David Weinberger

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 4 days ago
It must be puzzling to McCain supporters why Obamites have seized on McCain’s statement, ‘”You know who voted for it? You might never know! That one.” I’m not sure why it strikes me as particularly revelatory. But it does. It was the epitome of finger-pointing, of course. But it also seemed to express McCain’s peevishness that his accusations aren’t sticking. “I’ve been telling you over and over that this guy is no good, but no one is listening. People keep attacking me, but he’s the one, not me.” And, of course, we Obamacists heard it in the context of McCain’s unwillingness to look Obama in the eye. Last night, he couldn’t say his name. I can only assume that McCain is genuinely dismayed that someone with so little experience may deprive him of the narrative he’s been yearning to complete: POW to Senator who embodies the lessons he learned (love democracy, recognize who your real enemies are, treat everyone else with respect) to President. But fate has put an unworthy opponent across from him. In my unsupported view, McCain honestly thought that in choosing Palin, he was choosing the equivalent of Obama: Young, fresh, inexperienced, likable, glamorous. And McCain can’t stand it. He can’t look at the charming poser lest he himself fall under his spell, and he can’t even say his name. It’s not simple contempt for Obama. It’s fury that his narrative his been interrupted…and, one must conclude, contempt for the country of fools who prefe ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 4 hours ago
Computers make crossword puzzles slightly easier, but they make acrostics do-able. Paper-based acrostics are as much fun as re-sorting pied type. Plus, since most of the fun of an acrostic is seeing sense emerge from mere letters, like ships resolving out of fog, solving them electronically removes the penalty for wrong intuitions. And, for me, and I guess for most who indulge in the occasional acrostic, the fun part is watching your brain see words that your reason entirely missed. It feels as if an alien is speaking through you, although the alien is really just the history of your species’ evolution. Acrostics already pose arbitrary degrees of difficulty on their creators: The quotation has to be broken into words, the first letters of which spell out the author’s name and the book’s title. Today’s NY Times acrostic (which they charge for) sets itself an additional challenge: Most of the definitions have some maritime theme, so presumably the quotation will, too. Now, back to the puzzle! [Tags: puzzles acrostics ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 4 hours ago
Alec MacGillis at the Washington Post has a terrific, detailed look at Obama’s huge and innovative ground organization . It’s a fascinating mix of decentralization and centralized message control, and of face-to-face and Net-mediated communication. [Tags: politics obama e-politics ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 7 days ago
Often, on the back of a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign is a ‘Make Up My Room Now’ message of some sort. But, now matter how they phrase it, isn’t it the same as an “I’m Out, So This Would Be a Good to Rob Me, Especially If You Are Squeamish about Violence” sign? ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 4 days ago
Joi Ito is giving a talk at a Copenhagen media conference. He says that he wants to show us the world the way it looks to an “Internet geek.” [ Note: I'm live-blogging, and poorly. Full of mistakes and omissions. ] Way back when, it was difficult to connect computers. Then we got Ethernet, then TCP/IP, and then HTTP (the Web). These new layers allow participation without permission. The cost of sending information and the cost of innovation have gone down (because the cost of failure has gone down). Now we’re getting another layer: Creative Commons. “By standardizing and simplifying the legal layer … I think we will lower the costs and create another explosion of innovation.” Most innovation on the Net comes about through small projects with lots of connections. E.g., Google could start up for a few thousands dollars without having to get bilateral agreements with countries, etc. Europe is getting more innovative because it’s easier to pull together the pieces and easier to participate in the worldwide conversation. Now we have to figure out how to let amateur innovation into the system. Distribution used to be the biggest problem. Experts went into distribution. Now we’re in danger of losing that expertise. Bloggers can’t fly into distant places to do a story, and can’t protect themselves from libel suits. We need to stop fighting with one another and find a way for these professionals to survive. Joi gives a subset of Larry Lessig’s ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 4 hours ago
Clicking on my Applications folder crashes Finder every time. I have: Nuked the finder plist. Nuked Library/Caches. Nuked the folder’s .DS_Store. Repaired permissions. Used Drive Magician to check the hard drive. Did a fsck. Entered single-user mode and watched it hang as I tried to access that folder via the command line. Nothing worked. So I reinstalled OS X, using the “archive” option, which put my old installation into a folder. The Application folder within the archive still crashes Finder. This is a pain in the butt because it means I can’t transfer my old apps into my new Applications folder. Plus, I’m really curious about what’s going on. Any ideas? [Tags: mac os_x ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 2 days ago
