A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the 2016 Sydney Link Festival as part of a panel facilitated by Narelle Clarke, and with Jamie Engel and Angie Abdilla. The topic we focused on was “Our Digital Futures”, as in the future of humanity – nothing like a small challenge to cover […]
“There is no point trying to resist technological change … or … trying to delay the process. On the contrary, given the coming technological changes, how can we best prepare?” (Kristina Persson, Sweden’s Minister for the Future) In the 17th Century Blaise Pascal came up with his famous “wager” about the existence of God. After […]
I took this photo of “The Shard” amidst a storm a couple of months ago from the rooftop of the Tate Modern in London. It struck me that for anyone who discounts the impact of humans on the environment this was a startling demonstration … even the clouds parted for a man-made tower. But as […]
Last week I went to “Vivid Sydney” and, in particular, Genevieve Bell’s presentation as part of the “Festival of Big Ideas” with the specific challenge of talking about the “Ten Commandments: Keep it real”. I have written about Genevieve in numerous posts, and continually find her refreshing approach to the study of technology both insightful […]
“When scarcities are abolished really interesting things happen in history.” (Nigel Shadbolt) At the recent 2013 Web Science conference one of the most worthwhile sessions was that on “How the Web will revolutionise society”. In particular, it was Nigel Shadbolt’s commentary about the inter-relationship between technology and society, and the implications for society when the […]
“I have no way of judging of the future but by the present.” (Edward Gibbon) In my last blog I wrote about “Gov 2.0” and, in particular, my conviction that “Gov 2.0” is not about tools and technologies – it is about “reinventing government for the digital age”. Two weeks ago I attended the Web […]
Last week I facilitated the third Presentation Skills training workshop for Fuji Xerox Australia. In this one we built upon some of the theory and strategies by “live-testing” a number of presentations delivered by both myself and a few brave others in the group, including my colleague Leon O’Reilly who gave an authentic and very […]
Last weekend I attended the fourth of Julian Doogan’s “Living Myths” lectures in which he focused on the theme of “The Goddess and the Bull” throughout history. Doogan suggested that the persistence of these interacting images of the female goddess and the male “Bull” throughout human civilisation were as much a reflection of the increasing […]
On a sunny Sydney morning I sat watching the ladies run around the Domain as part of the Sydney triathlon. As I observed these athletic creatures pound the pavements and their support teams cheer them on (ever mindful of their various national allegiances and individual heroines) I couldn’t help thinking what an essentially “physical” species […]
In the early 1990s I had the privilege of working with a group of aboriginal artists in Moree, northern NSW. I came across this group, the Yurundiali Aboriginal Corporation , because I had applied for a job as Director of the Moree Art Gallery, and I ended up working with the Yurundiali instead. The Gallery, […]
