, nearly everyone in North America lost sixty minutes when they set their clocks ahead by one hour.
Effectively, they jumped into the future leaving me behind in the past. In their frame of reference, a time like 2:30 a.m. never existed, but that time still occurred in my own timeline.
Relatively speaking, however, it could also be argued that they never jumped forward in time at all, but that I had somehow jumped backwards instead.
That would make me a Time Traveler, of course :)
The extra hour I gained, I'm sorry to say, has already been squandered on meaningless drivel :(
Effectively, they jumped into the future leaving me behind in the past. In their frame of reference, a time like 2:30 a.m. never existed, but that time still occurred in my own timeline.
Relatively speaking, however, it could also be argued that they never jumped forward in time at all, but that I had somehow jumped backwards instead.
That would make me a Time Traveler, of course :)
The extra hour I gained, I'm sorry to say, has already been squandered on meaningless drivel :(
March 5, 2019
World Wide Web
The Internet is connecting humans in ways that were never possible before. A network of near-instantaneous communication that provides a virtual fount of information for everyone. Unfortunately, it has also become a source of deception and lies, lending irony to the poetic phrase from Sir Walter Scott:
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!"
While he was referring to a different kind of web, the parallels are hard to ignore. Hundreds of years ago, it was common knowledge that a lie could travel far and wide before the truth left the starting blocks. Originally carried by word-of-mouth, the speed with which lies are spread was gradually accelerated by the invention of the printing press, the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, the Internet, and (currently) the smartphone.
Where, once upon a time, the arrival of new information was an infrequent event, it has become a non-stop tsunami that is nearly impossible to ignore. Every bit of it, of course, is of earth-shattering importance (otherwise it wouldn't get your attention). With 7-1/2 billion people in the World, there is always something truly bizarre happening somewhere to someone. And, if it's not really bizarre enough, well then, just make something up.
After all, no one can tell the difference anymore.
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!"
While he was referring to a different kind of web, the parallels are hard to ignore. Hundreds of years ago, it was common knowledge that a lie could travel far and wide before the truth left the starting blocks. Originally carried by word-of-mouth, the speed with which lies are spread was gradually accelerated by the invention of the printing press, the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, the Internet, and (currently) the smartphone.
Where, once upon a time, the arrival of new information was an infrequent event, it has become a non-stop tsunami that is nearly impossible to ignore. Every bit of it, of course, is of earth-shattering importance (otherwise it wouldn't get your attention). With 7-1/2 billion people in the World, there is always something truly bizarre happening somewhere to someone. And, if it's not really bizarre enough, well then, just make something up.
After all, no one can tell the difference anymore.
February 25, 2019
The Cure for #Ignorance
Merriam-Webster defines "ignorance" as "lack of knowledge." The corollary of this is that ignorance can be cured by acquiring said knowledge. With the advent of the Internet and smartphones, there is a plethora of information available to nearly everyone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, year-in and year-out. However, information is only data. It must be interpreted and understood before it becomes knowledge.
When I was growing up, there were certain facts that everyone knew. There were nine planets in the Solar System and the Universe was expanding at an ever-decreasing rate. Now I know that there are only eight planets and the Universe is actually expanding at an ever-increasing rate. Nothing has changed about the planets or the Universe, but opinion and astrophysics itself has changed its collective minds. The facts are immutable, but knowledge is not (unfortunately).
If you read or see something on the Internet, you may well accept it as "true" data and adopt this information as knowledge. Or you may regard it as "false" information and choose to ignore it. But how do you tell the true from the false? If there was a simple answer to this question, P.T. Barnum would have never been able to make a living.
We learn about reality in two basic ways. The first is through personal experience where we convince ourselves that a stove is hot and that we always fall down and not up. The only other way we learn is from others who share their knowledge with us. However, what they choose to present and how they present it, doesn't necessarily give us "true" knowledge, but simply their own interpretation of the facts as they currently know them. Not necessarily the truth, but their opinion.
