You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2006.
There are many ways of observing the passage of time. Relatively slow changes, such as the seasons, are easy enough to observe qualitatively, but difficult to measure in comparison to, say, the relatively fast changes in the dripping of water or ticking of a metronome. Of the five “standard” senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing), it is interesting to notice that three of these senses allow for the precise measurement of time, while the other two offer very little capacity for doing so. That is, one could easily devise a timekeeping device solely dependent upon sight, sound, or touch; however, doing the same for smell or taste is not as obvious.
With sight, repetitive flashing lights are sufficient to keep time. The sense of hearing requires a pulsating beat, such as the ticking of a clock and a touch-based clock would have a physical device that provided this rhythm (a booming beat that can be felt, or something that interfaces with the skin–feeling the dropping of water for instance). Taste and smell pose their own problems, though. While slow changes can be sensed by either of these methods, a pulsating scent, for example, will not convey the regular pulsation that a pulsating light can.
When viewing live music, all three of the relevant senses come into play. This difference between live and recorded music is one of the appeals of live music. Instead of a 1/5 sensory experience, the concert attendee gets a 3/5 sensory experience where the music is concerned. Taste and smell may come into play at a concert atmosphere, but most likely not directly related to the music itself.
Since humans have had the ability to think, they have sought to uncover the “deeper” meanings of life: questions of existence and purpose. The most fundamental questions of the Universe were (and are) discussed, pondered, answered, and re-thought over and over again.
Shhh…listen carefully. Everything quiet now? Good. Listen really hard. If you listen closely enough, you can hear them–the questions of the Universe. You can hear them, right? No, that’s just your computer fan, try again. Concentrate. Still nothing? Well now, I guess that shows something: the Universe does not ask questions. People ask questions.
Either that, or you’re not listening properly.
No data encryption technique is perfect. Some may be better than others, but they are all breakable on some level. This doesn’t mean you should automatically worry about your bank account security, as your particular bank probably has excellent security. Then again, maybe not.
Ultimately, security is about reducing the likelihood that someone will be able to easily access the protected information. In the event that I need to secure some important data I have devised a scheme to do so.
1) Encrypt the data (RSA or some other robust algorithm)
2) Format a 5.25″ floppy disk with some Linux filesystem (XFS, ext2, etc.)
3) Copy the data to the floppy disk
4) Lock the disk in a safe
Of course, this hinges on the fact that I have a working 5.25″ floppy drive in my main computer (as the A: drive, no less) running Linux. But it has its security benefits:
Step 4) is a physical barrier that transcends most computer hacking techniques.
Step 3) creates the problem of locating a functional 5.25″ drive.
Step 2) assumes that in all likelihood, a functional 5.25″ drive will be in a DOS (or Windows) machine incapable of easily reading the filesystem
Step 1) relies on conventional data encryption algorithms.
And maybe I should put an explosive trigger on the safe, just for good measure.
The history of science and technology has many instances of discovery by accident: scientists may be measuring a certain object of phenomenon when they accidentally observe something else, leading them to a new finding they had not anticipated. My favorite story of this type is the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Penzias and Wilson. What they initially thought was noise in their equipment was actually a faint signature of the cosmic fireball.
Accidental discoveries still happen, large and small in scale. But what about random discoveries? In the “olden days” this might have taken the form of walking into a library, picking an arbitrary book off an arbitrary shelf, flipping to an arbitrary page, and happening upon a piece of information that results in the metaphorical light bulb turning on. I would imagine that this type of discovery has not been too common, especially on the larger scale. With the introduction of the Internet, however, it is much easier to obtain random information. Projects like StumbleUpon are not completely random, but they provide a similar function. Furthermore, it would not be difficult to have a random Internet resource emailed once a week, day, hour, or any frequency. Given the large reservoir of information on the Internet, there would certainly be a lot of “useless” information–one would not want to depend on stochastic information searching for research progress. But perhaps the introduction of random knowledge would (does?) lend itself to a few important connections, leading to discoveries and inventions that may not have otherwise occurred.
Let’s try it out: I located a pseudo-random web page using random word and number generators. Everyone likes peach cobbler, right?
http://southernfood.about.com/od/peachcobblers/r/blbb147.htm
The phrase “going tribal” is sometimes used as a synonym for drunken revelry, but I think at a fundamental level alcohol is an unnecessary component. The only needed item to “go tribal” is a tribe.
Humans have lived in small relatively isolated tribes for most of history. It is only in the most recent ~8000 years or so that cities have developed and tribal dynamics minimized. But 8000 years is not enough time to erase our evolutionary heritage, and vestiges of this tribalism surface often in our daily lives. However, large-scale tribal celebrations are not necessarily as common. Tribalism implies familiarity; even an alcohol-rich college party would mostly likely not be described as “tribal” because many of the people are simply acquaintances or even unknown to each other. When a common interest unites people, such as a sports team, there can be a degree of tribal affinity. But again, if the sports team is the sole commonality between participants then the tribal intensity is diminished.
A close-knit group of friends might function as a tribe. One step closer, though, is the extended family. Most of us do not live in tribal proximity to our extended families, but every now and then there are events that bring everyone together (reunions, weddings, etc.). Already linked genetically, when a large familial group gets together (especially one in which most people get along) it is difficult to miss the tribal overtones. Introduce rhythmic, danceable music and the similarity is unquestionable. It’s more than just dancing, and it’s more than just celebration. It’s the uniting of an interconnected group into a single form that is unspoken but understood by all. It’s tribal.
Recent Comments