Category: Internet matters

Posts about the internet

Upgrade terrors

When you really rely on a piece of software, it is always frightening to see that there is an upgrade available. That sets you to worrying about the day when your version will no longer be supported, when it may even stop working altogether.

You’ve spent so long learning the peculiarities of the software, you naturally worry about how hard it will be to learn the new version, and whether you will still be capable when using it. If they change something that is a core job function of yours, you can be suddenly unable to do your job.

And yet, you’re a nerd and you believe in the possibility of never-ending improvement. You are seduced by the new version, where they promise it will be easier to do all the jobs you have to, and you will look like more of a professional when using it (camera companies promise the same thing for lenses).

And so, everyone is forced along the upgrade path. Ordinary users probably hate every step of the march, because they don’t buy into the seduction of the new (and yet everyone working in an office with an old version of Windows is happy to complain about it) and they still have to deal with the headaches of upgrading. Many geeks will be content with any change since their primary need – novelty – is automatically being served, even when they are cursing the strange new interface. The uber-geeks who actually run everything will work to keep everyone sane: maintaining a lifeline for all the old legacy systems that people absolutely rely on, while also making the investments necessary to service the software and hardware needs of the future.

Pondering smartphones III

I realize that one of the bigger sustainability problems of our age is all the waste generated by planned obselescence and the need to have the next big thing every couple of years. At the same time, it seems plausible that for whatever my trade is, a functional smartphone is increasingly a necessary tool.

As such, the increasing number of bugs and problems with my Nokia E71 (purchased in summer 2009) are driving me to think about new options. The phone no longer receives text messages while on, but rather in one big clump when rebooted. The battery now cannot even handle an evening out, even when it has been charging all day at work, and yet replacing it would cost a fair bit of what a new phone would. The web browsers (both Nokia’s and Opera Mobile) are inadequate for many everyday tasks. The machine won’t stay connected to my email server, even when it has constant access to the cell network, and it doesn’t tell you when the connection goes down. Also, it has been abruptly and randomly crashing.

The smartphone market changes fast. When I looked at it previously (once and again), I concluded that a Nokia phone aimed at the business market was the best match for my needs. Foremost among those are a good keyboard and integration with Google. It’s great that the Nokia seamlessly syncs up my contacts and calendar with GMail and Google Calendar, though it seems ironic that it uses Microsoft’s ‘Mail for Exchange’ app to do so. Other important features are decent battery life, GPS, access to useful apps like Google Maps, and good build quality. I don’t care at all about media player or camera capabilities, as I have better machines to do those things and I don’t have a problem carrying them with me.

What would people recommend? One of the BlackBerries? An Android phone? Much as I appreciate the familiar layout of Nokia’s operating systems, I don’t think I will be giving them another go. This will probably be my first ever cell phone not made by the Finnish giant.

I won’t be getting it very soon, however. Things are still a bit up in the air with the job search, and some of the lower-paying opportunities might not be smartphone compatible. Once I have some certainty, however, I will be back on the pocket computer market.

Fun, and also educational

Here’s a question that I think a lot of Ottawa-area Anglophones would appreciate an answer to:

Are there any good French television shows or films available via Netflix streaming?

For one reason or another, a few of us could benefit from some revision and practice.

I think most people watch at least some television as a guilty pleasure (HBO doesn’t count as television, does it?). Maybe we could just do that in French and kill two birds with one stone – get in one’s vegging time, and maintain French language skills.

Two linguistic surprises

I try to stay pretty on top, when it comes to pedantic debates. They come up in trivia, and in editorial battles. I have read The Economist Style Guide (which gives one good cover). As such, I was surprised to discover that I had been partially wrong on two for as long as I can remember:

  1. ‘Octopodes’, the most pedantic pluralization of ‘octopus’ isn’t pronounced oct-oh-pohde. It is pronounced oct-aw-pow-deez, like a character in a Greek play.
  2. The proper abbreviation for the imperial weight unit ‘pounds’ is always ‘lb’ and never ‘lbs’.

I may be the only one who didn’t know about these (the misconceptions people maintain vary). How many other people are surprised by one or the other? Running into such a reminder of why it is a good idea to have people point out my mistakes.

Be careful with free WordPress themes

A public advisory to fellow bloggers: many free WordPress themes available online contain dodgy links or even malicious code.

Here is some information on how to find safe ones.

I use the (non-free) Thesis theme, but would prefer if other people stopped adopting it. There are too many sites that look just like mine already…

Spending your cognitive surplus

One book I have been meaning to read is Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age.

Apparently, Shirky argues that rising affluence in society has left people with leisure time that has often been misused on fundamentally unproductive tasks like watching television. Now, we have better opportunities to use our down time for something more meaningful, such as contributing to public understanding and discussion on important issues. New forms of collaboration, particularly the internet, make it easier than ever to coordinate with like-minded people around the world.