The following is my own re-telling of a popular parable, The Blind Men and the Elephant.
A long time ago, along the side of a dusty road in India, sat six blind beggars. They would wait patiently until they heard someone approaching and then they would lift up their bowls with their pleas for alms. One day, they heard something different coming along. In addition to hearing the thudding steps of some great beast, they could feel the ground shake slightly beneath them.
"Who goes there?" asked one of the beggars.
"I am Paji," came the answer.
"What is that great beast that we can hear breathing before us?" asked another.
"That is an elephant," replied Paji. "I am its mahout."
"An elephant?" asked the first blind man.
"Yes," he answered. "I am taking it to its new owner."
"We've never heard of an elephant before," said the second beggar. "As you can see, we are all blind. Would you mind if we came forward and ran our hands over this elephant?"
"Yes," added another. "That way we can better understand what this creature is truly like."
"Not at all," smiled Paji. "He's about three paces in front of you."
The six beggars carefully placed their bowls behind them and stood up. Holding out their arms, they slowly approached the elephant.
The first blind man encountered the trunk of the elephant. As it squirmed in his grasp, he thought to himself, "It feels like a snake! An elephant is just like a snake!"
The second blind man found the tusk of the elephant and ran his hands down its smoothness. At the tip, he tested the point and pricked his thumb. "It's just like a spear!" he thought. "An elephant is like a spear!"
The third blind man reached out and grabbed the ear of the elephant. As it waved to-and-fro, he felt the breeze from it and thought, "This elephant is like a giant leaf or fan!"
The fourth beggar touched the side of the elephant. As he ran his hands up and down and left and right he could easily tell that it was like a wall.
The fifth blind man reached the hind leg of the elephant. As he ran his hands up and down the leg and then placed his arms around it, he thought, "This is just like a tree! An elephant is nothing more than a tree!"
The last of the beggars touched the tail and grasped it firmly in his hands. Feeling along its length, he knew that it was simply a rope. "An elephant is like a rope!" he grinned, knowingly.
They thanked the man and carefully retreated, feeling for their bowls. After a bit, they were once more rearranged along the side of the road and began to discuss the marvelous beast that each of them had just felt.
"It was like a snake!" said the first.
"No, it wasn't!" exclaimed the second. "It was like a spear, I tell you!"
The third laughed, "You're both wrong. It was a giant leaf-like fan!"
"The three of you are daft from the sun," disagreed the fourth. "I reached out in every direction and it was the same. No, an elephant is big and flat like a wall."
The fifth shook his head, "You need to stay away from the soma. That elephant was like a tree trunk. I put my arms halfway around it."
"You're all wrong," insisted the sixth. "It was a rope. How could you mistake a rope for a tree or a wall?"
Until their dying days, the six beggars argued over what an elephant looked like. Each of them had "learned" for themselves what it was like. Each of them knew that they were right and that the other five were clearly wrong.
If you want to believe that an elephant is a tree, you'll find people who agree with you and will go into great detail describing the tree. You'll also find a lot of people who keep insisting that it's a snake. Or a wall. But you don't believe them because you already want it to be like a tree. You don't really want to know a fact, you want your opinion to be the fact instead.
This is because we are not rational animals, but animals that can rationalize.
When I was growing up, there were certain facts that everyone knew. There were nine planets in the Solar System and the Universe was expanding at an ever-decreasing rate. Now I know that there are only eight planets and the Universe is actually expanding at an ever-increasing rate. Nothing has changed about the planets or the Universe, but opinion and astrophysics itself has changed its collective minds. The facts are immutable, but knowledge is not (unfortunately).
If you read or see something on the Internet, you may well accept it as "true" data and adopt this information as knowledge. Or you may regard it as "false" information and choose to ignore it. But how do you tell the true from the false? If there was a simple answer to this question, P.T. Barnum would have never been able to make a living.
