Big data wants to know how you will vote in November (it also wanted to know how voters would lean in the Scottish national vote and other exercises in democracy around the world). Well, not big data exactly but other bigs: big business, big campaigns. But there is no data about the future. Events about the future, however, are known. And because there is no data about the … [Read more...] about Why Big Data is Ringing You Up at Dinner
Political
Keystone Pipeline Debate Needs Scenarios
The Keystone Pipeline debate needs scenarios. In the 13 August issue of New Scientist (Surprise! Keystone XL will make climate change worse), Hal Hodson covers a new report on the Keystone pipeline that suggests it will result in lower fuel costs, and therefore encourage the use of fossil fuels, which will ultimately contribute to greenhouse gases (110 million tones of CO2Â per … [Read more...] about Keystone Pipeline Debate Needs Scenarios
The NSA Spying Program Value Fits the Serendipity Economy Model
I was listening to Warren Olney's To the Point on the radio today as they discussed the NSA spying program PRISM (listen here: NSA Spying Program Puts Secretive Court in the Spotlight). One of the questions fit into The Serendipity Economy framework.: How does the government determine the value of the program? No one could offer a valid proof of value. Why? -- Because the … [Read more...] about The NSA Spying Program Value Fits the Serendipity Economy Model
Activating Citizens: I won’t go dark on SOPA or PIPA
Activating Citizens: I won't go dark on SOPA or PIPA Activating Citizens...A sit-in is a protest that uses physical space to assert, in a passive way, the right of a person, or persons, to be where they are and to interact, hopefully in a positive, constructive way, with the people they don't agree with—usually a political body of a sort, be it the government of South Africa, … [Read more...] about Activating Citizens: I won’t go dark on SOPA or PIPA
Why is Uncertainty in so many of Today’s Headlines
I just completed a brief interview on uncertainty, and I don't think my answer was as precise as it could be. So I thought I would write out the answer here. Hope is a fact but certainty is a myth. Through the construct of hope, people may believe that things are stable or certain, but they never are. From the demise of marriages to untimely deaths, to the loss of a job to … [Read more...] about Why is Uncertainty in so many of Today’s Headlines
