Step Brothers

Facebook

I have severed my ties to Facebook, and this video resonates very well with my reasons for ending that relationship. If you're really ambitious to find out the stupidity of Facebook and other virtual social network sites, then read the article "Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism" in the New Atlantis by Christine Rosen. It may make you think twice about your affiliation with those networks. Even better, the BBC shows that personal information can be stolen from Facebook users without their knowledge: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7376738.stm

"Stuff White People Like"

My wife received an email from a friend with a link to a hilarious blog: "Stuff White People Like." The list is very funny and probably offends a lot of people, but lighten up and laugh a little!

It appears that readers of that blog disagree on the definition of "white people," and assert that it should read "yuppies." Perhaps the latter is more accurate, but there is some segregation behind "white people" that seems to apply to the author's intent.

On another note, what does "natural-born" mean for determining if someone is eligible for the presidency? Does this mean that a Caesarean section "birth" makes you ineligible?

Stop Blaming the Teachers

A recent article in the NY Times, "Survey find teenagers ignorant on basic history and literature question," suggests that the No Child Left Behind act has led to schools to focus on reading and mathematics at the expense of history, literature, and other subjects. This is absurd for several reasons, but I'll focus on the main reason: obsession with individuality.

The current "culture" is defined by the individual not society. The NY Times article points to a survey that asked people about events relevant to American history/culture. I would speculate that the lack of correct responses by the 17 year olds surveyed is a consequence of the degradation of American culture. In particular, people do not mingle with people these days. Everyone is too busy watching this week's American Idol or some other TV program. If people want to make the younger generation aware of America's past, then spend time with them and turn off the TV. Go out and participate in the culture and stop the silent refereeing from your sofa.

The biggest problem with TV is the on-demand entertainment. It reinforces the idea that desires should be fulfilled immediately; there is no reason to wait for anything. Repeatedly, people complain that there are no good programs on TV to watch. What kind of statement is that? Why should you demand that a box plugged into the way should be a place of entertainment? The funny part is that people generally enjoy the company of other people, but very few seek out the company of others and stay home to catch the reruns of 24.

An interesting question comes to mind after this rant: Do you think you were designed to watch TV and interact with machines most of your life, or do you think you are better suited for human-to-human interaction? I'm writing this blog, and you are reading this blog. So, you might be taking part in the former (interacting with your computer) to achieve the later (human-to-human interaction). How satisfied are you with this impoverished form of human-to-human interaction? I expect very few people will even read this, so why have I bothered to write it?

Jaggies? Are you kidding me?

At least two times, I have heard Ph.D. bearing scientists refer to the jagged lines due to image digitization as "jaggies" in public. From a scientific standpoint, this word is ridiculous, and it sounds very childish. Luckily, it has not appeared in reviewed journal papers (to my knowledge), but its use is disconcerting. However, there is a Wikipedia entry for "jaggies" that claims the word originated in an Atari game with aliens called "Jaggis" due to the low resolution appearance of the aliens. Somehow this word has slipped into the parlance of the science community, where those who use it illuminate their verbal deficiencies.

Society worries about the rebellion against knowledge, which is certainly an admirable concern. Obviously, participants in an academic community do not demonstrate an admirable use of knowledge at the basic level of communication. It is funny how the complaints of society often point to the problem of communication among people, yet we offer various masquerades responsible for this fundamental problem. In particular, the education argument is really about communication: the refusal and/or inability of people to communicate. If we aspire to communicate with each other, then we are likely to prevent many of the "problems." Of course, that's a lot of work, so let's pass the problem onto those involved in the early childhood development. Obviously, we cannot blame the parents, because they have too much on their plate with work and all; let's make the teachers responsible. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense, especially since none of them are parents, too.