We learn about reality in two basic ways. The first is through personal experience where we convince ourselves that a stove is hot and that we always fall down and not up. The only other way we learn is from others who share their knowledge with us. However, what they choose to present and how they present it, doesn't necessarily give us "true" knowledge, but simply their own interpretation of the facts as they currently know them. Not necessarily the truth, but their opinion.
The following is my own re-telling of a popular parable, The Blind Men and the Elephant.
A long time ago, along the side of a dusty road in India, sat six blind beggars. They would wait patiently until they heard someone approaching and then they would lift up their bowls with their pleas for alms. One day, they heard something different coming along. In addition to hearing the thudding steps of some great beast, they could feel the ground shake slightly beneath them.
"Who goes there?" asked one of the beggars.
"I am Paji," came the answer.
"What is that great beast that we can hear breathing before us?" asked another.
"That is an elephant," replied Paji. "I am its mahout."
"An elephant?" asked the first blind man.
"Yes," he answered. "I am taking it to its new owner."
"We've never heard of an elephant before," said the second beggar. "As you can see, we are all blind. Would you mind if we came forward and ran our hands over this elephant?"
"Yes," added another. "That way we can better understand what this creature is truly like."
"Not at all," smiled Paji. "He's about three paces in front of you."
The six beggars carefully placed their bowls behind them and stood up. Holding out their arms, they slowly approached the elephant.
The first blind man encountered the trunk of the elephant. As it squirmed in his grasp, he thought to himself, "It feels like a snake! An elephant is just like a snake!"
The second blind man found the tusk of the elephant and ran his hands down its smoothness. At the tip, he tested the point and pricked his thumb. "It's just like a spear!" he thought. "An elephant is like a spear!"
The third blind man reached out and grabbed the ear of the elephant. As it waved to-and-fro, he felt the breeze from it and thought, "This elephant is like a giant leaf or fan!"
The fourth beggar touched the side of the elephant. As he ran his hands up and down and left and right he could easily tell that it was like a wall.
The fifth blind man reached the hind leg of the elephant. As he ran his hands up and down the leg and then placed his arms around it, he thought, "This is just like a tree! An elephant is nothing more than a tree!"
The last of the beggars touched the tail and grasped it firmly in his hands. Feeling along its length, he knew that it was simply a rope. "An elephant is like a rope!" he grinned, knowingly.
They thanked the man and carefully retreated, feeling for their bowls. After a bit, they were once more rearranged along the side of the road and began to discuss the marvelous beast that each of them had just felt.
"It was like a snake!" said the first.
"No, it wasn't!" exclaimed the second. "It was like a spear, I tell you!"
The third laughed, "You're both wrong. It was a giant leaf-like fan!"
"The three of you are daft from the sun," disagreed the fourth. "I reached out in every direction and it was the same. No, an elephant is big and flat like a wall."
The fifth shook his head, "You need to stay away from the soma. That elephant was like a tree trunk. I put my arms halfway around it."
"You're all wrong," insisted the sixth. "It was a rope. How could you mistake a rope for a tree or a wall?"
Until their dying days, the six beggars argued over what an elephant looked like. Each of them had "learned" for themselves what it was like. Each of them knew that they were right and that the other five were clearly wrong.
If you want to believe that an elephant is a tree, you'll find people who agree with you and will go into great detail describing the tree. You'll also find a lot of people who keep insisting that it's a snake. Or a wall. But you don't believe them because you already want it to be like a tree. You don't really want to know a fact, you want your opinion to be the fact instead.
This is because we are not rational animals, but animals that can rationalize.
February 24, 2019
My Name is Jim and I'm a Luddite
When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them that I'm a Bit Mover. While this is generally met with a blank stare, it's as close as I can get to a simple answer. For fifty years now, I've been moving bits from one place to another. During that time, the basic process of moving these bits has hardly changed at all. However, their impact on society has caused a paradigm shift in our evolution as we transform from Homo sapiens into Homo iphonus.
But is this really a good thing?
