Posts by jon_knox
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One of my favourite podcasts on the subjects of Science & Art introduced me to a statement that John Milton made.
Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinions in good men is but knowledge in the making
Whilst I respect the right for people to hold a different opinion to my own, I also have a high regard for their ability to voice their opinions freely, I value that more than the absence of disruption that may arise from time to time. Though I recognise that stuff, I also recognise that this is Russell's site and that my opinion occasionally (or perhaps frequently) doesn't mean shit.
Deal with the topic relevant stuff you feel needs dealing with, but I'd suggest simply ignoring any negative comments, or perceived slights.
Rob's one-man-filibuster may frequently not be worth responding to, but his views at times are a pretty good representation of a conservative view that proponents for change need to deal with.
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So this is where "things" have been happening under the banner of the Copyright discussion.
Whilst it is plain for me to see that Copyright is broken, I do concede that some of the notion of CC holds value, I can see that other parts of it are not so valuable.
Most of this stuff, I've already commented on at Dubber's.
Is Copyright broken and thus does Copyright need to change?
If Copyright were a public swimming pool and filesharers were represented by people sneaking in for a free swim, it would be apparent for all to see, that there are far more freeloaders than paying customers. Does this suggest that it’s working to you and that rights are being duely respected? It doesn’t to me.
Some might suggest that it is not Copyright that is broken, it is “Copyright enforcement” that is broken, I’d suggest that it is all part of the one scheme that most of the world simply refers to as “Copyright”.
Is having creators change their stance on non-commercial filesharing really addressing the lack of respect being displayed for the rights of the creators, or really just about taking a pragmatic step to avoid criminalising behaviour that seems increasingly acceptable (ie commonplace) to society?
I think if you allow non-commerical filesharing across-the-board, you put a significant incentive in front of people to avoid commercial channels, which simply turns the marketplace on it’s head and that is very bad, for it was the mechanism that modern society has been built upon (don’t get me wrong I’d prefer abundance to scarcity, but scarity is the model by which resouce allocation occurs effectively). See the following snippet regarding models when costs collapse/cosean floors. This vid might clarify, but it's that final sentence in the snippet that I think accurately stakes out a lot of what we have seen.
Having a number of competing rights regimes, that may or may not be consistent, compatible, easily & widely understood/accepted seems only to promote a breeding ground for chaos & confusion.
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http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/sat/sat-20080816-1105-John_Clarke_Fred_Dagg_at_60-048.mp3
I can recall listening to John Clarke on National Radio a couple of years ago, talking in the beautifully flat & distinctive tone that he possesses, about his enjoyment in listening to poetry. I think he cited the improved sense of timing it provided, over reading a poem yourself, well at least the first couple of times, as his justification for this. Mr Clarke seems to raise subject of timing & rhythm in his interviews quite frequently, as it seems his instincts on this matter are a cut above, as a more recent National Radio interview on the occasion of his 60th in 2008 demonstrates.
The ABC in Australia have a few good links for his more recent, though Australian-centric work available, though I'd suggest this in particular being one of a series in which John plays a politician (on this occasion John Howard) sitting down with the Headmaster, or Dean to discuss his performance at school.
I agree with Mr Clarke on the subject of timing, though I also enjoy listening to content, as it best directs the process of determining tone, to the parts of the body best tasked with assessing tone, being ears and reduces the amount of overload on the eyes.
Subsequently to the original John Clarke interview I mentioned above, during the many hours each day that I am in front of a computer, I have the habit of attempting to listen to good spoken-word content. Recently I came across the following series from the BBC's Radio 4 on the subjects of Science & Mathematics, cunningly disguised as Current Events and called "More or Less". Sadly the BBC removes it's content rapidly from the web a mere week after the original broadcast, cutting off these shows from the audience who are more than a week away, so subscribing to the podcast/rss feed, or regular visits are required. I had a friend check for me that the content does play for those of you who are outside of the UK and though the BBC's iPlayer can be problematic, the rss feed page apparently provided access without any problems.
I hope you'll find it is worth a visit, or two.
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Here's a slick
counterpoint to the "filesharing is stealing" message that seems to get a bit of airtime. -
A smart Knowledge Management & Social Media guy pointed me in the direction of the following regarding when cost based models fall/collapse.
So I had a little look around and found the following short vid, which seems to quite nicely & efficently (phew!) join up a few dots.
Taking it to the next level is a presentation that is probably Foocamp type stuff.
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Cheers Keir. That book has a bit to wade through. Am yet to read enough to determine if it holds water.
I did note some similarity between what the book seems to suggest and an article from The Economist regarding antibiotics & globalisation in a comment about the consensus view on protectionism in the form of barriers to trade.
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Plus, being able to embed images (as well as Youtubes) would be nice.
Though at times I've thought it would be nice to be able to post an image or two, I think that this place is just tends to be words, is nicer.
I have just spent a rather depressing morning reading The Economist. The one thing that I did find inspirational was the obituary of apartheid-fighter, Helen Suzman.
As is my habit I found something topical to listen to whilst having a bit of a look around and in the mean time I've been pointed at Naomi Klein in the Guardian.
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Radio NZ interview with Roger Shepherd talking about Flying Nun and more.
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There is a fascinating event called "the Cold Kiwi" at which you can watch Woodstock Bourbon and Cola in the wild. Attendance provides some remarkable insight into parts of Kiwi culture that perhaps should best only exist in print and films.
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This was amusing too....(warning link to Clive James follows)...though the BBC might have blocked access for people outside the UK.
Link to Clive warbling.