"There are a lot of students of high ability who speak before thinking," Burago said. "Grisha was different. He thought deeply. His answers were always correct. He always checked very, very carefully." Burago added, "He was not fast. Speed means nothing. Math doesn't depend on speed. It is about deep."
The Academy (not to mention Slashdot!) could use a few more people like this.
The cool thing that always distinguished Blogger for me was the freedom they gave you to edit the underlying page code. Myspace gives you that freedom, too -- but have you ever seen the code? (I still don't understand how their web pages just don't crumble in a heap of broken tags.)
Blogger offers direct access to (near) standards-compliant XHTML code. I practically learned how to design websites tinkering with their templates. If you know HTML and CSS, it gives you everything you'd want with Google Pages.
I just hope they don't start limiting this as they expand the WYSIWYG bells and whistles.
Correct me if I am wrong, but if AOL simply removed the subscriber number column from its released data, there wouldn't have been much of a story here. At least, it wouldn't have produced the giant scandal that it has. Didn't AOL release its search data as a public-spirited gesture to aid researchers?
That's not to say even releasing the data without the subscriber number wouldn't have been somewhat naive. I found the New York Times article yesterday about the one AOL member whose identity was compromised interesting in the kind of false conclusions one might draw from the search queries alone. To do this successfully, AOL would have had to have taken a lot of care -- a lot of care! -- with the data. Getting rid of subscriber number would have simply been the first step any first-grader would have thought of.
If I am understanding events correctly, I think AOL's motives in releasing the data were well-intentioned and laudable. Too bad they fucked up so majorly in the execution.
I always referred to this as the Google Time Bomb -- that moment when all (or a significant portion) of Google's query data got leaked into public and our true selves were revealed to the world. But I guess AOL beat them to the punch.
Two lessons:
1. Don't use subscriber-based search services 2. Change your IP address early and often
Finally, google your name in conjunction with church-friendly terms in your spare time just for good measure.
I'd recently given myself a crash course in javascript for a site I was working on. Ended up using the moo.fx (http://moofx.mad4milk.net/) library with niftycube (http://www.html.it/articoli/niftycube/) for the all important rounded corners. Checked out dojo but it seemed a little more than I needed. Also glanced at Yahoo.
Looking over the packages listed here, I'm especially impressed with Rico. Single file used in conjunction with the prototype.js script. And a really excellent demo page:
The author of the article gives Yahoo credit for the package management -- I think Rico deserves a praise for their site, too. I look forward to giving it a whirl.
For the record, I found the memo (after a morning-long internet manhunt):
Our detectives helped design the interface 3D data center. They think it helps with the creativity needed to work with the information. With there experience of working with crime scenes, the large movements helps them immerse themselves in the data. While smaller movements would seem more efficient, we get better results with our detectives using the large interfaces. It might get trying after a while, but we are not talking about data processors here, we are talking about a few pre-murders a week.
I've always thought that the best office work environment would be one like Tom Cruise had in Minority Report. There's a funny mock memo out there on the web somewhere that talks about its advantages.
Yes. Or look at it as an encyclopedia with another dimension. The truth -- or an acceptable approximation of it (let's not be naive absolutionists) -- will settle out over time. In the meantime, the Wikipedia provides a sort of current events time capsule in the history of page edits, as well as the talk pages, that -- as the parent points out -- could be traced in any encyclopedia. With the Wikipedia, the process is just more dynamic -- and more transparent.
Re:Ummm, I think they forgot to mention someone...
on
The Man Behind MySpace
·
· Score: 1
And that's why I only got a 980 on the SAT.:)
Thanks for straightening that out.
Ummm, I think they forgot to mention someone...
on
The Man Behind MySpace
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
FRIENDSTER! Well, the article mentions it in passing, but doesn't give it the credit it probably deserves.
I first learned about social networking (SN) -- specifically Friendster -- from an NPR story. Checked it out, but didn't get an invite right away. However, discovered a slew of alternate SN sites -- Myspace among them. Thought it was a bit crude -- but didn't need an invite to join (IIRC) and you were immediately hooked into the entire network through our old friend Tom.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I think it succeeded. Its utter lack of discrimination. The keys to its success?
