Geoffrey
Fox
Unsolicited Comments -
1998
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98.11.16 - ¿Qué pasa? An insatiable
attitude of enquiry
>>Fundamentally, the salient
and most permanent impulse of the race [of Greeks], is an avid
curiosity. The zeal for knowledge, which inspired the first philosophers
and the first scientists, differed in no way from that to which
St Paul, in an age of new necessity, cast the bait of the Unknown
God. To-day the men of Athens still greet one another with the
words ti neon -- what news?-- and await an answer. In
the country a regular formula of personal interrogation is the
preliminary to all hospitality. There results from this insatiable
attitude of enquiry, a universal, and to the Briton, extraordinary,
respect for learning, for books as books, and for any aspect
of cultural ability. From the highest to the lowest, even to
the illiterate, this national trait has endured through the ages.<<
Robert Byron, The Byzantine
Achievement: An Historical Perspective, A.D. 330-1453. 1929,
reissued New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1964. (pp. 12-13)
This is wonderful news, that
I hope my colleagues in the Bronx Educational Alliance will sufficiently
appreciate: When young Puerto Ricans or Dominicans greet one
another with the words, ¿Qué pasa? they must be
demonstrating their insatiable attitude of enquiry and respect
for learning. There may actually be something to this.
1998.06.15 - Simulated students
>>Computer-generated simulations
of people have already infiltrated industry, and are especially
popular in manufacturing and military. Generally, the virtual
humans act as crash-test dummies, walking through a machine assembly
or repair operation, helping to identify and resolve problems
before they occur in a real-world setting. More recently, virtual
humans have also started to appear as smart opponents in games
and as friendly hosts on Web sites.<< Virtual
Humans Stepping Out, by Susan Kuchinskas, Wired, 18.Jun.98
Think of the possibilities for
our colleges! Virtual students could fill our classrooms, and
be programmed to give the correct answers in quizes and serve
as peer mentors to our "real" students. Virtual professors
could be programmed to have lovable quirks. Of course, with so
many virtual students, the cafeteria would lose money -- what
do virtual humans eat, anyway? For an examination of this problem,
see the scene in William Gibson's Idoru
where the synthesized virtual rock star sits down to dinner with
real people.
98.05.?? - Idealism & practicality
Hay gente que si pudiera, arrancaría
los rayos
de la luna, para amarrarse los zapatos.
(There are people who would,
if they could, tear off the moonbeams to tie their shoes.)
-- Dulce María Loynaz
(Cuba)
Index 1998
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