Ernie The Attorney

Irrational security, part II

Peggy Noonan's Wall St. Journal article The View from Gate 14 is provocative, not just for its indictment of our travel security system but also for her observations about George Bush. In case you forgot, she was a speech writer for Bush senior.

Fundamentalism & Religious Delusion

Richard Dawkins' excellent bookThe God Delusion is currently #12 on the NY Times best-seller list for paperback non-fiction. Dawkins is a scientist and wants to let people know that it's okay to be an atheist, despite strong resistance to the idea of questioning religious faith. His criticism of religious beliefs is polite and thoughtful, but of course that does not appease the faithful. The 'faithful' might also be called 'fundamentalists.'

What's a fundamentalist? Someone who looks at all new information to see if it matches their beliefs (or principles) and ignores that which doesn't match. The more extreme fundamentalists don't simply ignore the information, they become agitated. And really extreme fundamentalists have been known to attack. So offering new ideas can be harmful to your health. Especially if religion is involved. Just ask Galileo.

And where isn't religion involved? Even today, it's everywhere—even in places that seem implausible. Two hundred years ago our founders created a Constitution demanding the complete separation of church and state, but today practical reality tilts in precisely the opposite direction. Polls show that most Americans will elect only those political leaders who believe in God. Dawkins' is not running for U.S. President, but he has an important message: it's okay, sensible even, to question things that are unsupported by evidence. And he thinks that there isn't any meaningful evidence of God's existence.

Perhaps, though, he misunderstands the essence of religious faith.

The nice thing about a belief in God is that it offers us comfort and security. Who cares if it's provable? If it provides security then it must be a good thing. Non-fundamentalists, such as Dawkins, question even this proposition:

Then there is the security created by man in the idea of God. Many people ask me whether I believe in God, whether there is a God. You cannot discuss it. Most of our conceptions of God, of reality, of truth, are merely speculative imitations. Therefore, they are utterly false, and all our religions are based on such falsitites. A man who has lived all his life in a prison can only speculate about freedom; a man who has never experienced the ecstasy of freedom cannot know freedom. So it is of little avail to discuss God, truth; but if you have the intelligence, the intensity to destroy the barriers around you then you will know for yourself the fulfillment of life. You will no longer be a slave in a social or religious system.

By the way, the above words weren't written by Richard Dawkins, the scientist. They were spoken by J. Krishnamurti, a supremely spiritual man. His message was also that people should examine things for themselves, without preconceptions or conceptualizations. To him, this was the essence of spirituality.

Krishnamurti didn't want any followers, but he wound up having some, and still does. You don't hear much about them because they don't attract attention. They haven't started any wars, or persecuted people whose views they disagree with. Maybe they're deeply examining the world around them, which distracts them from the noble task of foisting views on others.

But back to Dawkins' book. Why is it called The God Delusion? It has to do with what the writer Robert Pirsig once observed: "When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."

Amen to that, Brother Pirsig. Amen.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go (with a shove)

As my friend Constance said, makes you glad to work from home.

How the tortoise beat the hare

The other day I saw a black SUV rev its engine and then zoom past a car on narrow street because the driver was impatient. As the SUV passed by I could see the driver, a soccer mom, casually talking on her cellphone. I looked back and saw that she had not made the light, so her NASCAR move was apparently for naught.

In the blog world I see people racing around trying every new gizmo/software and then offering up their immediate impressions as though this has great utility. One well-known tech blogger, whom I shall not name, seems to think that every conversation or encounter he has needs to be recorded and then served up to his many followers. What's most amazing is that hoards of people eagerly await this kind of information. He has wonderful backstage access to new technology, but his observations don't seem to have much value.

The mainstream media has been serving us 'stupid pie' for years. To keep their ratings up, they package their message for the lowest intellect. When bloggers first appeared there was hope that this would change but, alas, it appears that popular bloggers with continuous partial attention disorder are doing the same thing.

I've discovered somewhat recently that I don't enjoy, or benefit from, the hectic stream of observations made by people who would rather push the buzzer than listen to the whole question. Many of them are really nice people. But I can't let myself be part of their mad rush anymore, and so I've decided to let them pass me by.

