I think it is on the levels of “knowledge” and “wisdom” that I struggle with the notion of computers doing more for us – where is the limit? These are things we define somewhat subjectively… and perhaps most importantly to me, there are times when the best decision is to break with conventional wisdom, or to break the rules. How do you “explain” that to a computer? As humans we make judgments that are at odds with logic – sometimes to our detriment, to be sure – but sometimes, it’s the “right” thing to do. There is “wisdom” in that, but sometimes I can’t even explain it after the fact, let alone before…
Monthly Archives: February 2013
Comment on Computers, Men, and Machines by Amy Hogan
Kimberley – I had the same reaction to all the “MEN” language… it was almost visceral, actually. For all the progress that is still to be made, the strength of my reaction tells me we have made significant progress if the use of language has become so striking.
At any rate, I reflected similarly on the indexing and access pieces – I think Google has brought us a long way, but there’s still room to improve. I remember starting off on the internet, with the BEV – using Mosiac and Lycos. It was exciting to be able to find relevant and specific things easily. Now I feel like it’s almost too easy to find too much – and remember what is interesting, or where and how to find it again (as I think someone else in the NMDS referenced) is becoming the challenge. Pinterest, cloud bookmarks, reading lists… lots of options, but I haven’t settled into one as a way of functioning yet. I’m working a lot in Evernote, which gives the option to clip things into a notebook and supports a good organization system that can be accessed anywhere… but it hasn’t become a way of being for me yet.