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July 25, 2004
书写与权力
"书写是一种奇怪的发明，给人类的生存条件带来了极重大的改变，而且是智识性质的重大改变。
拥有书写文字以后，大大增加了人类保存知识的能力。书写文字可以说是一种人工记忆，书写文字的发展应该是使人类对自己的过去有更清晰的意识，因此而大大增加人类组织安排目前和未来的能力。"
有些人群有书写文字，而有些没有。前者能够积累过去的成就，而以更快的速度来达成他们给自己订下的目标；而后者由于无法记得个人有限的记忆能力所能记住的那点过去，似乎不免被局限于一个起伏不定的历史里面。那样的历史既没有一个开始，也不会有任何长久存在于意识之中的目标。
书写文字是近代科学文明发展的必要条件。
代书对书写文字的知识带给他权力，结果是同一个人常常既是代书又是放贷者；这不仅是因为放贷者需要能读能写才能做其生意，而是因为代书这样的人，正好在两个层面上都可以掌握别人。
书写的通讯方式的主要功能是帮助进行奴役。把书写文字用作不关切身利益的工具，用作智识及美学上的快感的源泉等等，是次要的结果，而这些次要的功能常常被用来作为强化、合理化和遮掩进行奴役那项主要功能。
Posted by Xiao at 10:20 PM | TrackBack
July 24, 2004
Syndication
There are many interpretations for RSS, this one is from the Essential Blogging
Rich Site Summary (RSS) is a data format that allows computers to exchange files containing summaries of stories. Each story typically has a title, location, and possibly a brief synopsis. RSS is extremely simple, and is expressed using standards-defined Extensible Markup Language (XML). Thousands of blogs and other web sites all over the Net produce RSS files describing their content.
The cool thing about RSS is that it's easy to write a program to produce or manipulate the data in an RSS document. RSS is so simple to generate and manipulate that hundreds of programmers have written tools to exploit the thousands of RSS feeds on the Internet.
Posted by Xiao at 09:51 AM | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
The integration of different modes of communication
Soon it will be an interactive network. The formation of a hypertext and a meta-language which, for the first time in history, integrate into the same sytem the written, oral, and audio-visual modalities of human communication.
As Postman writes, " we do not see... reality... as 'it' is, but as our languages are. And our languages are our media. Our media are our metaphors. our metaphors create the content of our culture. "
Because culture is mediated and enacted through communication, culture themselves- that is, our historically produced systems of beliefs and codes-become fundamentally transformed, and will be more so over time, by the new technology system.
--Castells, "The Rise of the Networked Society", p357
Posted by Xiao at 09:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 16, 2004
芙蓉楼送辛渐
寒雨连江夜入吴
平明送客楚山孤
洛阳亲友若相问
一片冰心在玉壶
（王昌龄）
Posted by Xiao at 10:22 PM | TrackBack
July 15, 2004
从二十九街到杰克伦敦广场
松树和椰子树
再次远航之前
Posted by Xiao at 02:45 PM | TrackBack
July 14, 2004
Meeting Jack
You walked to Jack, who was sitting at the side chair during the reception. A drink in hand, he might be just wondering why he came to here this weekend. Then you started talking to each other. Augmented Storytelling is what he told you, and more next day.
He passed this article to you. How did he know?
"I just guessed," Jack said with a smile.
Posted by Xiao at 10:26 PM | TrackBack
Knowledge Networks as CAS
In knowledge networks that are formed on the basis of social networks for generating and sharing knowledge, there are two types of components in the system that exhibit autocatalysis, the knowledge per se and the people.
---Monge & Contractor p95
Human cognizance plays a key role in the creation of new knowledge. Through complicated cognitive process, new knowledge can be generated by the accumulation of new information and integration with preexisting knowledge. The social network is self-generative in that the charisma or reputation of a person can by itself serve as a strong magnet to attract more participation to the network.
Posted by Xiao at 10:15 PM | TrackBack
July 13, 2004
This Land
"This land is your land
This land is my land
from California
to the New York islands......"
If you like political cartoons
you should not miss "This Land"
Posted by Xiao at 05:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Naan & Curry
Late lunch in Naan & Curry.
Waiters were busy there.
Posted by Xiao at 04:17 PM | TrackBack
Segway的微笑
Segway的微笑＝对新奇的惊喜＋对如意控制的满足
G4, 人工生命，硌矶山研究所，TED......新的联结会不断发现，不过这些都是“识”后的认证罢了。
（奥克拉荷马最老的餐馆只有三十五年？！）
对师与识者，总是心怀感激。
Posted by Xiao at 07:59 AM | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
夜航
一九八九年春假，夜车去底特律。在塔里静坐，等待法国，西班牙和玻利维亚的“援军”。你当时不会预见，多伦多美术博物馆那明亮的一刻。
第五次是夜航，起点不同，中转站一样。
Posted by Xiao at 06:07 PM | TrackBack
July 07, 2004
Our gaze
Peter Monge, Theory of Communication Networks, p4
What is unfolding before our collective gaze is being driven by spectacular advances and convergences in computer and communication technology and by the collective economic, political, societal, cultural, and communicative process collectively known as globalization.
......Globalization process are fundamentally altering our perceptions of time and space. Harvey (1989) points to space-time compression where both time and space collapse on each other as instantaneous communication obliterates the time it takes for messages to travel space.
Posted by Xiao at 06:52 PM | TrackBack
July 05, 2004
Ano Nueva
Flying Seagulls
Calm Pond
Shape of Waves and
A man on the street of Santa Cruz