When I was a kid I could never understand how the rabbit lost the race to the tortoise. The rabbit was much faster than the tortoise, and there was no reason why he shouldn't win. Turns out there is a reason: the rabbit has no idea where it's going.

Sadly, most of us are rabbits.

Rethinking libraries

Sudden and monumental change serves a purpose, or at least it should. In the aftermath of such change we shouldn't unthinkingly rebuild things back the way they were. We should pause to consider what unique advantages have surfaced. We should consider if certain foundational assumptions need to be abandoned altogether in order to create a more lasting foundation.

Last Saturday I drove my son out to St. Bernard where he and 1,000 other college kids were spending their spring break rebuilding houses at the Habitat Camp Hope project. The drive was bleak. There were a few spots of commerce, improbable little strip malls amidst miles of forsaken houses. My eyes brightened when I saw a small white trailer with a sign that proclaimed the presence of a public library. And yet it was a simple little trailer. What kind of library could be housed in such a structure?

As I drove closer I saw a large sign outside of the library: "FREE WIRELESS INTERNET". For the past few days I've been thinking about the strange implications of this simple little sign.

St. Bernard was completely inundated by floodwaters from Katrina. And the people of St. Bernard are not folks who spend a lot of money on technology. You won't see any Starbucks out there, that's for sure. Home Depot has a store the size of the Pentagon, and beyond that it's just little mom and pop stuff. The most exotic business I saw was a Planet Beach tanning salon. I guess that's why I was intrigued by the library Wi-Fi sign. It seems like if you live in St. Bernard and want to use some free wifi you have to go to the library (well Camp Hope, where my son stayed with the 1,000 college students, has free wifi too).

Today, the Times Picayune has an article about a new $650 million 'Library Master Plan' for the city. The story doesn't say anything about wireless internet. Perhaps that is an oversight by the author. Then again maybe there is a larger oversight. Maybe wireless internet isn't part of the new master plan at all. Of course, the libraries of the future aren't all about wireless internet access.

So what should they be about?

Here's how a progressive Northwest city envisioned this question:

"Seattle's public library...was designed to be a downtown hangout, with something for everyone, as if you crossed Starbucks with a mega bookstore." FN1

In other words, the idea was to use the library as a community gathering place. Wow! What a great idea. Needless to say, an idea like that isn't borne by thinking of libraries in a traditional way. It was borne by asking fundamental questions:

Why do so many people hang out in large bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Noble? Why do people go to Starbucks to hangout? What kind of architecture is conducive to hanging out in public places?

The folks who are rebuilding New Orleans' public libraries are about to spend a lot of money. I hope that they have asked these questions, and that their vision includes some novel thinking. If they haven't then I suggest they start by reading Mutating Libraries by Jenny Levine, a forward-thinking librarian who references a Slate slideshow entitled: Borrowed Time: How do you build a public library in the age of Google? Ms. Levine takes some issue with a statement by Ross Dawson that libraries will extinct by 2019, but she agrees that " libraries are about a lot more than just books or study carrels," which is why she believes that "there’s room for things like gaming in today’s library."

I wish that Jenny Levine had been in charge of our library project because then I wouldn't have to wonder whether we were acting with the proper vision. Somehow I fear we are not.

FN1: Quote is from the 7th slide in the Borrowed Time slideshow.

Let's all go to the lobby...

Dr.'s Phil advice for 'media-therapists'? Don't get a license

We all know about Dr. Phil, and his most recent attempt to "help" Britney Spears.  People wonder if he violated an ethical rule or licensing provision by revealing what he did about his visit to Cedars-Sinai to see Ms. Spears.  This NY Times article concludes that he appears to have miraculously avoided violating any of the provisions that would normally apply.  Not being licensed as a therapist turns out to be good for Dr. Phil.

It's wonderfully ironic that none of the normal rules apply to Dr. Phil.  He doesn't need rules, but then neither do we. For example, do we need 'rules' to conclude that what he did was wrong?  Do we need to spend much time figuring out why it was wrong?  Isn't it obvious that he put his own media-mongering interests above those of the person he claims he was trying to help?  Of course, this recent publicity snafu won't keep him from plying his trade.  When people are confused and desperate for help they'll listen to pretty much anybody.  Thank God our ever-vigilant media helps counterbalance this unfortunate tendency.