- unrestricted access (didn't need an invite, access to everyone on site) - much, much raunchier content (i.e. photos) with little or no censorship (at least in the early days) - affordable web hosting for your brother's tacky gararge band - and a free crappy pop song with every page load!
I don't know if Friendster was the first SN site, but I think it deserves credit for launching the phenomenon. I still feel it's a superior site and remained truer to the spirit of SN longer. But principles don't win you big corporate buyouts, alas.
I will always think of Myspace as the Betamax to Friendster's VHS.
A friend of mine in dentistry tells me that general medical technology that can't find a market sometimes gets rebranded as dental solutions. Lasers were the example he studied.
Getting Started with PGP and GPG
on
PGP & GPG
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Uncanny timing on this article for me -- I just this morning set up both PGP and GPG clients on my Windows machine. I found some inspiration in this tutorial on PGP:
The tutorial talks about version 7 or 8 of the software when it was still freeware. Version 9 it appears still offers the basic functionality for free, but I have to admit that I was a bit put off by the fact that it's presented as a 30 day trial with a EULA that includes passages like this:
You hereby expressly consent to PGP Corp's processing of personal data you provide to PGP Corp (which may be collected by PGP Corp or its distributors) according to PGP Corp's current privacy policy which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference (see ). If "you" are an organization, you will ensure that each member of your organization (including employees and contractors) about whom personal data may be provided to PGP Corp has given his or her express consent to PGP Corp's processing of such personal data. Personal data will be processed by PGP Corp or its distributors in the country where it was collected, or in the location of PGP Corp or its distributors; United States laws regarding processing of personal data may be less stringent than the laws in your jurisdiction.
Standard EULA boilerplate perhaps, but I found it unnerving in a product that's supposed to protect your privacy.
His web site is easily one of the most garish and unfriendly pages I've ever seen.
I don't know if I'd say his website is garish. Still needs a few banner ads. But his use of 'Dr.' and 'Ph.D' certainly is. Probably got those online -- hence his qualifications as a web expert.
Agreed. I like this concept and think it has some potential, but nothing will kill it faster than crappy typesetting. Anybody out there doing something like iUniverse with appealing aesthetics? What about lulu.com? Are they any better?
As Gore pointed out in a recent interview with Terry Gross on NPR, during the 2000 campaign there wasn't much obvious difference between the policies advocated by him and Bush. Bush, after he took office, just happened to reneg on many of his campaign promises -- or perhaps they were just insinuations:
A notable example of Bush's political disingenuousness was his reversal on a campaign pledge to curtail power plants' carbon dioxide emissions. (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-ju ne01/co2_3-14.html) It's easy to forget now, but Bush ran as a centrist in the 2000 campaign.
Gore based his claim on a survey done by UCSD Science Studies professor, Naomi Oreskes. She summarized her findings in a Washington Post editorial that can be found here:
There have been arguments to the contrary, but they are not to be found in scientific literature, which is where scientific debates are properly adjudicated. There, the message is clear and unambiguous.
The Journal of Science paper in which she details her survey can be found here:
Slashdot Mirror
My favorite quote from the article:
"There are a lot of students of high ability who speak before thinking," Burago said. "Grisha was different. He thought deeply. His answers were always correct. He always checked very, very carefully." Burago added, "He was not fast. Speed means nothing. Math doesn't depend on speed. It is about deep."
The Academy (not to mention Slashdot!) could use a few more people like this.
'Long ago I learned it was a planet and I see no reason to unlearn it. Why should I?'
Don't fret it. Long ago Romans learned it was a god. They didn't have to unlearn it. Their empire simply collapsed.
myspace page?
The cool thing that always distinguished Blogger for me was the freedom they gave you to edit the underlying page code. Myspace gives you that freedom, too -- but have you ever seen the code? (I still don't understand how their web pages just don't crumble in a heap of broken tags.)
