An Experiment in the “Creativity of Crowds”
Evil Mad Science “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” - Linus Pauling. Consider the Open Source model for software, where long-distance collaboration produces innovative,...
View ArticleSocial Media, the Military, and the Public Sphere(s)
FilmMaker Magazine from the 1956 Albert Lamorisse film “The Red Balloon.” No birthday party is complete without balloons. In honor of the Internet’s 40th birthday, the U.S. Defense Department’s...
View ArticleVisualizing World Opinion: US State Department Launches Global Experiment in...
New Scientist Visualizing Remoteness This map visualizes global connectivity: the color of each point is based on ground travel time to the nearest city of 50,000 or more. It was created in 2009 by...
View ArticleTipping Points
Joe Goode Performance Group “Traveling Light” by the Joe Goode Performance Group at the Old SF Mint downtown is a haunting and taunt dance performance about the American Economy where the audience is...
View ArticleHand Made
strictlysocial As we celebrate love and freedom over Valentine’s Day and Egypt’s astounding technology-assisted independence, we may want to consider the Huxleian bargains we’ve made: “We’re so...
View ArticleWhy is this night different than all other nights?
Because on this night we eat matzoh. Why? Because we were slaves in Egypt. What’s a slave? A person who isn’t free. What’s freedom? The right to act, speak, or think as one wants: The right to ask...
View ArticleRobotics 2.0
Over the past 50 years, robots have revolutionized industry based on the idea of robots replacing humans. On Friday, President Obama announced a new philosophy. Intuitive Surgical Robots An example of...
View ArticleWhat Questions Should Americans be Asking about the US Budget?
UC Berkeley Free Speech Movement, 1964 “The wise man questions the wisdom of other because he questions his own.” – Leo Stein Our art installation at the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum...
View ArticleAfrica’s Role in Robotics
I’m convinced Africa is going to play a key role in advancing information technologies. I just returned from a visit to Ghana, where I met with faculty and students at Ashesi University, the Kwame...
View ArticleAnsel Adams: Picturing California’s Future
Everyone knows Ansel Adams’ photos of Yosemite. But I’d never heard of Fiat Lux, a set of over 6,700 Ansel Adams photographs of the University of California that constitute his second largest body of...
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