Speaking of Kevin Kelly, I had basically taken for granted that one of us had already posted his call for more visions of the near future, given our recent spate of near-futurism. It appears no one had. Well, that’s fixed.
The murmur of the snarkmatrix…
August § The Common Test /
Robin § Unforgotten /
MsFitNZ § Towards A Theory of Secondary Literacy /
Jon Schultz § Bless the toolmakers /
Jon Schultz § Bless the toolmakers /
Matt § A leaky rocketship /
Greg Linch § A leaky rocketship /
Robin § A leaky rocketship /
P. Renaud § A leaky rocketship /
Jay H § Matching cuts /
4 comments
Two phrases from Kelly’s post that deserve to become common lingo:
1) the alien present (from KK)
2) the McLuhan ramp (from Jaron Lanier, linked in the comments)
In fact, I think we should start a band called The McLuhan Ramp.
Our first album will be called The Alien Present.
Matt sings; Tim, you’re on drums.
Robin plays cello.
I’d never heard of this McLuhan Ramp before so I went looking for an explanation; the best one I’ve found is here. Jaron Lanier is putting my “never trust a white guy with dreads” axiom to the test.
Hey, good find! It’s funny how a “secondary source” — a smart summary or synthesis — can so often be better than the original. Especially when it comes to actually understanding the argument.
At the Long Now talks here in SF, they have a debate format that’s one of my favorite things ever: Two people. They take turns presenting their case. But after I’m done with my part, you, as my “opponent”, have to summarize it back to me — to my satisfaction! Only then are you free to do your part — which I then summarize back to you, to your satisfaction.
It’s a kind of forced empathy, a gap-bridging… it’s strange & marvelous to imagine the same format being applied to, say, the presidential debates.
The snarkmatrix awaits you