I’ve just been swamped with work the last for days so I haven’t had much time to blog. I have stumbled across some really interesting reading inbetween the mad rush…

Anne Galloway‘ posted a really interesting look at the Amish. I’ve always thought that they were complete against all modern technology but it turns out they’re not. Howard Rheingold spent some time with them and the visit raised some very interesting questions:

The Amish have an elaborate system by which they evaluate the tools they use; their tentative, at times reluctant use of technology is more complex than a simple rejection or a whole-hearted embrace. What if modern Americans could possibly agree upon criteria for acceptance, as the Amish have? Might we find better ways to wield technological power, other than simply unleashing it and seeing what happens? What can we learn from a culture that habitually negotiates the rules for new tools?

We’re only just starting to come to terms with the impact of new super connected Information Age and the reality of it is nothing like what people imagined it would be. Our technofetishism is canabalising us all. Don’t get me wrong, i’m in not Rush to abandon it all move to Amish country, but there is a leason in there for all of us…

• O’Reilly Radar > Data Animations from Open Street Map
  The animation shows two days of their data. It’s fun to watch the flurry of courier activity throughout the day, watch it die down towards the evening, and then see the final burst of activity as all of the couriers head home from the pubs at the same tim
  (tags: london maps visualization location open-data geo openstreetmap)
• I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by Google - 15 September 2006 - New Scientist Tech
  This is Macbeth’s world, and us teenagers just live in it. Dig this: those “Three Weird Sisters”, who mysteriously know everything? They can foretell anything, instantly, like Google?
  (tags: culture future internet privacy)
• Schneier on Security: What is a Hacker?
  It’s someone who looks at the edge and wonders what’s beyond. It’s someone who sees a set of rules and wonders what happens if you don’t follow them. A hacker is someone who experiments with the limitations of systems for intellectual curiosity.
  (tags: culture hacking)
• The New Yorker: Fact
  an article by Malcolm Gladwell on profiling and generalizations
  (tags: behavior violence psychology interesting)