Freshly resolved for New Years, but needing a good 'how-to' book

New Years is a popular time to make resolutions (most of which go unfulfilled, but that's not something we celebrate or dwell on).  I was reminded of this as I entered the local Barnes and Noble because right up front there were books about fitness and yoga, followed by books on saving and financial planning.  However, being the sort of person who likes to get below the surface, I walked past these grab-bag offerings and headed toward the section on Enlightenment.  After much searching I realized that there was no section on Enlightenment.  The New Age section was the closest thing I could find.

I was quickly overwhelmed by the vast collection.  There was a book called "Astral Traveling for Beginners," which astonished me.  I don't want to arrogantly dismiss the possibility of Astral Traveling, but the notion that I could learn this by reading a beginner's guidebook is hard for me to grasp.  Have we evolved to the point where ancient mysticism is now available to the masses?  Apparently so.

Continuing to browse, I spotted a book called The Complete Idiots Guide to Communicating with Spirits.  In this book one learns:

• Meditative Methods - to help you tap into your innate medium abilities
• Guidance and Assistance - from family and friends who have crossed to the other side
• Comfort and Healing - through spirit contact and messages

Many people might think me an idiot for holding such a book, so I glanced around.  Seeing no one, I opened the book and found this incisive rebuttal to my petty fear:

"You’re no idiot, of course. You know life is a journey and that physical birth and death are its points of transition. Many people, across cultures and faiths, believe the spirit lives on—and have experienced contact with the spirits of loved ones who have passed to the higher side. This contact is joyous, comforting, and healing—but you wonder if it’s really real and whether you can share in it, too. Don’t give up the spirit!"

Despite the allure of a new form of communication, this wasn't my idea of 'spiritual enlightenment.'  Fortunately, there are many, many books in the Complete Idiot series that deal with spiritual matters.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Toltec Wisdom by Sheri A. Rosenthal, DPM was intriguing.  It contained a foreword by Miguel Ruiz, the master of Toltec wisdom and author of The Four Arguments (not part of the Complete Idiot series).  The book purports to be 'filled with practical tools that readers can employ immediately.'  The web page for the book has a form so you can be notified immediately if the author releases a new book. Unfortunately, there is no convenient way to be notified when the author achieves Total Enlightenment.

In the end I decided to play it safe and stick to the well-worn path.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jesus is "perfect for Bible study experts, new believers, and the just plain curious." If I make good progress with that then maybe next year I'll be ready to speak with ghosts and Toltecs.

So what about truth?

'Truth' is one of those words that we use so frequently that we never really stop to think about what it means.  We talk about 'the truth' as though there is this fixed thing that exists in an observable state that we can all agree on.  It would be nice if we could agree on some truths, but if you look at the sweep of human history you'll see that people have been fighting about 'truths' for centuries.  Is there a God?  Who are the 'chosen people'? The list goes on and on.

Okay, so we're not so good with discovering spiritual truth (assuming there is such a thing).  What about scientific truth?  The fable of science that we tell ourselves is this: A bunch of smart people who like to measure things very precisely conduct experiments and then they determine what conditions lead to certain outcomes.  If the same conditions always lead to the same outcome then we have discovered 'causation.'  In real life isolating conditions that lead to other conditions is hard.  So what happens with these really smart guys is that they write lots of obtuse papers and attend conferences where they speak in a language that is incomprehensible to local news reporters.  But that doesn't stop the poofy-haired anchorman from trying to explain that scientists have now discovered that, say, coffee is actually good for you. Oh, but we all know that caffeine research isn't where the action is.

Stem-cell research is a fascinating field of study, as is everything in the field of genomics.  The notion that life has a blueprint that is encoded into cellular structures, or even smaller structures, is mind-boggling.  If there is agreement among scientists about what is possible we have to remember that it isn't really 'truth.'  At least not a 'commonly perceivable truth.' Why not?  Well, because we usually perceive the world we live in through certain filters.  The political realm is one strong filter.  But let's not forget about religious filters.  A lot of people in this country rely heavily on so-called 'religious leaders' to help them make sense of the world that they live in, which leads to some very interesting notions of what might be 'true.' (See e.g. Pat Robertson explaining what caused the recent ice storms).

