|
Thoughts regarding the evolution of society, particularly changes brought about by technology.
|
Thursday
10/9/2008 3:55:12 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
The car is a good place to think, and I just came back from a nice holiday in Coromandel... so plenty of time to ponder.
One interesting set of reflections distilled rather like this;
All people want things. It's human to desire stuff, whether it's people, places, things... however we seem to go about getting it in different ways.
I reckon there are probably 4 rather discrete ways we go about it;
- Give up / don't even try. Obviously, not a very effective as a solution, but it is one reaction that people have to wanting something.
- Work hard, change yourself. Identify, learn, and train in better techniques that help you achieve your goals. Develop yourself. Personal initiative. Do it yourself.
- Hire someone. Find someone else to make it happen.
- The magic pill. We look for a simple, simple solution, like popping a pill
For the purposes of this discussion, we'll examine a few scenarios related to things we want.
- Health and fitness. And weight management.
- Money
- Sex and relationships
On to the examination...
|
|
|
|
Monday
5/19/2008 1:11:16 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
There are a lot of scams these days, and they get quite crafty in their mechanisms.
Most everyone I know has heard of Mr. Ziwami and his sudden influx of wealth (that he needs to transfer into your bank account, if you will only provide your account information and password...)
And most people are privvy to other email scams that disguise their emails as appearing from banks, or payment services such as PayPal, and ask you to log into their website to check your account. Their website (not being PayPal's) simply collects your login information, which they then use to go spend your money.
There are tons more.
So the question is, what's an unsuspecting, only mildly-technical consumer to do?
Education and warnings are always the answer, but these are poorly managed and not at all central. Since this is such a popular concern, I think that there is an opportunity to commercialize it as a TV show, maybe ScamBusters, or something.
The idea would be to collect real data on the most popular scams that are being perpetrated, and arm people with the basic knowledge, awareness, and skills needed to protect themselves.
For example, how to check and verify that your bank actually sent that email you've just received. And how to verify you're on the right site before typing in your username and password.
Or, if someone calls and says "I have your child, pay me $10000 immediately" (This is a common scam in Taiwan, they do not have your child). You can ask at least basic questions, like "what is my child's name?", or "what do they look like?".
With proper eduction, consumers could be not only far more defensively prepared, but also be able to report and help in the capture of scam artists.
|
|
|
|
Thursday
7/19/2007 7:04:43 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I've been wondering for some time about the complicated views that different cultures have of food. I have relatively little culture myself, having been born and raised as a highly sheltered American citizen.
But I do get around where friendships are concerned, and though I'm about to make a lot of broad cultural generalizations -- I've noticed some odd things. Like, for example;
|
|
|
|
Monday
6/26/2006 8:58:18 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
Fame is a strange mistress. Everyone wants her, and people will do most anything to hang around her, even off-in-the-corner-like.
But what is especially interesting is how the Internet and sites like YouTube are changing the ability of regular everyday Joes to become famous. Granted, some of them are just a girl and a camera, like filthy whore (nothing sexual beyond the name), or a guy and a camera (again, we can hope, nothing sexual, please).
But some of them are really creative;
|
|
|
|
Tuesday
7/5/2005 12:16:08 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
Earlier this year, an Indian teen staged his own kidnapping in hopes of collecting money to buy a newer mobile phone...
Sad, yes, but even more sadly, it's understandable. As technology becomes fashionable, and fashion remains a key to acceptance, the "minimum entry cost" of a basic social life will keep rising. And not only will the costs continue to rise, but the age of those affected will continue to drop.
|
|
|
|
Thursday
6/9/2005 5:31:42 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
There's a really fun movie called Interstate 60, which I rented quite accidentally from my local video store. It's a dry, well-scripted comedy with some excellent quotes delivered by Gary Oldman - who plays the role of a wise, witty, and supernaturally-gifted half-Leprechaun.
