IS IT A UTOPIA, OR ARE YOU JUST "PLUGGING INTO 'THE MATRIX'"?
"... and there might lie the secret of the first "Matrix": beyond the balletic violence, beyond the cool stunts, the idea that the world we live in isn't real is one that speaks right now to a general condition. For the curious thing about the movie was that everybody could grasp the basic setup instantly. Whether it occurs in cult science fiction or academic philosophy, we seem to be fascinated by the possibility that our world might not exist. We're not strangers to the feeling that, for much of our lives, we might just as well be brains-in-vats, floating in an amniotic fluid of simulations. It doesn't just strike us as plausibly weird. It strikes us as weirdly plausible." --- Adam Gopnik, "The Unreal Thing: What's Wrong with the 'Matrix'?" The New Yorker 19 May 2003, 73.
I've been looking forward to the sequel to "Matrix" for several years now. While I wasn't a complete Matrix "Neo-phile," I have to say that I completely grooved on the basic premises. I love the whole idea that I remember first encountering in "The Wizard of Oz" as Toto pulled back the curtain. Ahhh -- the Wizard!! all smoke and mirrors!!
For the last 15 years or so, I've been an active devotee of postmodern literature and philosophy -- some of the basic premises are
-1- Reality is a construct
-2- Characters and identities are invented
-3- Narratives are multiple, potential explanations for the same thing are many
-4- Chaos is liberating -- what looks like destructive energy is, in many ways, dionysian -- meaning transformative, regenerative, liberating
There are many more bullet-point key points, but these are my favorites. For the last ten years, I've also been quite interested in Tibetan Buddhism -- as a philosophy (not as a religion per se). I have to say that the idea of training one's mind to realize that what we see is an illusion -- the confused perception called "samsara" --- is a world of phenomena directly created from our mental activity.
Conversely, if we train our minds to envision positive realities, can't we then begin to construct such utopias? If there's one grand theme in my life, this seems to be it. Unfortunately, I haven't mastered the art of maintaining a clear utopian vision for more than about 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
Writers and political theorists such as Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, Michel Foucault, Jeremy Bentham, as well as organization and leadership gurus all seem to maintain a vision of a better world. Although I don't agree with all the aspects of their visions, they do give me something to think about. I start to see the relationships between the individuals, institutions, resources, and ideals.
Artificial Paradises: Are they Utopias or Matrices?
When Charles Baudelaire wrote his seminal work, "Les Paradis artificiel" in 1860, he was describing how the mind constructs an "artificial paradise" when under the influence of the mood-altering substances of his time: wine, hashish, opium. It was his exploration into the subtle relationships between how a person perceives the world and how or under what conditions such a viewpoint changes.
Reality is how you perceive it. Nothing more, nothing less. That is the clear implication.
More than a century later, Jean Baudrillard published "Simulacra et Simulation" (Simulacra and Simulation), which suggests that we know and understand our world, not through real or authentic experiences, but by means of the blizzard of signs, images, and manipulated appearances that surround us. Perhaps this is a natural consequence of industrialization, urbanization, and communications technology. Nevertheless, the consequences are far-reaching -- through what Baudrillard calls a "Disneyfication of the imagination," we inhabit a world comprised completely of false constructions, life in one of the Walt Disney Worlds, which are so "real" that they begin to supplant and replace the "real."
I suspect this is not new. Aren't all attempts to tightly control a society a sort of the same thing? Sir Thomas More's Utopia was an island that existed in no real dimension -- hence the term "utopia" from the Greek "ou" meaning "no" and "topos" meaning "place." How different is that from the basic premise of "Matrix," where people's brains are plugged into a big virtual reality generator that creates their own experience?
The key issue is not that reality is a construct. It is, who is constructing our reality for us? And -- this is scary ... why? What are the motives? I can live with entertainment reality construction of a theme park. I understand the worlds of a shopping mall, and the reasons for those realities. It's the brave new world stuff that makes me nervous. Worse is the idea that I'm not even aware of when my perception has been manipulated.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
INTO UTOPIA: Learning and Technology Outside the U.S. -- Azerbaijan, Part 4
Low-Cost Business and Training Centers (the BIT-GUT approach)
Conceptually, it's simple. Further, everybody likes it. It's the idea of making information available through a digital library so that remote locations can share information.
The first steps are usually not too difficult. A website can be made for each entity. Weblogs can be set up.
The toe has entered the water. The tentative first step has been made. This is all very good. However, without good project management and a great deal of coordination, this first outing in the cool web-waters can become a grisly shark-fest.
To avoid a complete disaster, the following Business Information & Training Guidelines for Unified Tasks (BIT-GUT) should be followed:
BIT-GUT Rules:
-1- SUFFICIENT SERVER SPACE: Make sure that each participating location or entity has a separate website with ample room on the server for uploading the documents they would like to make available.
-2- STANDARDIZED FORMATS: Make sure that all documents that the entities will be making available are available in the same formats. Ideally, they should be available in three versions:
-a- pdf file (be sure to include a link to Adobe Reader downloads). Ideally, this is a "lite" version, with optimized graphics for quick download. Try to zip the file if possible. Also include a link to zip programs.
-b- html format
-c- text-only (or graphics minimized) "print friendly"
-3- TEMPLATE APPROACH TO CATALOGUING AND INDEXING ARTICLES: Be sure to agree upon a classification scheme so that information can be effectively organized.
-a- Standardize labeling / classification scheme for articles. An example would be to list them by SPONSORING ENTITY // CATEGORY // AUTHOR'S LAST NAME // SPECIFIC ARTICLE NUMBER. For example, an article on honey bees hosted by ACDI-VOCA in Khachmaz, Azerbaijan written by Buzz Hunnicomb would be listed this way: ACDI-VOCA // AG-TECH ASSISTANCE // HUNNICOMB // 1
-b- Make sure that every sponsoring organization develops a consistent index page for their online catalogue.