I used to watch the local news to find out 'what happened' what happened in my community.  And I used to believe in Santa Clause.  More recently, I have decided that it's better for me to decide for myself what is true.  I have great respect for scientists and anyone who tries to suppress prejudice and bias in making estimates about what is true. But, frankly, we're all human and those are hard tendencies to suppress.  One thing I am pretty sure of, though: the chances that groups of humans will be able to identify 'the truth' is zilch. Assuming that 'the truth' is something that can be manifest in the three-dimensional world that we all think of as a receptacle for reality.

The international law of golf cart rental

San Pedro is a small town on the island of Ambergris Caye, which is located off the coast of Belize.  It's a beautiful place to vacation: great fishing and great scuba diving.  There aren't many roads in San Pedro, and the few roads that exist are filled with sand.  Most people walk around.  If you want to traverse large distances then having a golf cart makes sense.  But, if you rent a golf cart, be sure to pay for the insurance rider if they offer it. Otherwise, you'll wind up in a complex international legal dispute like the couple from Phoenix.

Take my advice, please.

Today I had the opportunity to offer advice to two people.  One person called and asked for my advice, and the other person didn't ask for my advice (but, in the grand tradition of being human, I offered it anyway).  The person who asked for the advice needed merely to be told that I didn't have any special knowledge, which was a welcome message.  The person that didn't ask for my advice didn't seem to receive it well.

I try to refrain from offering advice because people rarely appreciate it, and it seems to be a waste of time.  Which raises an important question: why agree to speak at Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars? 

Well, first, the people attending CLEs are there because they have to get a certain number of hourly credits, and so if they have to get advice from someone there's no great harm in being the one who offers it up. They get official credit for ignoring my advice, which is productive for them.  And, for every hour of CLE advice doled out I get three hours of CLE credit, which is really productive for me. 

So, I guess if you're forced to deal with advice, then it's definitely better to give than to receive.  That's all I'm saying. 

Yelp, a little louder would ya?

Have you heard about Yelp?  It's sort of a cross-breed of Amazon's user-reviews and the Yellow Pages' directory of local businesses.  Yelp has reviews of restaurants, bars, yoga studios, and whatever.  But the reviews are (did I mention this already?) by every day users.  Here's the New Orleans page.  Apparently, Yelp all the rage in cities like San Francisco.  Although I hear that in SF the vegans are on a major campaign to blast restaurants that aren't 'vegan friendly.'  That doesn't make sense to me.  I thought a non-meat diet was supposed to make you less aggressive.

Oh well.  Speaking of San Francisco, though, I'm heading there today.  I'll be there until Sunday, but probably won't have much time to socialize.  I'll be bopping around like a sub-atomic particle whose location can only be defined in terms of probabilities.  There is, however, a high-probability that at some point I'll be in the Apple Store.

Prejudice-By-Numbers

We're all biased.  We all harbor prejudice.  We should better appreciate our own prejudices instead of examining prejudice in others. 

We aren't born with prejudice.  But we are born with minds that tend to point us in certain directions.   How do our minds getting pointed in the direction of prejudice?

1.  Lack of Familiarity

First, there is a contrast between one thing and another.  The mind will always spot the contrast.  There is me, and then there is the other.  I am quite familiar with me.  But what do I know about the other? 

2. Suspicion & Distrust

Perhaps he has a gun, or maybe it's just a hateful disposition.  He doesn't smile when we meet.  Is he going to attack me? If he gets too close I'll have to be ready to defend myself.

3. Assumptions

The others in his group do lot of bad things. That's what I heard. Some people don't want to talk about it, but it's getting worse.  One guy in our group is talking about it.  He's getting criticized but, the truth is, a lot of people think the same thing.  They just don't want to admit it.

4. Like Minds

I'm going join forces with the people who understand how it really is.  The others are getting more powerful and we have to stop them.  We have to do it now, before it gets worse.  It's not that we don't want them around, but we have to protect our way of life.  It's that simple.

Another Direction

There many dots, and your mind will want to connect them.  But, there are many ways to connect the dots.  Take your time and use a number 2 pencil if you feel you must.   But don't feel you have to connect the dots quickly.  There is no time limit, and you are free to change your answers at anytime.