Behind the scenes with the Obamas: [Tags: obama politics ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 15 days ago
The Washington Post has a nice set of interactive features for “decoding” the debates . You know what would be even better? The open access Larry Lessig and a left-right coalition is calling for. [Tags: debates e-democracy politics everything_is_miscellaneous ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 17 days ago
Here’s an idea I’m taking from a mailing list. I’ll check with the guy who posted it [Later: It was John Laprise] to see if I can credit him, but I’m sure he’s ok with the idea itself being circulated: Obama ought to counter-propose that instead of postponing the debate, it ought to be changed to a debate on the economy, and opened up to public questions, as a way for the candidates to address the concerns of citizens. Nice idea. [Tags: obama debates mccain politics ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 12 days ago
Sounds at the end like the room may be laughing at the reporter… [Tags: politics media obama mccain fox_news ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 15 days ago
I hope every independent voter watches the ad the McCain campaign released even before the last radio waves of the debate escaped earth orbit: So, McCain believes in crossing partisan lines, but when his opponent agrees with him, he takes it as a sign of weakness. Wow. Obama could not be more clear or explicit about what he thinks leadership is and the way forward for this country: Find common ground, discuss the differences. McCain couldn’t even look at Obama, much less acknowledge the values they share as Americans. My hat is off to Jim Lehrer. Well done! [Tags: politics mccain obama debate ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 38 days ago
(From my Blackberry. Pls forgive the typos and abbrevs.) I watched the Rep conv from my hotel room in Norway. It was 4:30 am when Polin came on. I saw ten mins, enough to see that she’d become a cultural stand-in. She is now not what she is but a symbol in our ugly, perpetual cultural war. (As Jay Rosen has said.) Then I had to get into a cab, so I watched the rest via twitter on my phone. Fascinating. A play that consisted solely of reactions. The O fans were reacting to her content, as if this weren’t about the Reps hatred of the media and distrust of intellectuals. (And, yes, I believe there’s some racial stuff going on as well, at the archetpal level. What do I mean? Even if I knew, I couldn’t type it on a bberry.) I experienced the conv in another alienated way: Among Europeans, to whom SP looks like the ultimate US joke on itself. We make a B movie star into a prez, and now we tell ourselves that absolutely anyone can be president. You’re a model citizen? Great, go bring peace to the Mideast. Oh, and here are the launch keys. But I hope the O campaign continues to steer clear of attacks on SP. That’s the cultural war game the Reps are playing. Instead point out that the Rep ticket is now more conservative than Bush or Goldwater. Stick to the issues. Let the bloggers surface the cracks in SP’s pose… Well, I guess I’ll press the Send button, athough a jetlagged, frightened person typing on a bberry should never be allowed to post… ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 17 days ago
Here ’s a sweet photo of Obama. [Tags: obama fanboy ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 17 days ago
On Friday at 9pm EDT (-5 GMT), if you want to talk, cheer, and snark together about the debate, feel free to join irc.freenode.net/#debatejoho. We had lively and enjoyable chat sessions during the Democratic convention, so maybe we will again. Note that this is an old fashioned IRC chat, requiring some type of chat client. (I use chatzilla , a Firefox add-in.) [Tags: politics debate snark ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 28 days ago
If you’re set on voting for McCain because you agree with him on the issues that matter to you, or because you’re convinced that Obama is unsuited because of his character, then there’s nothing I can say to change your mind. Nor would I want to. But as I’ve been asking people why they’re not voting for Obama, there seems to be a handful of basic sticking points beyond policy and character. Here’s why they’re not sticking points for me … and in one case, why it’s an argument in favor of Obama. “ He’s not experienced enough .” He clearly does not have as much experience as John McCain, if only because he’s younger. Experience counts, but only when it results in knowledge and judgment. Obama has not been found to be weak or superficial in his knowledge of the world. Indeed, there are some areas — such as Constitutional law — where his own experience leaves him more knowledgeable than McCain. And, in terms of judgment, if you think the Iraq war was a mistake, then Obama ought to get marks for the clarity of his judgment. Likewise, I thought Obama exhibited excellent judgment in a choice of a running mate who has all three: experience, knowledge, and judgment. “ He’s been unclear on his positions .” On Obama’s Web site , you can find detailed plans and proposals. They are at least as crisp, clear, and thorough as McCain’s. But what this criticism has meant for some of the people I’ve talked with is that McCain gives simple, unambiguous ans ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 40 days ago