Professionally, I work with some of the latest and greatest technology that is available. Personally, I tend to eschew any technological solution that already has a simple non-tech solution. For example, a light switch is a reliable and cheap means by which to turn a light on or off. It doesn't require a battery nor does it require a bluetooth or WiFi connection to function and a smartphone app to control everything. While I don't have a smartphone, I think that the ability to make a call from almost anywhere is a Good Thing and I use an old flip-style cell phone for that purpose. It doesn't have email, a browser, or any apps, but it doesn't track my location either. Call me paranoid, but I know first-hand what our new world of IoT is capable of doing and I worry about all of the information people inadvertently reveal about themselves. Or knowingly reveal, for that matter.
Like this blog, for example ;)
Ned Ludd wanted to tear down technology and stop it in its tracks. I have no such desire, but don't see any of this leading us to a Happy Ending. For several years now, we have been migrating our collective lives into The Cloud; when it all evaporates, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth (plus a lot of other sh*t going down, as well).
And the paranoid part of me keeps whispering, "It's not a matter of if, but only a matter of when."
But is this really a good thing?
Professionally, I work with some of the latest and greatest technology that is available. Personally, I tend to eschew any technological solution that already has a simple non-tech solution. For example, a light switch is a reliable and cheap means by which to turn a light on or off. It doesn't require a battery nor does it require a bluetooth or WiFi connection to function and a smartphone app to control everything. While I don't have a smartphone, I think that the ability to make a call from almost anywhere is a Good Thing and I use an old flip-style cell phone for that purpose. It doesn't have email, a browser, or any apps, but it doesn't track my location either. Call me paranoid, but I know first-hand what our new world of IoT is capable of doing and I worry about all of the information people inadvertently reveal about themselves. Or knowingly reveal, for that matter.
Like this blog, for example ;)
Ned Ludd wanted to tear down technology and stop it in its tracks. I have no such desire, but don't see any of this leading us to a Happy Ending. For several years now, we have been migrating our collective lives into The Cloud; when it all evaporates, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth (plus a lot of other sh*t going down, as well).
And the paranoid part of me keeps whispering, "It's not a matter of if, but only a matter of when."
February 19, 2019
Once Upon a Forum
A few weeks ago, I was cleaning out some old files and came across something I had written 23 years ago. It was a (very) short story that I had written in an Internet forum for Valentine's Day. The story was written under the moniker of Aqualung, a name I used on-line until about 2012, when I was effectively outed by Google.
Author : Aqualung <76766>
Category: Aqualung <76>
Subject : A Valentine's Day Story
Written : 02/14/96.09:39am
It looked just like a hand grenade, except larger. I found it while digging in the field behind my house and I carried it inside and scrubbed away as much of the dirt and grime as I could. Underneath all of the crud was a shiny oblate spheroid covered with esoteric markings. I'm not exactly sure why, but I knew it was old. Very old. It had that feel about it that old things have. How old, I had no idea. Maybe ancient.
It sat on the counter for more than a week. Every so often, I would pick it up and stare at it and turn it over and over in my hands trying to make some sense of it. The pin with the ring sticking out of the top bothered me. I wanted to pull it out and see what would happen, but I was afraid to. Yet I couldn't help wondering what would happen if I did. And I also knew I would eventually do so. Because I'm like that. Curiosity killed the cat. I knew that someday it would kill me.
I took the shining orb and drove west into the desert. On up into the hills until I could go no further. And then I climbed and climbed until I was atop the highest peak. I sat for a long, long time with the orb (I had been calling it that for some time now) nestled in my lap, my fingers caressing the ring, knowing what I was going to do. And finally I couldn't resist the urge anymore ... I tugged on the ring and the pin slid smoothly from its socket.
The resultant flash radiated outward at the speed of light. For thousands of miles, people were drenched in a rainbow of colors. Photons of every frequency of the electromagnetic spectra saturated the entire planet and spread onward to eventually illuminate the entire universe at the end of time. And the look of surprise that was frozen on the peoples faces slowly turned to wonder. And they stared at one another with a new understanding and insight. And the looks of wonder became smiles of joy.
