This is not sexist!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Multiple Levels of Reality
I have been working for years on the idea that we all have the choice of viewing reality at different levels, with different consequences. Years ago I heard a Nobel prize-winning biologist deliver a lecture in which he said, "The purpose of life is the procreation of the germ plasm." The germ plasm is the living stuff that carries genes, and yes, this man was a geneticist. Since then I have noticed other people who describe the purpose or meaning of life in terms of what they do for a living.
In the past few years I have interacted with a wide range of consultants worldwide who specialize in the emerging field of Complexity science, or Complexity for short. Many of them view life or reality as complex systems, which are systems composed of other systems such as human organizations or ecosystems. I have been struck by how each person has clung to his own worldview and defended his beliefs or claims based on that worldview. No one has been willing to change his worldview based on anyone else's claims or statements.
So that led me to a simplified precept, IADOYPOV. This stands for "It All Depends On Your Point Of View." Each of us perceives reality from a particular point of view that we often hold to in order to avoid anxiety and simply deal with the challenges of life and being.
In college I had a wise philosophy professor who summarized this with the old carnival barker's come-on, "You pays your money and you takes your choice." By that he meant that each reality-claim or worldview comes at a price but is indeed a choice we all can make, a choice with multiple consequences. You put on rose-colored glasses and the world looks rosy, whether it is or not.
So now I would like to share my latest thinking about a specific list of alternate views of reality by which one can view the world and its problems or actions, with life consequences accordingly. I would welcome anyone's feedback or comments on this list:
MULTIPLE LEVELS OF REALITY
1. Metaphysics – Nature of reality, cosmology, ontology
2. Physical Sciences – Physics, chemistry, matter, energy, space, time, molecules, reactions
3. Biological Sciences – Living organisms, reproduction, ecology, zoology, horticulture, medicine
4. Human Sciences – Anthropology, sociology, psychology, groups, management, education
5. Political Sciences – Cities, states, nations, government, economics
6. Systems Sciences – Systems theory, Complexity science
7. Spirituality – Religion, spirituality, intention, faith
In the past few years I have interacted with a wide range of consultants worldwide who specialize in the emerging field of Complexity science, or Complexity for short. Many of them view life or reality as complex systems, which are systems composed of other systems such as human organizations or ecosystems. I have been struck by how each person has clung to his own worldview and defended his beliefs or claims based on that worldview. No one has been willing to change his worldview based on anyone else's claims or statements.
So that led me to a simplified precept, IADOYPOV. This stands for "It All Depends On Your Point Of View." Each of us perceives reality from a particular point of view that we often hold to in order to avoid anxiety and simply deal with the challenges of life and being.
In college I had a wise philosophy professor who summarized this with the old carnival barker's come-on, "You pays your money and you takes your choice." By that he meant that each reality-claim or worldview comes at a price but is indeed a choice we all can make, a choice with multiple consequences. You put on rose-colored glasses and the world looks rosy, whether it is or not.
So now I would like to share my latest thinking about a specific list of alternate views of reality by which one can view the world and its problems or actions, with life consequences accordingly. I would welcome anyone's feedback or comments on this list:
MULTIPLE LEVELS OF REALITY
1. Metaphysics – Nature of reality, cosmology, ontology
2. Physical Sciences – Physics, chemistry, matter, energy, space, time, molecules, reactions
3. Biological Sciences – Living organisms, reproduction, ecology, zoology, horticulture, medicine
4. Human Sciences – Anthropology, sociology, psychology, groups, management, education
5. Political Sciences – Cities, states, nations, government, economics
6. Systems Sciences – Systems theory, Complexity science
7. Spirituality – Religion, spirituality, intention, faith
Thursday, May 10, 2007
StopBadware - A Good Idea Gone Bad for Google users
If you have never heard of StopBadware, heads up. This consortium of well-intending organizations including Consumer Reports, Harvard University and Google, was set up to warn people about websites which contain "badware," that is, software that might harm the computer of anyone visiting the site. That is certainly a good intention.
But here's how it damaged me and many other website owners. While I was out of town last week, a hacker somehow managed to penetrate my website and replace my home (index) page with a spam page that redirects traffic to a spam site. When I got back into town and casually checked my listings on Google, which are usually high for certain keywords, I was shocked to see every Google link to my website listed with this message: "Warning - this website may harm your computer."