Ability to change = Survival

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change."  --Charles Darwin

Safety tip - using your cellphone

So there you are unconcious on the ground, having suffered a traumatic injury.  Paramedics arrive and want to treat you quickly and also notify your next of kin.  Your cellphone, which is close by, has lots of numbers stored in it, but that won't help the paramedics.  Which of those many numbers is your 'next of kin'?

You can make the paramedic's job much easier by adding an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under label "ICE" with the name and phone number of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf.  Read more about this idea, which paramedics are trying to get people to adopt, here and here.

By the way, I'd add an entry in that ICE contact that describes what blood type you are and if you are allergic to any medications.

Magazine Girl

Today I met Magazine Girl, a very sweet young woman who runs a magazine store on (where else?) Magazine Street.  We talked briefly about the blogging phenomenon, and what it's like to run a small business.  Her store has mostly eclectic magazines, not the usual grocery store fare.  I browsed around and picked up a copy of the February edition of Modern Drunkard, which has a feature on the 'Wisdom of the Winos.'  It's good to see some scholarship being devoted to this sort of thing.  I'm sure Richard Pryor would be proud.

Singapore - a country where people trust their government!

Shel Israel blogs about his stimulating encounter with a Singaporean official:

"As I think about Mrs. Tan on the bus ride back to my hotel, I realize that in the U.S., government is about the last place I would find her. But then, we don’t have CEOs in our government. We have bureaucrats. In Singapore, government officials are moved about from one department to another every few years, a remnant of the old colonial British system. In the U.S. she would probably be a serial entrepreneur..."

That's assuming she went in the private sector. If she chose to work in government she would probably become frustrated, territorial and devoid of any creative inspiration.

1974 - It was a very good year for Weight Watchers recipe cards

From ETA's roving food reporter, Steve Domas, comes this gem: Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974. While the food photos are wonderful, the commentary from the person who posted the recipe cards on his/her website is the best part. Bon Appetit.

Cargo Magazine - a new 'lifestyle' publication for men

Michael Cruft is an ubër-geek who is contemplating whether he should read the new magazine, Cargo. The magazine is a 'lifestyle' magazine for gadget loving techno-geeks. In other words, for guys like Mikey and me.

But, Mike focuses on some key concerns that obviously come into play.

At a glance, Cargo looks very appealing. But for a man to pick up a copy almost seems effeminate in some way. Would buying a 'lifestyle' magazine for men without nude photos make me less manly?

His conclusion? Well, don't ask me. Go read for yourself.

Administrative Assistant's Day - Give an Unsual Gift

Lawyer Matt Homann has a very interesting post about 'Administrative Assistant's Day' and the gift he gave to his secretary one year: he let her fire a client of her choosing. Read the post; it's not as crazy as it sounds.

Cluelessness at the New York Times?

Jim Kunstler is picking up steam at his new blog:

"The New York Times is rapidly becoming the supreme organ of cluelessness in our so-called culture, and its avatar is columnist David Brooks, who wrote a hymn to suburbia in this week's Sunday Magazine ("Our Sprawling Supersize Suburbia"). Not just suburbia, actually, but the outer asteroid belts of the newest hyper suburbs, especially the ones far beyond even the olifactory influence of any real city or town, and most particularly the ones composed of the biggest McHouses."

As I've said before, you may not agree with everything that Kunstler says, but you have to admit he is a swashbuckling critic and a great writer.

Bruce Sterling at SXSW

Reknowned sci-fi author Bruce Sterling is speaking at SXSW (read: "South by Southwest") in Austin. Mike Wayslik is doing a damned fine job of blogging his speech, which includes these gems on off-shoring and computer security problems:

2004 is a very cheerful year for some people - India is waking up all over right now. As a futurist, I spend a lot of time trend-spotting India. They're making amazing progress in living standards for a billion people.

Freaking out over Indian offshoring is a short sighted point of view. If you want to keep a large number of people ignorant and backwards, try it out in your own country instead....

I spend a lot of time thinking about computer security. Under this administration, security has gotten steadily worse. Viruses, phishing, torrents of porn, pharmaceutical fraud is reaching unprecedented rates. About 1/3 of the spam online is being sent from people whose unsecured computers have been enslaved. Because it's impossible to secure a Microsoft system. "Outlook is a flaw with a mailer attached to it."

