I recently read an article where the author was attempting to analyze the question, “What is Truth?” and then draw a comparison to truth in design, specifically web design. While I think art and design have nothing to do with truth, much less web design having anything to do with truth, I have decided to tackle a similar comparison. The difference is, I will draw conclusions which I hope will display just how different the two subjects are. “What is truth?” Pontius Pilate asked this question almost 2000 years ago. At the time, he had no inkling of the infamy which was to follow these words through the millennia. He asked the question as a jaded cynic—he had no interest in knowing the truth. In fact, his question is of a rhetorical nature, implying simply that there is no truth. And yet, in asking this question he hit the very crux of the […]
Month: July 2008
Maslow’s Needs and Gaming
What does it mean to achieve something? Is it good enough to feel like you achieve, when you really don’t? Does the modern world provide a false sense of achievement too often, to the point at which people don’t actually do anything? Image generated using this neat tool. It is hard not to notice the impact of computers and video games on the overall productivity of oneself. For me, being a little bit obsessive, features highlighted by the above are just the type of thing to deter me from being more productive. I do not, however, blame them in any way for my lack of productivity. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it can be seen that video games in many ways fulfill a good amount of these needs. MMORPG’s it has been seen, fulfill almost all of them. Let us start outside the realm of massively online multiplayer games. Let […]
Groupthink: Digg, oh how I hate thee.
So what exactly is groupthink, where can I see an example of it, and why is it bad? I am so glad you asked! Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance. The term is frequently used pejoratively, with hindsight. (from wikipedia) I have been seeing so much of this going around over the past couple of years that it has essentially turned […]
Anti-Social Society
I can easily admit to people that I am an asshole. I am not being sardonic either, I am a bona-fide asshole. I can easily be described as someone who expects more of others then I am willing to do myself. I hold people to a higher standard then I have a right to hold them to. I am extremely selfish, and I’m definitely a misanthrope. I judge everyone around me as if I have a right to judge them. Why? I have no idea. Maybe I feel I am entitled in some way, or I feel superior to those around me. Maybe it is just a convenient way of pushing people away or avoiding human contact as a consequence of being particularly anti-social. While I don’t feel I have any social anxieties, at least from a clinical sense, I definitely hate socializing. I hate every aspect of social behavior, everything right […]
The Sentence
As I am sure none of you know, I had a minor in college. While I graduated with a Major in Computer Engineering, my official minor was philosophy. A pretty odd combination, I know. I have always been a thinker, and I very much enjoy reading the thoughts of others. As such, I read a lot. When I say I read a lot, though, I am sort of cheating. I should say, I read a lot of stuff, online. Recently though, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to read more books. A recent blog article I read, which was actually about XML, made mention of a book. It didn’t say anything really about the book, and it didn’t really suggest that I should read the book, but I decided to pick it up anyhow. Seemed like as good a place to start as any. The book is […]