Where shall we to begin to unravel the drivel in the paper by Roszak.  Let’s start with his use of language... humans have minds and think... with no "quotes" on the words. Computers are "data processors" which "regurgitate" from "memory" with heavy use of quotes.  Their proponents are "data merchants" - you can almost hear him spit as he says it - and they promulgate a "cult of information" - my quotes. Human memory is the "invisible psychic adhesive" - give me a break.

Then we get pages on "ideas" which humans "think" about, and how those differ from what "computers" can "process" - and Rosak helpfully explains that these are generalization mechanisms based on experience of more or fewer instances.  Pity he seems to not know about explanation based generalization systems in computers which have worked for many years to find and refine categories in the taxonomies in many knowledge-based systems, and then used to great effect to advance scientific knowledge in astronomy, genetics and drug discovery. These systems have been around for well over three decades, so if he was speaking about generalisation, you think he could have looked it up (suggested keywords: "computer" "AI" "generalization").  But then again perhaps (neo-)luddites cannot do proper research if it involves using computers.His poor use of the Logo Poetry generator program, which included an element to ensure some randomizing phrases and vocabulary was introduced into the generated poems, was introduced as his example to illustrate the level of computer "simulation" of human "originality". This really is such a poorly related example I could not believe it got through peer review even in a philosophy paper.

He begins to go off into the void with references to the self reflection and how the mind is such a wonderful thing because it cannot fully model itself... but can (of course) completely understand its own creations. He asserts that it is "impossible to invent a machine that will be the mind's equal". Well maybe we can try to go for "mind" rather than mind and we might succeed. He does like his "quotes".

Roszak, T., (1994) "Of Ideas and Data" from Roszak, T., The cult of information : a neo-Luddite treatise on high tech, artificial intelligence, and the true art of thinking pp.87-107, University of California Press.

A Wordle word scatter diagram of my blogs for IDEL11 on Holyrood Park and for EDEDC11 on edc11.education show that the work I did to create a "Life Wall" at http://atate.org/ has been my top focus in the first couple of weeks of the MSC in e-Learning.  I very much like Wordle diagrams to show threads for work over a long period... and have used them for some years on my Publications sites at

• O-Plan Programme Publications - 1983 to 1999 - http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/project/oplan/documents/
• I-X Programme Publications - 1983 to present - http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/project/ix/documents/

A way to display good quality text is important in the classrooms.  Shared Media/Media-on-a-Prim (MOAP) allows a small number (say 4-6 simultaneously active) feeds from web pages, video, Flash, etc. to be visible on prim surfaces (like screens).  This can include dynamic content from Moodle and other content management systems on the web. Note that many feeds from URLs can be set up... but only a few can show at once, the others simply turning off when not in view or when too many are in view.

But it is possible to show much more on screen when textures are rendered in world or images are uploaded and shown i world directly from the asset data base.  This is is how most presentation screen have workled in Second Life and OpenSim until recently when Shared media/MOAP appeared.  The trick is to use BOTH mechanism in a classroom - using uploaded images and displays where possible, but using the small number of MOAP feeds for dynamically delivered shared content.

But what if we could show dynamic text content as well using previously uploaded content via fonts in the asset data base, with display of characters from those fonts on prims set up as a display/blackboard.

Nexii Malthus in Second Life (previously an active member of the Second Life Teen Grid, and now on the main grid) has created a very nice text display using inworld font textures to do just this. Details at https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/NexiiText2

The elements of the Life Wall have been encouraging me to dig out all sorts of stuff that was buried away, and recall events and dates (sometimes with the aid of my wife and others) which were already only dimly there.  But they have been brought back to vivid life through developing my personal Life Wall.  I assume everyone will want photos of them when very young on their Life Wall... there are few events in life as important as being born! The baby photos of me at a few months old and age 1 year are up there now. Did I look cute then?

The live Life Wall is at http://atate.org - Hover a mouse over a tag or clipping for more detail. Click on the thumbnails for some larger versions of the images.

