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Borges, “Garden of Forking Paths” – Media and Culture (EL336)

I’m preparing to teach this foundational work of hypertext theory.

On the surface, this short story is a spy thriller, in which a subversive protagonist relies on intellect to match wits with a worthy, authority-wielding foe.

Originally published in Spanish in 1941, this story takes the form of a conventional narrative, but its plot features [...]

Culture | Education | Personal | Philosophy

24 Hours at the Jerz Homeschool (More or Less)

A Twitter friend made a critical comment about homeschooling that I thought warranted a reply. I won’t repeat his comment here — after a brief reflection, he modified his statement, and suggested that people who are doing homeschooling right have a too-low profile. While I don’t pretend my kids are perfect, or that they don’t [...]

Ethics | Media | Philosophy | Social_Software

Cops: Man stole judge’s nameplate, posted Facebook photo of himself with it

 

Note to thieves. If you steal a nameplate from a judge, don’t let anyone post a picture of you holding it on Facebook. U.S. News – Cops: Man stole judge’s nameplate, posted Facebook photo of himself with it.

Cyberculture | Essays | Philosophy | Psychology | Social_Software | Technology

‘Plug In Better’: A Manifesto – Alexandra Samuel – Technology – The Atlantic

And it’s easier to avoid what is, to many, a very painful truth: Going offline is no longer a realistic option. Sure, we can unplug for an hour, a day, or even a week, but it’s not like you can permanently shut off the challenges of our online existence. The offline world is now utterly [...]

Culture | Modding | Philosophy | Sociology

Professor is dumpster-diving urban Robin Hood

Ferrell’s wife, Karen, buys groceries and not all her clothes come from the dumpster, and some of their furnishings did not come from the trash. But Ferrell says he never buys clothes for himself.

Scrounging is his word for what he does. When he moved to Texas 10 years ago from Arizona, Ferrell decided to [...]

Amusing | Ethics | Games | Media | Philosophy | Rhetoric

Child vs Skyrim – YouTube

“People don’t want to be sword,” learns this little gamer.

Cyberculture | Design | Ethics | Philosophy | Technology

Why “Free Software” is better than “Open Source” – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation (FSF)

For the Open Source movement, the issue of whether software should be open source is a practical question, not an ethical one. As one person put it, “Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement.” For the Open Source movement, non-free software is a suboptimal solution. For the Free Software movement, [...]

Cyberculture | Essays | Media | Philosophy | Social_Software

Confessions of a Tweeter

I finally committed “Twittercide” about a month ago. Some of my followers begged me to reconsider, and the flood of affection and good wishes felt a little like the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But I knew it was time to return to mine.

Do I still have the occasional urge to tweet? Do [...]

Amusing | Books | Business | Literature | Philosophy | Writing

‘Atlas Shrugged’ film producers replacing 100,000 DVD’s after mischaracterizing Ayn Rand’s novel | The Ticket – Yahoo! News

As the producers noted in an apology announcement, Rand’s work extols “a society driven by rational self-interest.” On the back of the film’s retail DVD and Blu-ray however, the movie’s synopsis contradictorily states “AYN RAND’s timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life…’”

via ‘Atlas Shrugged’ film producers replacing 100,000 DVD’s after mischaracterizing Ayn [...]

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Mistakes we made along the way blog.thoughtwax.com

The value of this essay is not specifically in the nostalgia for ye goode ole days of bloggynge, but rather the combination of work-ethic angst and the recognition of the value of investing effort in long-term projects, as opposed to seeking immediate rewards for clear-cut, predetermined actions. The philosophical reflections of the shovel-wielding ditch-digger are [...]