We are natural villagers 20 Jul 2009 We are natural villagers. For most of mankind’s history we have lived in very small communities in which we knew everybody and everybody knew us. But gradually there grew to be far too many of us, and our communities became too large and disparate for us to be able to feel a part of them, and our technologies were unequal to the task of drawing us together. But that is changing. Douglas N. Adams, 1999 [Hat tip Jeb Baugh] Social evolution Technology
Censorship More on ISP filtering 6 Dec 2008 At my other blog here. Also see Ars Technica: Here’s an idea: if the Australian government actually finds child porn, nuclear bomb making manuals, and the like on the Internet, why not do their best to find the perpetrators and put them behind bars? That way we get to keep… Read More
Epistemology Natural classification and the dynamics of science 6 Aug 201018 Sep 2017 About thirty years ago there was much talk that geologists ought only to observe and not to theorize; and I well remember someone saying that at this rate a man might as well go into a gravel pit and count the pebbles and describe their colours. How odd it is… Read More
Evolution Evolution quotes 31 May 2010 Evolution itself, it must be remembered, does not necessarily mean, applied to society, the movement of man to a desirable goal. It is a neutral, scientific conception, compatible either with optimism or with pessimism. According to different estimates it may appear to be a cruel sentence or a guarantee of… Read More
I was born in a village and I grew up in a village. I now live in a village, literally on the boundary of a smallish town whose main characteristic is that it is like a village, everybody knows everybody, and that is the reason that I live where I do and why I’m staying put.
Of course, I grew up in a village of some 1500 in a remote region. Where I live now is another village, but this one is not defined by physcial geography. It is more defined by a social geography enabled by mass communications and social networks. I think that was Adams’ point. The world is no longer round, you see.
“The world is no longer round, you see.” WOW! New theorem – “The shortest distance between two points on a sphere (ours) is through the keypad.
It is more defined by a social geography enabled by mass communications and social networks. I think that was Adams’ point. Didn’t Marshall McLuhan say something like that?
Perhaps we are natural villagers, – but for millenia man has tried to escape the country. As the saying from the Middle Ages goes “Stadtluft macht free” (city air make you fee)
And what do we do when we reach the city? Start up small groups of friends and neighbours. We are still villagers.
I always found London rather village like in a strange sort of way. I lived in Brixton for years, very strong sense of community and a very distinctive local identity. Its a vast city split up into little tribal groups and zones.