It was a love bomb ...
Coming across this relic from my past gave me the idea of another short story, but with a different sort of love bomb. (i.e., The Conqueror, in case you somehow missed my previous mentions).
Author : Aqualung <76766>
Category: Aqualung <76>
Subject : A Valentine's Day Story
Written : 02/14/96.09:39am
It looked just like a hand grenade, except larger. I found it while digging in the field behind my house and I carried it inside and scrubbed away as much of the dirt and grime as I could. Underneath all of the crud was a shiny oblate spheroid covered with esoteric markings. I'm not exactly sure why, but I knew it was old. Very old. It had that feel about it that old things have. How old, I had no idea. Maybe ancient.
It sat on the counter for more than a week. Every so often, I would pick it up and stare at it and turn it over and over in my hands trying to make some sense of it. The pin with the ring sticking out of the top bothered me. I wanted to pull it out and see what would happen, but I was afraid to. Yet I couldn't help wondering what would happen if I did. And I also knew I would eventually do so. Because I'm like that. Curiosity killed the cat. I knew that someday it would kill me.
I took the shining orb and drove west into the desert. On up into the hills until I could go no further. And then I climbed and climbed until I was atop the highest peak. I sat for a long, long time with the orb (I had been calling it that for some time now) nestled in my lap, my fingers caressing the ring, knowing what I was going to do. And finally I couldn't resist the urge anymore ... I tugged on the ring and the pin slid smoothly from its socket.
The resultant flash radiated outward at the speed of light. For thousands of miles, people were drenched in a rainbow of colors. Photons of every frequency of the electromagnetic spectra saturated the entire planet and spread onward to eventually illuminate the entire universe at the end of time. And the look of surprise that was frozen on the peoples faces slowly turned to wonder. And they stared at one another with a new understanding and insight. And the looks of wonder became smiles of joy.
It was a love bomb ...
Coming across this relic from my past gave me the idea of another short story, but with a different sort of love bomb. (i.e., The Conqueror, in case you somehow missed my previous mentions).
February 18, 2019
We're Drowning in Drivel
Nearly sixty years ago, Newton Minow, the newly-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), had this to say about the state of commercial television:
You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials — many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you’ll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it.
That was May 9, 1961, when there were only three TV channels (ABC, CBS, and NBC) and no cable. Today there are a billion of channel-equivalents to choose from. There is plenty of quality entertainment available to almost anyone with a cell or Internet connection, but it is only a tiny signal that is lost in the background of white noise.
Roughly 30% of the planet is now interconnected in a way that has never been possible before. In 1991, there was only one website. Today there are over one billion of them. Most of them are totally irrelevant, misleading, time-consuming, but often entertaining. With one internet site for every seven people, we are drowning in drivel.
On May 10, 1996, Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey connected two Macs through the Internet and conducted a coast-to-coast video chat. They marveled at the plethora of possibilities that this new technology would bring and how it would forever change the world for the betterment of everyone. Kesey noted, "All of this equipment is allowing us to get out from under the thumb of the major broadcasting companies and build our own audience."
Leary agreed, "Empowering the ten-year-old kid. The ten-year-old kid has got the equipment of a network now." Leary predicted that one day, "Everybody would have the capacity to be in everybody's ear." Twenty days later, he passed away, believing in a modern utopia that would be forged from technology.
Timothy Leary's wish for ubiquitous communications has finally come to pass. Unfortunately, the utopia that he envisioned has not; the interconnectivity of one-third of the planet has spawned something else entirely: a modern Tower of Babel.
You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials — many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you’ll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it.
That was May 9, 1961, when there were only three TV channels (ABC, CBS, and NBC) and no cable. Today there are a billion of channel-equivalents to choose from. There is plenty of quality entertainment available to almost anyone with a cell or Internet connection, but it is only a tiny signal that is lost in the background of white noise.