Blogger offers direct access to (near) standards-compliant XHTML code. I practically learned how to design websites tinkering with their templates. If you know HTML and CSS, it gives you everything you'd want with Google Pages.
I just hope they don't start limiting this as they expand the WYSIWYG bells and whistles.
I thought this was going to be a George Carlin skit.
In a way, it sort of is.
Correct me if I am wrong, but if AOL simply removed the subscriber number column from its released data, there wouldn't have been much of a story here. At least, it wouldn't have produced the giant scandal that it has. Didn't AOL release its search data as a public-spirited gesture to aid researchers?
That's not to say even releasing the data without the subscriber number wouldn't have been somewhat naive. I found the New York Times article yesterday about the one AOL member whose identity was compromised interesting in the kind of false conclusions one might draw from the search queries alone. To do this successfully, AOL would have had to have taken a lot of care -- a lot of care! -- with the data. Getting rid of subscriber number would have simply been the first step any first-grader would have thought of.
If I am understanding events correctly, I think AOL's motives in releasing the data were well-intentioned and laudable. Too bad they fucked up so majorly in the execution.
lastgoogle query data is also available to the world:
s ets
http://lastgoogle.pbwiki.com/Last%20Google%20Data
Unfortunately, the data doesn't include the AOL subscriber numbers of the searchers, so its research value is limited.
I always referred to this as the Google Time Bomb -- that moment when all (or a significant portion) of Google's query data got leaked into public and our true selves were revealed to the world. But I guess AOL beat them to the punch.
Two lessons:
1. Don't use subscriber-based search services
2. Change your IP address early and often
Finally, google your name in conjunction with church-friendly terms in your spare time just for good measure.
I'd recently given myself a crash course in javascript for a site I was working on. Ended up using the moo.fx (http://moofx.mad4milk.net/) library with niftycube (http://www.html.it/articoli/niftycube/) for the all important rounded corners. Checked out dojo but it seemed a little more than I needed. Also glanced at Yahoo.
e ct_position
Looking over the packages listed here, I'm especially impressed with Rico. Single file used in conjunction with the prototype.js script. And a really excellent demo page:
http://openrico.org/rico/demos.page?demo=rico_eff
The author of the article gives Yahoo credit for the package management -- I think Rico deserves a praise for their site, too. I look forward to giving it a whirl.
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
The answer lies not in filters. All will be revealed when the Great Parser comes forth.
For the record, I found the memo (after a morning-long internet manhunt):
u nami.com/essays/response.asp
h e_minoritys_report.html
Our detectives helped design the interface 3D data center. They think it helps with the creativity needed to work with the information. With there experience of working with crime scenes, the large movements helps them immerse themselves in the data. While smaller movements would seem more efficient, we get better results with our detectives using the large interfaces. It might get trying after a while, but we are not talking about data processors here, we are talking about a few pre-murders a week.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030607112009/umamits
The original memo's good, too, and helps with the context:
http://www.umamitsunami.com/archives/2002/06/24/t
This is something I've wanted to do for a while. But have you priced a good podium lately!?
p ?idCategory=31
http://www.allendisplay.com/store/pc/viewCat_h.as
I've always thought that the best office work environment would be one like Tom Cruise had in Minority Report. There's a funny mock memo out there on the web somewhere that talks about its advantages.
Yes. Or look at it as an encyclopedia with another dimension. The truth -- or an acceptable approximation of it (let's not be naive absolutionists) -- will settle out over time. In the meantime, the Wikipedia provides a sort of current events time capsule in the history of page edits, as well as the talk pages, that -- as the parent points out -- could be traced in any encyclopedia. With the Wikipedia, the process is just more dynamic -- and more transparent.
Oh my god, they killed Kenny! You bastards!
And that's why I only got a 980 on the SAT. :)
Thanks for straightening that out.
FRIENDSTER! Well, the article mentions it in passing, but doesn't give it the credit it probably deserves.