In a panic, I tried to find out what the problem was, and learned that my site had been blacklisted by StopBadware.org. The only way to make it right was to replace the bad pages and make an online appeal. In other words, blacklisting is fast and automated, getting off the blacklist is slow and manual. I have read that it can take up to two weeks to get your site cleared after it is blacklisted.
Only after the damage was done, did I get an email message from Google letting me know that they had listed my site as a badware site. A clear case of shoot first, ask questions later, or guilty until proven innocent.
Every day this happens to thousands of innocent website owners. Their site gets hacked and badware gets installed in place of their good pages. Google and StopBadware slam the site and post the horrible "Warning - This site may harm your computer" message. The hapless website owner has to read through extensive fine print to find out what he or she can do to get right again. It is a terrible thing.
Google's famous motto, "Don't be evil," has clearly been violated with this new practice. Labeling long-standing, clean, innocent websites as "badware" when they get hacked is adding insult to injury and pouring salt on the wounds. It is evil. Google should change its practice and warn website owners of their site appearing to be "bad", and give them at least 24 hours to correct the problem, before essentially shutting them down.
This could happen to you. It's like shooting a bullet into a crowd. Bad things happen to good people. And Google is going along with this way-too-simplistic approach to "badware," harming many innocent website owners in the process. Please join us in urging Google to provide a warning first before it mislabels an innocent website, making it very difficult and upsetting to try to correct the wrong that has been done.
But here's how it damaged me and many other website owners. While I was out of town last week, a hacker somehow managed to penetrate my website and replace my home (index) page with a spam page that redirects traffic to a spam site. When I got back into town and casually checked my listings on Google, which are usually high for certain keywords, I was shocked to see every Google link to my website listed with this message: "Warning - this website may harm your computer."
In a panic, I tried to find out what the problem was, and learned that my site had been blacklisted by StopBadware.org. The only way to make it right was to replace the bad pages and make an online appeal. In other words, blacklisting is fast and automated, getting off the blacklist is slow and manual. I have read that it can take up to two weeks to get your site cleared after it is blacklisted.
Only after the damage was done, did I get an email message from Google letting me know that they had listed my site as a badware site. A clear case of shoot first, ask questions later, or guilty until proven innocent.
Every day this happens to thousands of innocent website owners. Their site gets hacked and badware gets installed in place of their good pages. Google and StopBadware slam the site and post the horrible "Warning - This site may harm your computer" message. The hapless website owner has to read through extensive fine print to find out what he or she can do to get right again. It is a terrible thing.
Google's famous motto, "Don't be evil," has clearly been violated with this new practice. Labeling long-standing, clean, innocent websites as "badware" when they get hacked is adding insult to injury and pouring salt on the wounds. It is evil. Google should change its practice and warn website owners of their site appearing to be "bad", and give them at least 24 hours to correct the problem, before essentially shutting them down.
This could happen to you. It's like shooting a bullet into a crowd. Bad things happen to good people. And Google is going along with this way-too-simplistic approach to "badware," harming many innocent website owners in the process. Please join us in urging Google to provide a warning first before it mislabels an innocent website, making it very difficult and upsetting to try to correct the wrong that has been done.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
New Social Networking Opportunities
Extend your connections on the Internet, and help drive traffic to your website, using these popular social networking sites:
friendster.com
myspace.com
squidoo.com
43things.com
facebook.com
digg.com
friendster.com
myspace.com
squidoo.com
43things.com
facebook.com
digg.com
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
New Ebook on Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy is such an important topic, of interest to millions of people, that we have written a concise ebook to explain its fundamentals. Learn more about "Marketing Strategy: The Key To Business Success From Your Community To The Worldwide Web" at http://www.lciweb.com/marketing-strategy.htm
New Website - Charlotte Area News
Visit our new website at http://charlotteareanews.com for all the news about Charlotte pulled from multiple sources across the Internet.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
City Hall Park Weasel
A young black weasel (aka squirrel) enjoys a walnut donated by an admirer in City Hall Park, New York City, May 2006
MOMA Sculpture Gallery
A view of the Museum of Modern Art sculpture gallery in New York City, May 2006
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