Technologies are always coming out of networks that require other related ideas to have the next one. The fact that we have simultaneous independent invention as a norm works against the idea of the heroic inventor, that we’re dependent on them for inventions. These things will come when all the other pieces are ready.
A fascinating detective story of the Enlightenment, told from a very personal perspective.
A new essay from Maciej on Idle Words is always a treat, and this latest dispatch from Yemen is as brilliantly-written as you’d expect.
Anger is an energy, especially when it’s coming from Tom …and for once, it’s not about the Semantic Web.
Seriously though, this is a great piece of writing. This is what blogs are for.
A great piece of reasoned explanation by Ricky Gervais.
A site that aims to ask and explore the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality, with a focus on science, religion, markets and morals.
A fascinating look at hypertext in illuminated manuscripts.
A filter (for Mac and PC) to block violence, misogyny, superstition and other mainstays of religious content.
A laugh-out-loud email exchange ...because if you didn't laugh, you'd cry.
A new take on an old classic: how to make communion wafers zingier.
I can't believe how forehead-slappingly stupid my home country can be sometimes.
Humanist text replacement.
A satirical parody of the BBC's "Thought for the Day". Slightly cruel, mostly funny and entirely brilliant.
On the Sunday afternoon in the middle of South by Southwest Interactive, Andy, Jessica and I took some time out for a very pleasant Mexican lunch at Las Manitas with Sean Bonner, Tantek, Ariel and our anglo-Canadian musical masters, Matt and Hannah.
As lunch neared its end, every single mobile device at the table began to vibrate with ever greater frequency. We were missing the now-infamous interview by Sarah Lacey of Mark Zuckerburg but Twitter was giving us a blow-by-blow account of the debacle. The most astute observation was delivered from afar by Tom Morris:
What’s the difference between Facebook and the FB session at SXSW? You can leave the session…
On balance, we were all pretty glad that we were missing the train wreck.
We got the bill and started paying up. Tantek began going through each of his dollar bills with a felt-tipped pen, crossing out the word “God” from the phrase In God We Trust.
I asked the obvious question. Tantek, what are you doing?
His answer:
Yours to cut out and keep.
Come join the slowest-growing religion in the world.
Just as with lolcats, the cumalitive effect of this lolcat/religion mashup is pure hilarity. I'll never look at religious iconography the same way again.
A blog devoted entirely to reshelving books in their correct categories in bookstores, specifically the science and religion categories. I approve.
I can has jenezis?