Archive | Philosophy

CoffeePods2018

Coffee pods

It is not very often that one gets the opportunity to spout forth about the things that really matter to a willing, interested, patient and above all curious listener! I have had just such an opportunity with Holly Ransom in her Coffee Pods interview. I was introduced to Holly through Lydia Hascott who is helping […]

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Ingenuity

The other “i” word … ingenuity

Not long ago I was walking over the entrance to Narrabeen Lakes and I saw this fellow swimming against the tide.  I had been talking to my friend about getting an endless pool and all of a sudden here was nature’s version. Over the past few posts I have been thinking about the words we […]

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KeepCalm copy

Who represents the human in the digital age?

  A version of this was written for NPC’s “State of the Sector” report. What do we mean by “digital”? In his book The Code Economy [1] Philip E. Auerswald talks about the long history of humans developing code as a mechanism by which to create and regulate activities and markets. We have Codes of […]

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Print

Intersticia Manifesto – a continuous work in progress

Our focus is to help people develop analogue leadership in a digital world Context Over the past three years our Intersticia Foundation has been slowly identifying and supporting a diverse group of people as they pursue their chosen endeavours, whether this be through formal academic study, play-writing at Bell Shakespeare, leadership courses or film-making. We […]

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WSIEthics2016

And now for the really fun part … Ethics and the Web

This week the Web Science Institute hosted it’s first Ethics Symposium.  The event drew together a wonderfully diverse audience who were treated to with two excellent presentations from Woodrow Hartzog and Mireille Hildebrandt plus a vigorous panel discussion moderated by Thanassis Tirpoanis. Over the past six months Thanassis, Caroline Wilson, Leanne Fry and I have […]

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SocialMachine

WebSci16 and the art and science of the web

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  (Arthur C. Clarke) We now live in a world of magic.  One where a handful of very smart people (mostly white males), who now have very deep pockets thanks to their very smartness, are funding other very smart people (mostly white males) to create things which apparently […]

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TweetLink2016

Being Human in the Digital Age

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 […]

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Don't Panic

Don’t panic!

Douglas Adams gave this wise counsel to Hitchhikers as they travelled around the Galaxy, and I would give the same advice to all those who are waking up to the need for “digital skills” in the modern economy and wondering what to do about it. Over the last few weeks I have attended a number […]

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OldManBusStop

Becoming “digitally savvy” …

Yesterday I sat and observed an old man as he waited at a bus stop in London.  He stood with his trolley for almost twenty minutes, and watched expectantly, totally focused on his quarry.  The right bus just wouldn’t come.  Eventually some taxis drove around the corner and he tried to hail one, but none […]

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ShardSmall

The “anthro-pocene” era … redefining “humanity”

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 […]

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