Roughly 30% of the planet is now interconnected in a way that has never been possible before. In 1991, there was only one website. Today there are over one billion of them. Most of them are totally irrelevant, misleading, time-consuming, but often entertaining. With one internet site for every seven people, we are drowning in drivel.
On May 10, 1996, Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey connected two Macs through the Internet and conducted a coast-to-coast video chat. They marveled at the plethora of possibilities that this new technology would bring and how it would forever change the world for the betterment of everyone. Kesey noted, "All of this equipment is allowing us to get out from under the thumb of the major broadcasting companies and build our own audience."
Leary agreed, "Empowering the ten-year-old kid. The ten-year-old kid has got the equipment of a network now." Leary predicted that one day, "Everybody would have the capacity to be in everybody's ear." Twenty days later, he passed away, believing in a modern utopia that would be forged from technology.
Timothy Leary's wish for ubiquitous communications has finally come to pass. Unfortunately, the utopia that he envisioned has not; the interconnectivity of one-third of the planet has spawned something else entirely: a modern Tower of Babel.
February 16, 2019
Operator Error
I had intended to push out The Conqueror as a free Valentine's gift (it was a lot cheaper than buying cards or candy). Last night I dressed it up a bit and uploaded it to Amazon, enrolling it in Kindle Unlimited so that KU subscribers could get it for free. However, some time later, I belatedly recalled that the KU agreement restricts me from placing a copy anywhere else in digital form.
Once enrolled in KU, you normally have to wait until 90 days before you can un-enroll. As I fretted over how to remedy my faux pas, made more complicated by the numerous links I had already posted all over the place, I quickly replaced the web version with an apology of sorts. But I was still mentally kicking myself for my decision to go with Kindle Unlimited :(
However, a little bit ago, I also remembered that I could cancel the enrollment within 24 hours and I was relieved to find that I was still able to do so. So the PDF version (all dressed up as well), is once more available for free with no restrictions :)
So now there is The Conqueror (PDF) and The Conqueror (Kindle) available for reading.
Sigh ... so much ado about nothing.
Once enrolled in KU, you normally have to wait until 90 days before you can un-enroll. As I fretted over how to remedy my faux pas, made more complicated by the numerous links I had already posted all over the place, I quickly replaced the web version with an apology of sorts. But I was still mentally kicking myself for my decision to go with Kindle Unlimited :(
However, a little bit ago, I also remembered that I could cancel the enrollment within 24 hours and I was relieved to find that I was still able to do so. So the PDF version (all dressed up as well), is once more available for free with no restrictions :)
So now there is The Conqueror (PDF) and The Conqueror (Kindle) available for reading.
Sigh ... so much ado about nothing.
February 15, 2019
T.G.I.F.
I enjoy my day job, but there are some weeks that are rougher than others. Monday is Presidents Day in the United States and I happen to be employed by an organization that recognizes it as a holiday ... so this will be a three-day weekend for me :)
Yesterday, I tried to give away as many copies of The Conqueror as I could for Valentine's Day. I had a lot of fun writing it and was pleased with some of the responses I got:
"Very cool story!"
"Liked it, thanks. Needed some hope today."
"Since it was Valentine's Day, I was expecting a positive turn. I was not disappointed."
"Aww, cute story! I really like it. The world could really use a love bomb right about now."
Although its timeliness has passed (at least until next year), I plan on leaving it on the web for the foreseeable future. It's a ten-minute read, so download a copy or read it in your browser. Who knows? It might even cheer you up ;)
Yesterday, I tried to give away as many copies of The Conqueror as I could for Valentine's Day. I had a lot of fun writing it and was pleased with some of the responses I got:
"Very cool story!"
"Liked it, thanks. Needed some hope today."
"Since it was Valentine's Day, I was expecting a positive turn. I was not disappointed."
"Aww, cute story! I really like it. The world could really use a love bomb right about now."
Although its timeliness has passed (at least until next year), I plan on leaving it on the web for the foreseeable future. It's a ten-minute read, so download a copy or read it in your browser. Who knows? It might even cheer you up ;)
