From Daniel Dennett, author of Consciousness Explained and Darwin’s Dangerous Idea on libraries and scholarship.
“A scholar is a library’s way of making another library.”
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Response to comment from 01/16
From Bill: “to say that computers are tools for the analysis of networks is completely ignoring the study of sociology, which developed the idea of a social network long before TCP/IP was invented.”
This is certainly correct. However, we should also keep in mind that computer networks allow for very different interactions between people than traditional sociology was used to (they are certainly catching up). Ubiquitous computing, as Howard Rheingold has written copiously about, changes everything about social networking.
I would also argue, from a philosophical point of view, that it is entirely possible that there are properties that will arise from ubiquitous computing and always on networks that we do not, as yet, have a grasp of, and that may be completely seperate from the study of the people USING the network. The network ITSELF maybe have emergent properties, and sociology is poorly placed in the academy to talk intelligently about communication theory outside of that done by people.
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TARHEELS WIN!
Well…just about the best game I’ve ever seen, and definitely the best I’ve ever seen in person.
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Interesting thought for the day
I’m in the middle of reading a book that I rescued from ALA Midwinter titled The New Humanists, and came across the most lovely description of what computer science should be…I haven’t tracked down the exactly quote yet, so no attribution, but I wanted to get this blogged before I forgot it. The sentiment was, essentially, that we should come to realize that much like cosmology is the study of the cosmos and uses tools like optical and radio telescopes, computer science should realize that the study of computers should use computers as tools, and study the interaction and supervenient properties that emerge within computer networks. Computer = tool. Network = interesting. Properties of complex communication networks = most interesting.
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Check out the pictures
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I call this: “Triptych on ALA Midwinter”
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123 Lantern Way
January 9th, 2003 |
Chicago O’Hare Airport |
Coronado Beach, California
January 13th, 2003 |
Still early, but I’ve already been over to the Job Placement Center. Score was 78342695 public libraries from California, useful job information, 0. But it was good to see…people keep telling me that the center at Annual is much better and more useful, but it’s in June, in Orlando, and I’m just not sure I’m going to be up for it. But we’ll see.
Blogging this time from the 2nd floor of the Convention Center, at the Canon Internet Cafe. Free access for Con goers, but the line is 20 minutes long. So I’m gonna head out, and let someone else have the seat.
Miss everyone, and I’ll be back soon! (Love ya, Bets!)
Cooler, but still over 50 degrees F. Took time today to go to the San Diego Zoo; fabulous photos to follow upon return to safe haven. Blogging from Internet Terminal in Hostel, very interesting interface and technology, but it works.
Tomorrow = ALA Placement Services to attempt to discover new and wonderful jobs that haven’t come to my attention yet, another session or two to attempt to network like mad, and the Exhibition Hall to attempt to get as much free shit as possible. Details when available.
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Bloggin’ from San Diego
Hey gang! Just a quick note from sunny SoCal for you. Just finishing up the day here…lots of good stuff. Mostly, the weather. For those of you caught in the chill, it’s 70 and sunny here. Just beautiful.
Overall, lots of good sessions at the conference. Got my fingers into the “Info Commons” discussion today, which was good. Other than that, just enjoying the fine company.
Oh, and doing a LOT of making fun of librarians. Jeez, you’ve never seen so many cardigans in your LIFE!
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On the way to sunny SoCal
Ok guys, I’ll be off tomorrow morning for San Diego for the ALA Midwinter meeting. Expect updates from the convention floor, and pictures when I return. I plan on taking lots of photos (would photoblog if there was going to be 802.11 access on the con floor), and I’ll throw them up when I return.
See you all next week!