2011-10-27

A Hierarchy to Understanding

There are a great many quotations and musings which have been said throughout time about the subject of knowledge and understanding. A while back I came across a graphical presentation of something the artist called the "Hierarchy of Understanding" [Information is Beautiful].


Much like Maslow's hierarchy of needs [Wikipedia], David McCandless graphically presents the idea that wisdom comes from baser forms of information. Data begets Information which begets Knowledge which begets Wisdom. It's a fascinating thought exercise as well as a beautiful depiction of what I think is an important message: seek out the source!

If Wisdom is the culmination of experiential Knowledge, then finding the sources of that knowledge becomes an important exercise in understanding. All too often people will spread information without considering its source, truth, or purpose. In such a networked world, that is a very dangerous thing. If we wish to consume so much information, then I suggest that we become connoisseurs of it; carefully sampling each tidbit and weighing its value for further consumption.

Consider my suggestion of Metrication Day 2011 that it is always good to ask the question "Why?":
Science is about exploration; to gain an understanding about the things we do not know. No one source will ever answer all questions. Think for yourself and seek a deeper understanding. Perhaps it's that too many, as children, were given the answer "Because I said so" whenever they asked "Why?" Personally, I have and will always answer any child's question of "Why?" with my best answer, or, at the very least, "That's a great question, let's find that answer together".

You would not devour a meal before minimally evaluating its edibility, therefore I also encourage you to carefully consider what intellectually digest before you risk poisoning your reason and wisdom.

2011-10-25

The tipping point of 7 billion

According to research on population density and growth [Science Magazine] this year, estimates are that the human population will reach 7 billion sometime in the next two weeks. You will recall that I began this year with an article discussing the importance of valuing our balance with the planet and the fellow inhabitants of it. The moment for each of us to recognize our place as one of 7 billion is nearly upon us.

As I detailed in another article at the mid-point of this year, "we need to also open our minds to the diversity and beauty of what it means to be human". Each human on this wonderful planet is an organism of unique evolutionary elegance. As we approach 7 billion, I implore you, each reader, to recognize how much you value your community (family, friends, etc.) and also accept that every person -- friend or foe -- has a community which they also treasure and value.

Try to take a step back in your own mind; imagine that you can look through another person's eyes. Especially when making decisions which will affect another being or a community of beings, consider what actions you would wish to have taken toward your own community. Some choices do result in necessary consequence, but weigh the necessity of each reaction upon the quality of the action. In a group as large as our global human community is about to become, it is far too easy to become detached from the very ethics and connections which make us distinctly human.


Consider this, "between now and 2050 the world population will increase by 2.3 billion" [Singularity Hub].
With such drastic growth coming, excercising empathy and understanding will become paramount. Our technological, data-driven world, separates us from the human interaction. Consider your community, consider your network of connections, value every human you meet, greet, email, link, like, or poke. We are each one in 7 billion; meaning, we our each unique and different, but we are also each as inconsequential as the people we choose to ignore.

2011-10-17

Browser Choice and Competition

Years ago, I wrote an article arguing for the choice of a better browser [Browse Happy] than Microsoft Internet Explorer [Microsoft]. At the time, my choice was Mozilla Firefox [Mozilla], based on standards conformance [W3C] and customization.

Mozilla had a significant impact on the web browser market with Firefox. It wedged a large enough gap in Internet Explorer's market share that it popularized the idea of browser choice. This in-turn enticed others to enter to the browser competition.

Through those years, I have continued to make my choice of browser based on my own personal preference. For a long time Firefox was my primary browser, but I also chose to continuously play with others as well. I tried Opera [Opera] and was very impressed with its speed and clean interface. I also enjoyed Google Chrome's [Google] minimalism and process management. Eventually, Chrome's growing feature set lured me to make it my primary browser. In fact, I have enjoyed Chrome almost exclusively ever since; that is, until it began crashing a couple weeks ago.

Now, let me first say that -- as of the publishing of this article -- I have already diagnosed and repaired the cause of those crashes. (Mainly because I was finally able to take some time to do so.) However, when the first set of crashes occurred, I noticed something interesting about my behavior: I switched without effort or anguish to another browser, after determining that the problem would take too much effort to resolve at that time.

After observing my quick switch, I thought for a moment about how that sentiment reflected a change in our use of web browsers. Months ago, I had planned to eventually write an article discussing the current state of the browser market [W3C], but -- thanks to better standards compliance and the spread of "cloud" services -- the browser with the biggest market share no longer matters as much as the browser with the most appealing features and best performance.

It's a brave new world in web browsers. As someone who once pushed for a "better browser", I am very happy to see that the competition has made the goal of all browsers to meet the needs and desires of the user.

2011-10-10

Metrication Day 2011

Today (October 10th) is Metrication Day! Metrication Day is a day on which I make a slightly more concerted effort to spread the knowledge and adoption of the International System of Units (a.k.a SI or the Metric System). Last year's Metrication Day was what I called the "Ultimate Metrication Day" and I dedicated 10 days of articles to the cause of metric education. Education is the subject which I'd like to focus on this year.

First, a narrative:

Having long put Imperial units out of my head, I recently asked someone how many ounces were in a cup. He and I had discussed my affinity for SI previously, so he tried to poke fun at my question. However, he couldn't actually answer my question. Was it 4? 8? No, that's not right, maybe 6? I stood there laughing as he ran to his computer and pulled it up. He tried to make sense of it, but then noticed that cups were different all over the world.

I pointed out that his confusion was a perfect example of why Imperial measurements are both impractical and confusing. He went on to say that he "was not a good example of a typical American" and criticized his own intelligence. I pointed out to him that his lack of understanding was actually very typical of American scientific knowledge.

Science education in the United States is critically failing. Note these survey results from an article published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:


An understanding of the most basic principles of science appear to be lacking. There are many reasons and possible causes for educational failure in the United States, but I don't want to "blame the system(s)" in this article; I'd like to instead put the ownership in the hands of each individual. You have the power to ask "WHY?"

Science is about exploration; to gain an understanding about the things we do not know. No one source will ever answer all questions. Think for yourself and seek a deeper understanding. Perhaps it's that too many, as children, were given the answer "Because I said so" whenever they asked "Why?" Personally, I have and will always answer any child's question of "Why?" with my best answer, or, at the very least, "That's a great question, let's find that answer together".

Holding to an established system, instead of asking "why" is a primary cause for why the United States has not adopted the Metric system. There is literal stupidity in the notion that tradition will be held to for tradition's sake. Never accept "because I said so"; find a better source, one which will help nurture your curiosity not belittle it. Explore the world around you, excite your mind with interest, accept the dynamic nature of "fact", and wonder at the beauty of information. When you do ask why, you will see that the benefits of adopting SI far out-weigh the costs.