48 hours of freedom

Just came back from a period of being unplugged (as in, no use of electronic means to talk to the cloud-based chimera - yes, as if things there are more real than what we exist amongst - but, we'll have to go on about that, almost ad infinitum, in order to characterize the issues) for 48 hours.

Now, there are many things to discuss about this. Why was it done? Many other queries come to mind.

Aside: There was one little nibble, but it was on a public computer. I had to go to espn.com to see what the heck happened to the Jawhawks. Did being on the island relax Self too much? On the same day, the 'Cats took Duke's prominence apart (wasn't long after another such lesson was administered - ah, I digress - tis madness, indeed). But, that little thing was only a brief look at a couple of pages.

This unplugging wasn't the first such event. Some claim that one ought to do such on a regular basis. Who agrees?

But, let's tell a story.

About a decade or so ago, those who went around with their noses to a little device were manager types. Okay? I never saw, at the time, any technical person do such. But, then, those who I knew were dealing with more intricate matters. So, the manage types had to be e'mailed-in (and whatever else those early things did) to their peers in order to keep workers at bay and exploited. Also, what panache they exhibited (ah, we were all to kiss the feet or other).

Were they not so grand in their devotion to their job and so commanding in their presence (as in, aura of importance)? However, at the time, too, I never thought much of this activity on the part of these types as it was a good thing, too. How? You see, many bosses would not touch a keyboard. It was beneath them; in fact, many had furniture in their offices that hid such things from visitors. Remember, footprints and profiles were massive in those days.

So, if some little device got them to thinking would that not be a good thing? Wait, turns out to not be true. As, giving tools to managers has resulted in all sorts of perfidy (most of which is mis-action directed against lowly employees who only are trying to feed themselves and their families -- too, globalization's bane would not have been so harsh without the advances in computation - including networks).

Since that time, all sorts of things have come about: social media, interactive gaming, and more. Now, those who have their noses to devices are hooked (yes, we can even talk Google's glasses, augmented reality, and more) many times. Too, that cognitive processing which relates to interfacing with these things is directly opposite that which is truly smart (ah, let the little beasties based upon our manipulation of e-m phenomena rule the roost?). But, we'll go on about that more later.

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In short, that whole overlay (easily characterized) is diminishing the grandness of reality (or attempting to; it cannot suppress being - another thing/concept supposed inimical to the modern viewpoint). But, how can that be explained? Give us time, as these things are only a decade or so old. That which really needs attention goes way back (it's in our genes and memes).

Remarks:  Modified: 01/23/2015

12/04/2013 -- 3rd try. If, at first, you don't succeed, ... (one side-effect of getting away? losing touch with the processes). Truth via computation will become increasingly important, yet, truth discernment via our traditional (age-old) means will not be replaced. Our computational prowess can be an assistant (perhaps, at times, a source) to our intuition. It will be interesting to see how the two interplay (yes, very much asserting the existence of intuition'al facilities far beyond what we might have considered - all sorts of decisions the past 10s of years have caused a divergence (chasm) that looks to be beyond span) in the future. We've seen a tremendous amount of change the past 10 years, perhaps, by another 10, the issues will be more clear (for one, that computational constraints apply as much to mathematical systems as they do to those of a logical nature).  

12/17/2013 -- History of the devices, the start - Blackberry.

01/23/2015 -- Software? Well, we are talking more than apps (latest craze). We are dealing with fundamental questions which, then, gives rise to normative issues in mathematics (and, by extension, to the computational).