Life Map

I had already added a link to a "Life Map" on which I think a lot of life's experiences could be noted through places visited and dated events.  I feel this element of the Life Wall could be so valuable, that I have adjusted the clippings column that will map to one HD screen of presentation to allow for an embedded Life Map directly on the main display.  There is a link to a larger map which could then be shown over 2 X HD displays when clicked.

Life Wall Pro

The Life Wall idea and presentation could also be adapted to professional purposes, e.g. to collect together and present a researcher's entire scientific contribution. It could allow then to look at their work and relationships. They could bring in professional contacts and the mappings between people, projects, organisations, tools, etc. Displays could include professional social network and project relationship diagrams (e.g. CMU Catalyst), FOAF, knowledge asset roadmaps (Macintosh, Filby and Tate, 1998), etc.  I am developing this aspect now.  As for Life Map Personal I hope to make the approach reasonably general and create an empty life map web area which other can copy and adapt to use themselves.

Reference:

Ann Macintosh, Ian Filby and Austin Tate (1998) "Knowledge Asset Road Maps" Proc. of the 2nd Int. Conf. on Practical Aspects of Knowledge Management (PAKM98) Basel, Switzerland, 29-30 Oct. 1998, (U. Reimer, ed.). Available from http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/project/oplan/documents/1998/98-pakm98-roadmaps.pdf

I have been inspired by the WallWisher and ideas for creative media in some of the course guides for the MSc in e-Learning... and have begun to think of ways to explore the use of tags and clippings to let someone tell their life story in unstructured, time line and narrative ways.

I wanted to look at the idea of your life in 2 x HD screens of display space.  My trial setup is called 2 x HD x bat (my initial and long time computer login name). Spoken in a spelled out way as "two" "times" "h" "d" "times" "b" "a" "t".

More details are at http://atate.org/life-about.html

On the suggestion of Fiona Littleton of Information Services, and a tutor on the MSc in e-Learning, I have had a Wimba Classroom set up for test related to the Open Virtual Collaboration Environment in OpenVCE.net

I attended a briefing about the new SLoodle 2 toolset on the EduNation III region of Second Life on Sunday 18-Sep-2011 by Paul Priebsch (avatar name: Fire Centaur).  About 30 other educators were there.   

The new toolset assumes a viewer that can support shared media a.k.a. media on a prim (MOAP). It currently runs in Second Life, and will soon be ported to OpenSim.  It works with Moodle 1.9.x.  In Moodle 2.x the quizzes may not yet function correctly, but most of the rest of the virtual world side set should.  A feature of SLoodle 2 is the ability to set up "scenes" an rapidly rezz them in and around a classroom for a lesson, and then tidy them away so the ability can be re-used.  The quiz chair can be set up to give rewards to students, or "penalise" them for failure... including dumping them in a shark filled pool with realistic screams!

As usual links and resources, and full size versions of these images of the demo meeting, are being gathered at http://openvce.net/sloodle  

This is the 3D model created in the 1990s of Supercar in collaboration between myself and Mick Imrie.  Mick is the expert modeller.  I did some simple Black Rock Lab buildings rather than the core vehicle.  The model has been used in many digital environments since it was created, and now can be imported via the Collada model format into Second Life and OpenSim. The models are available at http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/GA/supercar-3d.html

Here is Supercar in full flight in OpenSim... My other car is a Toyota :-)

My interests include 3D/CGI modelling (useful backgound for my interests in using Virtual Worlds), and graphic art.  I very much like team projects and collaborative working, and have loved working in teams scattered across the globe on my projects and in my recreational interests.  I hope to share some of these interests with you, and frankly to get an excuse to show some of the resulting artworks, through these blog entries.

In 2008 there was a number of web-based collective artworks created and shows at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Luce Foundation Center.  One called "ghosts of a chance " invited people to submit representations of eyes... photos, drawings, graphical concepts, etc.  They were composed together and displayed in the final artwork... "All Eyes"...

Click on image for the full picture. See if you can find the one I submitted.

One of my reseaerch interests is in the creation of "intelligent" meeting spaces for interaction between people and systems.  The programme is called the "I-Room".  More details are at: http://openvce.net/iroom

Let Ai Austin take you on a short tour of an I-Room through this YouTube video...