Threaded Bookmarks 08-March-2010

Today’s thread concerns obstinate elephants.

The Data Singularity is Here
Michael E. Driscoll, Dataspora Blog, 08-March-2010.

I conjecture that the largest share of data on the planet sits in log files; these are the EKGs of the server farms that manage our cell phones, our e-mail accounts, and every other facet of our online existence — and which consume 3% of the US energy budget.
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Collectively, these logs reveal the pulse of the planet — flight delays, package shipments, job losses, and human sentiments.

And as I’ll discuss in my next post, those who can extract a meaningful signal from this thunderous cacophony — the analysts, statisticians, and data scientists — are uniquely positioned to change the world.

gml: Promises to be a fun series of posts by a thoughtful commentator about “Big Data, open source analytics, and data visualization.” I don’t know, however … “data singularity” and “uniquely positioned to change the world” may both prove to be exaggerations. It’s tough to move obstinate elephants.

 
Time to Start Taking the Internet Seriously
David Gelernter. Edge. 05-March-2010.

11. The Internet will never create a new economy based on voluntary instead of paid work — but it can help create the best economy in history, where new markets (a free market in education, for example) change the world. Good news! — the Net will destroy the university as we know it (except for a few unusually prestigious or beautiful campuses).
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23. The Internet’s future is not Web 2.0 or 200.0 but the post-Web, where time instead of space is the organizing principle — instead of many stained-glass windows, instead of information laid out in space, like vegetables at a market — the Net will be many streams of information flowing through time.

gml: For reasons that defy me, this article is arranged in 32 numbered paragraphs. Regardless of the reasons, the post has been stirring up some cackles lately. Honestly I don’t quite know what to make of it. I cannot comment intelligently on much of the article. But with regard to Gelernter’s prognosis for higher education, I think he is wrong. Given enough time, it may be true that the “Net will destroy the university as we know it.” But it seems far more likely that many universities will adapt and coexist in layers of rich tapestry with new forms of learning.