The flick has a lot of great quotes, unfortunately my favorite quote isn't listed in the IMBD. To paraphrase;
"For years, people who couldn't fit in with society; who didn't mesh with its values, or wouldn't abide by its rules, could always move somewhere new. This is the nature of human history; there has always been somewhere to go and forge a new way of life. Now, the whole world is populated, and there is no part without some form of governing law. What's a man to do?"
|
|
|
|
Tuesday
5/24/2005 7:37:04 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
Listening to more Chomsky today during work, and all sorts of interesting things bubbling in the back of my noggin. The particular item on the menu today was Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent, the DVD version, which primarily deals with the realities of modern media in the US (and other democratic societies) and why freedom of press is a myth.
It's a very interesting collection of speeches and debates; both interesting to watch and highly though-provoking.
The fundamental tenets can probably be summed up as follows;
- The press is not free, because it is a business. It primarily makes money not through subscriptions, but through advertising revenues. In order to capture and keep advertisers, it must tread lightly where news topics interfere with the interests of the advertisers.
- The largest media are the "agenda-setting" media, because they are the only ones with enough resources to cover news worldwide. Smaller media follow suit, inheriting news from places like AP Newswire and the NY times. The largest media are also the ones who are most directly subservient to the interests of big business, which are their advertisers and owners.
- Big businesses often profit from things that are not in the interests of the public, for example, environmental exploitation, or war, or anti-union legislation; therefore these and other topics which are in the publics interest cannot receive equitable coverage, as this would directly threaten the media's ability to keep customers, and ultimately, to survive.
Although none of this "command and control" style of domination is likely conspiratoral in nature (i.e. it is disorganized, uneven, inconsistent) is is powerful, effective and real nonetheless.
One of my own thoughts on this is that the anti-freedom model probably mirrors the freedom model in many ways. That is, fore each role you can identify in the free-press, there is likely an opposite role in the corporate-influenced commercial press.
In particular I've been considering the concept of the anti-activist; an individual whose role is to;
- Suppress the truth
- Introduce falsehoods as truths
In all but the rarest cases, these people are normal folks with normal jobs, whose role counteracts or marginalizes the role of those we would refer to as activists. For example;
- Tobacco advertisers v. anti-cancer advocates.
- McDonalds v. health and nutrition advocates.
- Manufacturing plant managers v. environmental advocates.
Sometimes these roles are very intense; the election team for a presidential candidate is hugely involved in manufacturing consent, the process of obtaining buy-in through a complex process of control, marginalizing the truth, presenting believable falsehoods, and so on.
|
|
|
|
Monday
2/21/2005 9:16:30 AM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I've begun to think that culture, as we know it, exists only as a result of relative social isolation. Japanese culture is distinct from Chinese, Thai, and Korean largely due to natural boundaries formed by oceans and mountains. This is largely the same in Europe. The Alps and waterways divide Europe into cultural regions quite directly. England is an island, with a unique culture. France and Italy are separated by water and the Alps and Pyrenees. Eastern European countries have a generally consistent enculturation.
|
|
|
|
Monday
2/21/2005 7:18:03 AM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I've just returned from seeing The House of Flying Daggers. This is the latest in the series of Hollywood-level fantasy martial arts movies that is produced in Hong Kong and released internationally.
It's very well done, certainly on par with most Hollywood productions. What strikes me as particularly interesting is the dramatic increase in frequency of these films. Starting perhaps with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (aka. Wo hu cang long, 2000), the most recent film of this type is Hero (Jet Li), another very well done film. The actual genre is often referred to as WuXia Pian, which translates as heroic chivalry, and all three of these movies carry the theme well.
|
|
|
|
Sunday
2/13/2005 8:51:29 AM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I've heard of "the social mind" before; which now has me considering whether there exists a "social attitude" and a "social mood". Last night I began watching Bowling for Columbine, a Michael Moore flick about violence in America, in comparison with violence elsewhere. One of the basic points of the movie seems to be that the level of violence in the US far exceeds that elsewhere, even in places with similar morals, values, laws, and even geography.