Read more

Sexual stereotypes, Generalizations, and Pattern Recognition

The other day a woman I know made the offhand comment: "Men are obssessed with breasts." By this she meant that men were more likely to be interested in a woman with large breasts. I've learned to let these sort of provocative generalizations pass. First, keeping in mind it is a 'generalization' (and ignoring the provocative use of the word "obssessed"), it is more or less true that men are sexually stimulated by visual things more than women are (a point confirmed by this article in the New York Times).

I have also learned when I hear this sort of statement from women not to respond with the equally applicable generalization that women are more likely to be interested in a man who is financially well off. This point also appears to be confirmed by the New York Times article. Of course, the article is simply talking about general tendencies in the context of evolutionary traits that enhance the likelihood of survival. Obviously, not all men are stimulated by large breasts and not all women are focused on finding a mate who is financially successful (aka a 'good provider' in the parlance of evolutionary biologists).

The problem with generalizations is that people often make them in a callous or flippant manner that invites objection. But, since we were talking about evolutionary traits, I think it should be noted that the ability of the human race to make generalizations is itself a nice survival tool (i.e. let's see now, the prey we are hunting seem to be congregating near the watering hole with great frequency so maybe we should hunt over there more often).

Perhaps the ability to make generalizations is not as important as it once was, but I still think that it is important in the sense that pattern-recognition will always be something we want our brains to be good at. What's needed is for people to realize that they are prone to making generalizations. Then perhaps they can work on analyzing the generalizations their brains so easily create to see if they are valid in a particular context. Of course, getting people to realize this is obviously a top-priority of our government and the people who run our mass media, right?

Adopting new standards? - fuggetaboutit

When I was a kid I remember in grade school we used to get this slick monthly newsletter about all the cool futuristic stuff that was going to happen. I remember reading about how the United States was going to adopt the Metric System for measurement (which made me a little more attentive when we studied metric measurement). Adopting a new way of measurement was going to be so important that it just had to happen. At least that was the way the article presented it. One thing the article didn't discuss: how we would learn to actually estimate things in metric terms, which weren't as familiar to us as the inches/feet/yards system that was already in place. But, hey, that was a small matter. I was sure that someone had taken this into consideration before pronouncing that we would adopt the new system.

Turns out that the 'human-factor' wasn't a small matter, and maybe no one took that into consideration. And it looks like the United States is not going to adopt the Metric system, at least not anytime soon. Looks like making lots of people adopt a whole new system of measurement (even if it is a fantastic idea) is just too hard.

It's not hard for one person to do it, though. When I moved to Panama I suddenly found myself among people who spoke in Metric terms and so I learned to make my estimates in meters and kilometers. Anyway, like I said, this works for one or two people, but it won't work for the country as a whole.

Now, having said that, I'd like to propose that the government (through whatever 'standards body' they'd appoint) decree that numeric keyboards (the ones that have the first 9 numerals grouped in rows of 3) all be the same. Why is it that some numeric keypads have the 1-2-3 at the top of the row, and others have the 7-8-9 grouped together at the top? Let's at least be consistent. Clearly, it would be desirable for people to be able to use any numeric keypad without first having to figure out the layout (can you imagine if the arrangement of the alphabet on keyboards was non-standard?).

If we can't even impose standards to make the commonly used numeric keypad conform to a consistent design, then what chance do we have to adopt the Metric system? Zero, none, nada, bupkis...

James Howard Kuntsler: be prepared for some shocking observations

James Howard Kuntsler spoke at PopTech last year and was riveting. I found out from Sherry that he has a website. I don't recommend this for everyone, but if you like sharp opinion and clever writing then read his running essay entitled The Clusterfuck Nation Chronicle. You may be shocked but you won't be bored.

Tired of the fancy names for 'sizes' at Starbucks?

Grande? Venti? Why can't I order my coffee size in plain English? My frustration is captured in this flash animation (caution: harsh language).

Checkout Counter Shortcuts - and other thoughts about efficiency in everyday life

Ever had this happen? You're standing in line at the checkout counter and you have several of the same items (i.e. a batch of Christmas lights). The person at the checkout counter meticulously scans each item, even though you just know that the scanner/register has the ability to have all the items entered in one pass of the scanner. If the right shortcut is triggered before the scan.