-4- UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION PORTAL: An umbrella organization or entity can bring together the virtual libraries of the sponsoring entities by means of an umbrella information portal." This portal would consist of the following:
-a- Links to individual article, listed by category and by author
-b- Links to the information index pages of the sponsoring organizations
-5- SERVER CONSIDERATIONS: Great care should be given when selecting a server. Linux offers many advantages, one being the use of php. Since open-source courseware, weblogs, and other software contain php, it is ideal for certain kinds of collaboration. In addition, Linux servers are spared the some of the problems of others (namely NT).
-6- INFORMATION SHARING VULNERABILITIES: It is a good idea to screen all articles before linking to them in the main portal pages. Please keep in mind that since the hosting functions are decentralized, there is less vulnerability to losing information. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to have mirror space via a free (or low-cost) web-hosting service for the "Lite" and text-only versions.
-7- SYNCHRONIZE WATCHES, THE RACE IS OFF!! Be sure to have monthly deadlines & clear milestones in order to maintain an orderly information flow.
-a- 10th of the month: all new articles uploaded, links updated on sponsoring organization pages, and "lite" versions uploaded to the mirror sites.
-b- 15th of the month: send links to UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION
-c- 25th of the month: all articles and links reviews and approved, links updated on UMBRELLA portal page
-d- 30th of the month: press releases to local news media announcing new resources now available
-8- TRAINING WEB-ENHANCED AND INTERNET-GUIDED: Training materials can be managed in the same way. Training documents can fall into the following categories:
-a- Syllabi and course outlines
-b- Course lecture notes
-c- Course readings
-d- Student activities (worksheets, collaborative exercises, review tests)
-e- Evaluations
Following the BIT-GUT recommendations, it's possible to coordinate even the most distant sites, and the most diverse technical and training information.
BIT-GUT = BUSINESS INFORMATION & TRAINING GUIDELINES FOR UNIFIED TASKS
Low-Cost Business and Training Centers (the BIT-GUT approach)
Conceptually, it's simple. Further, everybody likes it. It's the idea of making information available through a digital library so that remote locations can share information.
The first steps are usually not too difficult. A website can be made for each entity. Weblogs can be set up.
The toe has entered the water. The tentative first step has been made. This is all very good. However, without good project management and a great deal of coordination, this first outing in the cool web-waters can become a grisly shark-fest.
To avoid a complete disaster, the following Business Information & Training Guidelines for Unified Tasks (BIT-GUT) should be followed:
BIT-GUT Rules:
-1- SUFFICIENT SERVER SPACE: Make sure that each participating location or entity has a separate website with ample room on the server for uploading the documents they would like to make available.
-2- STANDARDIZED FORMATS: Make sure that all documents that the entities will be making available are available in the same formats. Ideally, they should be available in three versions:
-a- pdf file (be sure to include a link to Adobe Reader downloads). Ideally, this is a "lite" version, with optimized graphics for quick download. Try to zip the file if possible. Also include a link to zip programs.
-b- html format
-c- text-only (or graphics minimized) "print friendly"
-3- TEMPLATE APPROACH TO CATALOGUING AND INDEXING ARTICLES: Be sure to agree upon a classification scheme so that information can be effectively organized.
-a- Standardize labeling / classification scheme for articles. An example would be to list them by SPONSORING ENTITY // CATEGORY // AUTHOR'S LAST NAME // SPECIFIC ARTICLE NUMBER. For example, an article on honey bees hosted by ACDI-VOCA in Khachmaz, Azerbaijan written by Buzz Hunnicomb would be listed this way: ACDI-VOCA // AG-TECH ASSISTANCE // HUNNICOMB // 1
-b- Make sure that every sponsoring organization develops a consistent index page for their online catalogue.
-4- UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION PORTAL: An umbrella organization or entity can bring together the virtual libraries of the sponsoring entities by means of an umbrella information portal." This portal would consist of the following:
-a- Links to individual article, listed by category and by author
-b- Links to the information index pages of the sponsoring organizations
-5- SERVER CONSIDERATIONS: Great care should be given when selecting a server. Linux offers many advantages, one being the use of php. Since open-source courseware, weblogs, and other software contain php, it is ideal for certain kinds of collaboration. In addition, Linux servers are spared the some of the problems of others (namely NT).
-6- INFORMATION SHARING VULNERABILITIES: It is a good idea to screen all articles before linking to them in the main portal pages. Please keep in mind that since the hosting functions are decentralized, there is less vulnerability to losing information. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to have mirror space via a free (or low-cost) web-hosting service for the "Lite" and text-only versions.
-7- SYNCHRONIZE WATCHES, THE RACE IS OFF!! Be sure to have monthly deadlines & clear milestones in order to maintain an orderly information flow.
-a- 10th of the month: all new articles uploaded, links updated on sponsoring organization pages, and "lite" versions uploaded to the mirror sites.
-b- 15th of the month: send links to UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION
-c- 25th of the month: all articles and links reviews and approved, links updated on UMBRELLA portal page
-d- 30th of the month: press releases to local news media announcing new resources now available
-8- TRAINING WEB-ENHANCED AND INTERNET-GUIDED: Training materials can be managed in the same way. Training documents can fall into the following categories:
-a- Syllabi and course outlines
-b- Course lecture notes
-c- Course readings
-d- Student activities (worksheets, collaborative exercises, review tests)
-e- Evaluations
Following the BIT-GUT recommendations, it's possible to coordinate even the most distant sites, and the most diverse technical and training information.
BIT-GUT = BUSINESS INFORMATION & TRAINING GUIDELINES FOR UNIFIED TASKS