How do readers of this site spend their cognitive surpluses?

Jordan Peterson on psychology

As a lecturer, the University of Toronto’s Jordan Peterson is quite something. Yesterday, Tristan showed me videos of a couple of his lectures. One of them – The Necessity of Virtue – is available online.

One thing I found striking about the talks (which are mostly about psychology and ethics) is just how much we know about the brain, and how much we can reduce seemingly complex human behaviours and experiences to be predictable operation of certain brain structures. I had not previously realized the full importance of the hypothalamus. In one particularly grim example, Peterson explains that a cat stripped of almost all of its brain, but left with a spinal cord and a hypothalamus, will still behave much like an ordinary cat, except that it will be unusually likely to explore and unable to mate (if male).

What humanity is learning about the brain (which seems to produce the mind) seems likely to have considerable importance both for understanding the world in important ways and for deciding how to act in it. I will be adding Peterson’s Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief to my reading list, and may even be able to finagle a way to audit one of his courses if I do move to Toronto.

Please argue with me

Most of the time, a blog post arises from some random idea of mine, half processed into something that seems sufficiently coherent to discuss. The objective is to prompt discussion, not to decree from on high. As such, I am likely to frequently go somewhat beyond the position that can be rigorously defended, or not quite reach it.

I really encourage readers to leave a comment when they see a problem with an argument, know of evidence to the contrary, or can otherwise contribute to the collective understanding of myself and all the other readers. Of course, you can also comment with supporting arguments and evidence.

Almost all of the time, there is no editor or scrutineer on the short path from my brain to the web. As such, you should also feel free to point out things like grammatical errors, poor analogies, or anything else in my writing or thinking that strikes you as worthy of comment.

Thanks.

P.S. There is, of course, a flip side to putting out unfinished thoughts for scrutiny and discussion. Ultimately, I think such a process leads to a stronger overall understanding, and a better theoretical grounding from which to try to make progress on both academic issues and the development of responses to pressing current matters like climate change. As such, it is fair to consider posts on topics that have been long discussed to be reflective of my considered position on the issue at hand (considered well or poorly, you decide).

Common misconceptions

XKCD has some good advice. Everyone should read the article ‘List of common misconceptions‘ on Wikipedia, if only so that they personally can stop spreading them.

There are a few on the list I have been guilty of believing myself at various points. The truth is:

  • There is no evidence that Iron maidens were invented in the Middle Ages or even used for torture.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte was not especially short.
  • A belief that decades/centuries/millennia begin not on the year ending in 0, but rather on the subsequent year ending in 1 (e.g., “The current millennium didn’t really begin on January 1, 2000, but rather on January 1, 2001”) — based on an assumption that there was no year 0 — are founded in an incomplete understanding of historical calculation.
  • Sarah Palin never said “I can see Russia from my house.” Palin actually said “They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”
  • Some cooks believe that food items cooked with wine or liquor will be non-alcoholic, because alcohol’s low boiling point causes it to evaporate quickly when heated. However, a study found that much of the alcohol remains – 25% after 1 hour of baking or simmering, and 10% after 2 hours.
  • When a meteor lands on Earth (after which it is termed a meteorite), it is not usually hot.
  • Different tastes can be detected on all parts of the tongue by taste buds.
  • Although there are hair care products which are marketed as being able to repair split ends and damaged hair, there is no such cure.
  • Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.
  • A person who is drowning does not wave and call for help, as in fictional depictions of drowning.
  • It is not nutritionally necessary to combine multiple sources of vegetable protein in a single meal in order to metabolize a “complete” protein in a vegetarian diet. Unless a person’s diet was heavily dependent on only fruit, only tubers, or only junk food, he or she would be virtually certain of getting enough protein if he or she were eating enough calories.
  • It’s a common myth that an earthworm becomes two worms when cut in half. This is not correct. When an earthworm is bisected, only the front half of the worm (where the mouth is located) can survive, while the other half dies.
  • The flight mechanism and aerodynamics of the bumblebee (as well as other insects) are actually quite well understood, in spite of the urban legend that calculations show that they should not be able to fly.
  • Contrary to the common myth, the Coriolis effect does not determine the direction that water rotates in a bathtub drain or a flushing toilet.
  • It is not true that air takes the same time to travel above and below an aircraft’s wing.
  • Glass is not a high-viscosity liquid at room temperature: it is an amorphous solid, although it does have some chemical properties normally associated with liquids.
  • No scientist ever lost his life because of his scientific views, at least to the knowledge of historians of science.

I have seen many of these repeated in rather reputable sources.