Jennifer Ouellette at Cocktail Party Physics posts a long post comparing the science policies of Obama and McCain, including Obama’s answers to the excellent 14 science questions posed to both of the candidates; McCain has not answered yet, but he has said that he will. She does not find herself torn. (Neither do I.) [Tags: politics obama mccain science jennifer_ouellette ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 24 days ago
John Pollock , in an email, thought that readers of Everything Is Miscellaneous might be interested in The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. John writes: “[Although] In most ethnographic and archaeological museums the displays are arranged according to geographical or cultural areas. Here they are arranged according to type: musical instruments, weapons, masks, textiles, jewellery, and tools are all displayed in groups to show how the same problems have been solved at different times by different peoples. The cases appear to be very crowded, as a very large percentage of the collection is on view. In some instances the ‘displays’ are primarily visible storage, due to the museum being first and foremost a teaching and research institution” John also found this: “What drove this man into keeping such flawless and precise records on every object he excavated? One reason is that Pitt-Rivers realized a very significant point. He understood that all archaeological excavation is permanent destruction and that all objects found on a site have a vital context in time and space that is just as important as actually finding of the object (Fagan 1994:8)” [ source ] Sounds fascinating… [Tags: everything_is_miscellaneous pitt-rivers_museums ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 24 days ago
Talking Points Memo has a bunch of posts ( latest ) about the odd interview McCain gave to Radio Caracol Miami. You can hear the unedited, original interview here . Or this embedded player (well, iframe) might work in some browsers, albeit not in mine: The first half is one economics. About halfway through, the interviewer asks about Venezuela and Bolivia. In response to a question about taking Latin America more seriously, McCain says: “I know the issues. I know the leaders.” Indeed, he gets them right. About 3/4 of the way through, the interviewer asks him if he’d invite Zapatero to the White House. She says his full name — José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero — which might have thrown him, since he gives his generic answer about meeting with those who support democracy, and then starts talking about Mexico. It seems pretty clear to me that he didn’t catch the name and didn’t want to alienate the Florida audience by seeming to be thrown by the interviewer’s properly accented pronunciation. He then, unfortunately, gives a response about being willing to meet with friends of democracy, as if that were in doubt about Spain. The interviewer then explicitly says she’s talking about the president of Spain, and McCain repeats his answer. Since that’s a pretty dumb response when talking about an ally, I’m assuming that McCain felt he had dug himself into a hole and didn’t want to crawl out by admitting his error. The price, however, is a needless f ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 24 days ago
The National Maritime Museum has posted photos at Flickr . Some beauties there. [Tags: national_maritime_museum flickr everything_is_miscellaneous ] ...

Source: cyber.law.harvard.edu --- 22 days ago
I want to propose an hypothesis. Suppose our new president gets serious about using the Internet as a tool of governance. So, he takes his email list and uses it to kickstart a new e-gov social network. In fact, his opponent provides his email list, too. So, let’s say we have 5M on this network. Let’s say it prominently features blogs and forums. Let’s say after two years there are 30M registered users, and some good percentage of those are at least occasionally active. Of course, I’m making all of this up. Now, the problem the Internet has faced almost from the beginning is how to scale conversations. We’ve solved it time after time, whether it’s threading and forking Usenet discussions or Amazon’s reviews of reviews. So, let’s imagine that this new social network solves the problem through a combination of forking (or recursive conversations … see orgware [ Disclosure : I'm an adviser]) and reputation, more or less along the DailyKos lines. So, 30M people are engaged in vital conversations. Some people gain prominence in discussions on particular issues. The administration notices this. The relevant government policy makers want to engage in these conversations, because otherwise the 30M citizens feel like they’re being ignored. The emergent discussion leaders become the online points of contact between the administration and the conversations, because that’s how those conversations scale. For example, PolarKing111 gains an enormous ...