I first learned about social networking (SN) -- specifically Friendster -- from an NPR story. Checked it out, but didn't get an invite right away. However, discovered a slew of alternate SN sites -- Myspace among them. Thought it was a bit crude -- but didn't need an invite to join (IIRC) and you were immediately hooked into the entire network through our old friend Tom.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I think it succeeded. Its utter lack of discrimination. The keys to its success?
- unrestricted access (didn't need an invite, access to everyone on site)
- much, much raunchier content (i.e. photos) with little or no censorship (at least in the early days)
- affordable web hosting for your brother's tacky gararge band
- and a free crappy pop song with every page load!
I don't know if Friendster was the first SN site, but I think it deserves credit for launching the phenomenon. I still feel it's a superior site and remained truer to the spirit of SN longer. But principles don't win you big corporate buyouts, alas.
I will always think of Myspace as the Betamax to Friendster's VHS.
eefoof.com conquered the market this morning. Now if they couldn't only get their servers back up and running...
A friend of mine in dentistry tells me that general medical technology that can't find a market sometimes gets rebranded as dental solutions. Lasers were the example he studied.
Uncanny timing on this article for me -- I just this morning set up both PGP and GPG clients on my Windows machine. I found some inspiration in this tutorial on PGP:
http://www.haltabuse.org/pgp/win/index.shtml
The tutorial talks about version 7 or 8 of the software when it was still freeware. Version 9 it appears still offers the basic functionality for free, but I have to admit that I was a bit put off by the fact that it's presented as a 30 day trial with a EULA that includes passages like this:
You hereby expressly consent to PGP Corp's processing of personal data you provide to PGP Corp (which may be collected by PGP Corp or its distributors) according to PGP Corp's current privacy policy which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference (see ). If "you" are an organization, you will ensure that each member of your organization (including employees and contractors) about whom personal data may be provided to PGP Corp has given his or her express consent to PGP Corp's processing of such personal data. Personal data will be processed by PGP Corp or its distributors in the country where it was collected, or in the location of PGP Corp or its distributors; United States laws regarding processing of personal data may be less stringent than the laws in your jurisdiction.
Standard EULA boilerplate perhaps, but I found it unnerving in a product that's supposed to protect your privacy.
I also downloaded GPG4Win from
http://www.gpg4win.org/
and got it running. I just succeeded in encrypting a message with the one and decrypting it with the other, so I think I'll go with GPG.
Amazing that such tools aren't de rigueur by now.
who sounded less like a total douchebag, I'd have to give the nod myself to Craig.
His web site is easily one of the most garish and unfriendly pages I've ever seen.
I don't know if I'd say his website is garish. Still needs a few banner ads. But his use of 'Dr.' and 'Ph.D' certainly is. Probably got those online -- hence his qualifications as a web expert.
The page certainly is an eyesore.
Agreed. I like this concept and think it has some potential, but nothing will kill it faster than crappy typesetting. Anybody out there doing something like iUniverse with appealing aesthetics? What about lulu.com? Are they any better?
As Gore pointed out in a recent interview with Terry Gross on NPR, during the 2000 campaign there wasn't much obvious difference between the policies advocated by him and Bush. Bush, after he took office, just happened to reneg on many of his campaign promises -- or perhaps they were just insinuations:
y Id=5439305
u ne01/co2_3-14.html) It's easy to forget now, but Bush ran as a centrist in the 2000 campaign.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor
A notable example of Bush's political disingenuousness was his reversal on a campaign pledge to curtail power plants' carbon dioxide emissions. (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-j
Gore based his claim on a survey done by UCSD Science Studies professor, Naomi Oreskes. She summarized her findings in a Washington Post editorial that can be found here:
0 65-2004Dec25.html
/ 5702/1686
e ws/2005/05/01/wglob01.xml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26
From her editorial:
There have been arguments to the contrary, but they are not to be found in scientific literature, which is where scientific debates are properly adjudicated. There, the message is clear and unambiguous.
The Journal of Science paper in which she details her survey can be found here:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/306
Naturally, claims of bias in the right-leaning popular press have followed. See this U.K. Telegraph article for an example:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/n