If the facts are right, the message seems to be that Americans are afraid. Of what? Well, everything. Being poor. Bankruptcy. Losing their jobs. House burning down. Missing out on life. Theft. Physical danger to their families. Losing face. Being rejected. Natural disaster. You name it.
Of course, in proper dosage, any fear probably has some valid roots and should have some amount of attention given. But it's a completely different thing when the fear is pervasive and controlling.
What could have caused this? For my generation (those born in the late 60's / early 70's), perhaps it's a result of living and growing up in a culture of fear during the US/Soviet cold war. You knew that at any moment, it could all be over -- that has to warp a mind. Maybe it's a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome that hasn't been discovered yet.
It could also be a result of the accumulation of wealth throughout the 80's. People have something to lose, and it's often wrapped up in physical, tangible assets that can be stolen, destroyed, or repossessed.
I don't know for sure... but I think there's a lot more to be discovered in this area. If societies have a mood or an attitude, the impact of that can be hugely wide-ranging with shockingly deep impact. Maybe society needs a psychiatrist, or at least a good counselor.
|
|
|
Friday
3/26/2004 8:31:06 AM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I've been pondering for some time now the future of computer gaming. As they become more realistic and the interface between the user and the game offers less resistance, an entire array of possibilities opens up.
It seems very likely that gaming technology will become an underlying facet of every major sport. Why? To name just a few reasons...
|
|
|
|
Wednesday
3/17/2004 2:27:32 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
Having consulted at Britannica for two years, these articles are an interesting reminder of the bubble and the longer-lasting consequences of technological innovation.
Also check out SlashDot.
|
|
|
|
Thursday
12/4/2003 5:57:40 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
For no reason, I happen to be watching VH1 right now, and just got a good laugh. VH1 likes to do specials on obscenely rich pop stars, and list their wealth, toys, friends, etc.
At the moment they're playing "The Fabulous Life of the Hilton Twins", two attractive 20-something blonde gals with the whole Hilton fortune at their disposal.
On a recent trip to Japan, they were (as expected) mobbed by adminiring fans and curious males...
What was particularly hilarious was the number of crowd-members you could see holding up their camera phones, using them to take pictures to send to their friends. Chicago must be a little behind the curve...
|
|
|
|
Thursday
12/4/2003 4:55:47 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I'm starting to get a little freaky-feeling about the massive technology-driven societal changes I'm starting to recognize. The good news is that the changes appear to be very positive, but they are so rapid and significant that the whole thing is a little fearsome.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday
9/30/2003 11:10:20 AM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I'm looking deeper, and seeing more signs that society is going through some fairly deep and radical changes.
For fun, I requested a movie called "Trekkies" from Netflix. It's... uhhhh... interesting.
|
|
|
|
Friday
9/26/2003 11:25:00 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
I'm checking out the Chicago EverQuest convention this weekend, as a "social observer" for my own personal interest. Basically, I wander around, check stuff out, strike up conversations, and learn what's going on.
This morning, I chatted with a young lady about the social aspects of the game--particularly the real-life relationships that result from online encounters.
It seems that there's a new piece of vocabulary that slipped in under my radar... "cybering-up" refers to the process of meeting someone online, and that relationship evolving into a real, off-line guy-girl dating relationship.
Wow. I've always seen changes in vocabulary as a huge indicator of societal change... after all if something is discussed frequently enough to require greater efficiency in the language, it's probably meaningful.
I plan to keep my eye on this... has anyone else seen terms like this?
|
|
|
|
Monday
9/22/2003 6:41:44 PM
(CST)
-
Michael Wells
Thought for the day... does society have a subconscious? Occasionally, we encounter things that can only be described as mass wierdness... the All Your Base example under "Funnies" is a great example, along with the 1962 outbreak of contagious laughter in Australia, which lasted six months.
|
Copyright © 2003-2010, Michael Wells. All Rights Reserved.
|