I don't blame the checkout person, because I'm sure that --in many cases-- they haven't been told that the scanner is capable of doing this. Or maybe they know it has the ability but they haven't been shown how to do it. Frankly, I'm more dismayed by office computer users who have never ventured to use a keyboard shortcut for, say, printing, even though they see the shortcut on the pull down menu every time they select it.

I guess some people just aren't looking for shortcuts. Which makes me think of this really sad thought: I wonder if there are any TIVO users out there who don't ever bother to fast-forward through the commercials?

Book Recommendation: Information Anxiety

I'm reading Richard Saul Wurman's book Information Anxiety and I have to say it really resonates. Richard Saul Wurman started out as an architect, and then in 1975 came up with the concept of "Information Architecture." I didn't know any of that when I stumbled across a guidebook for New York city called Access New York City. The guidebook was arranged in a way that makes it easier to navigate and so I wound up relying on the Access guides for every city I went to. Richard Saul Wurman created those guidbooks based on his ideas of "information architecture."

Wurman is, from what I've heard, both a visionary and pain-in-the-ass. Maybe his difficult persona stems from his unconventional way of looking at things. Maybe we need someone with an unconventional viewpoint to help us understand how to deal with our ever-burgeoning information overload. What 'overload' you ask?

Well, let's start with the scope of information that we encounter daily and compare it to what peole used to encounter. Factoid: A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in 17th-century England. In other words, as Wurman puts it "information was once a sought after and treasured commodity like a fine wine. Now, it's regarded more like crabgrass, something to be kept at bay." So what can we do about this situation?

One way that people try to deal with information they encounter is to give it order. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. Wurman explains:

Order is no guarantee of understanding. Sometimes, just the opposite is true. The traditional format for guidebooks calls for chapters divided into neat categories —restaurants, museums, hotels, stories, each with its own chapter. In Access guidebooks, all are jumbled together. They are divided by neighborhoods. This is the way that cities are laid out and experienced. Cities don't come in chapters with restaurants in one section and museums in another; their order is organic, sometimes confusing, and never alphabetic. To experience a city you have to acknowledge confusion.

Wurman thinks that a fundamental source of "information anxiety" for many people is the inability to admit ignorance. Our culture doesn't reward forthright confessions of ignorance; there is instead a collective effort to stand on our intellectual tippy-toes and at all times appear knowledgeable. As Wurman points out "one of the things that we all learn in school is how to respond with a look of thoughtful intelligence to even the most incomprehensible information," explaining he "could probably elicit this look from most Americans if [he] suddenly started speaking Swahili."

Wurman, as I said, is an unconventional thinker, but for many reasons I find what he says refreshingly honest and provocative. I especially like his guiding principles: "Perhaps the three principles closest to my heart—and the most radical—are learning to accept your ignorance, paying more attention to the questions than to the answer, and never being afraid to go in the opposite direction." As an example of the latter principle, he gives this example. Barry Diller —when he was the chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox— asked a junior executive why a certain assignment wasn't finished. The young man said, "It's taking so long because I'm trying to do it the right way." Diller replied, "Did you ever consider doing it the wrong way?"

The Matrix Revolutions - Let's get it over with

At 7:40 pm local time I'm going to go see The Matrix Revolutions. I know it's going to be mediocre: a proportioned mixture of grandiose ideology and insipid dialogue. But there will be explosions, state of the art CGI, and an ear-blasting body-thumping soundtrack.

And the best part is that, once the movie is over, I can go on with the rest of my life. I will have achieved what the therapists call "closure."

Give me a human and make it snappy

Sure we all like to talk to automated voice systems and push buttons one after another like a rat-in-a-virtual-maze. But sometimes when you call one of these big companies whose specialty is "communication" you just want to talk to a real live, DNA-propagating, person. Ever feel like that? Well then read this.

Where are we going?

Juan Enriquez says if you want to know where you are headed you need a map. In this interview he points out that we have a great map. One that tells us we are heading for a revolutionary time.

Sept 21, 1939

What happened on that day? If you were listening to Arthur Godfrey, as Lileks did, you'd know.