Okay. I didn't post any photos for the past week or so.
Why?
Because I uploaded over 200 photos on flickr. And putting them each individually would take forever. So just head over there and look at them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/riellanart. Then come back here.
Done?
Good.
I'll go back to my regularly scheduled programming after today.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Asymmetrical Information
Now, I'm really liking this book about India, Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani. It fills in a gap in my knowledge that I always wanted filled, but didn't really want first hand experience. Just not a big fan of Indian culture. But the possibilities that the book gives us a glimpse of is too powerful to ignore.
India and China both lead the world in human capital. Most people, even if most of them are uneducated at the moment. The problem is that while India focuses on a exporting service industry with domestic manufacturing, China is operating the other way, with exporting manufacturing industry and domestic service. And unlike India, China's population will soon reach a standstill as the one child policy will cripple its usable workforce while their seniors increase. India has the enviable position of having the baby boom later than the baby boomer population of the Western world, allowing them to ride the wave of development.
However, there is still the stigma of domestic vs. imports. Imports, by their very nature, are more desirable than domestic goods. That stereotype and branding is still there. While India's economy is driven towards cutthroat pricing and affordability, American brand cars still do well given their Import prestige and the lack of need to reduce their cars to bare essentials.
And yet, for a country that is still swooning over cars made by companies proven to not know the pulse of the people, their technology growth is astounding. While I understand people here have to support legacy systems of technology, India by their very nature can leapfrog ahead of us because of the relaxed need to support those systems. What I don't understand is why are we falling behind?
Is it because we don't have the population necessary for such a system? Or does that just mean that our marketing schemes fail in a world filled with skepticism? Are we all jaded and scared that we would rather stick with what we know? Perhaps. I think that in the end, we have to ask ourselves, how can we use this knowledge to benefit ourselves?
India and China both lead the world in human capital. Most people, even if most of them are uneducated at the moment. The problem is that while India focuses on a exporting service industry with domestic manufacturing, China is operating the other way, with exporting manufacturing industry and domestic service. And unlike India, China's population will soon reach a standstill as the one child policy will cripple its usable workforce while their seniors increase. India has the enviable position of having the baby boom later than the baby boomer population of the Western world, allowing them to ride the wave of development.
However, there is still the stigma of domestic vs. imports. Imports, by their very nature, are more desirable than domestic goods. That stereotype and branding is still there. While India's economy is driven towards cutthroat pricing and affordability, American brand cars still do well given their Import prestige and the lack of need to reduce their cars to bare essentials.
And yet, for a country that is still swooning over cars made by companies proven to not know the pulse of the people, their technology growth is astounding. While I understand people here have to support legacy systems of technology, India by their very nature can leapfrog ahead of us because of the relaxed need to support those systems. What I don't understand is why are we falling behind?
Is it because we don't have the population necessary for such a system? Or does that just mean that our marketing schemes fail in a world filled with skepticism? Are we all jaded and scared that we would rather stick with what we know? Perhaps. I think that in the end, we have to ask ourselves, how can we use this knowledge to benefit ourselves?
Information Exchange
Given the thoughts on what India is doing with IT nowadays, there is no doubt that the future lies with information exchange.
Everything we do is based on the premise we exchange information with someone else. The whole "no man is an island" idiom really emphasizes this point. Our relationships, professional or intimate, friendly or romantic, chaste or carnal are all based on this idea of sharing information.
Without new information, people grow bored. I don't understand sensory deprivation chambers, but I understand all they do is try to stop you from sensing anything for a short while, so that you can experience everything afresh and give yourself a sense to free yourself from earthly sensations. A sensory deprivation chamber time is limited though. It's like drinking wine to clear your palate so you can enjoy your steak again, or having an affair so that the old regular stuff might seem interesting again. The thing is, the time in a sensory deprivation chamber is limited though, which is good. If it lasts indefinitely, it's akin to being buried alive, which is one of the deaths that we fear the most.
People need new information. Some people learn about the external world, becoming news junkies and/or academics. Others seek to learn about the social world, becoming leaders, players, or politicians. Some look at the world and use that information to experience new information about themselves in a spiritual realm of identity. Whatever it is though, people need to categorize their information. We are so bombarded with information nowadays, we have dedicated memory devices for it. Some people have newsfeeds and saved information on computers, cellphones for address books and blogs for information about ourselves. The problem is, how do we concentrate this into a usable form. Most of what we learn or know is lost in the shuffle of everyday life.
Google did very well, allowing searching through many different things using human interaction as the driving force for their search algorithms. Even though their algorithms do not apply to everything in life, it does apply to a lot. The problem is how do we shift through information in our daily life?
Our very identity is tied in with information and information control. And yet, our information control technologies have not kept pace with information broadcasting technologies. I do believe there is something we can learn from everyone, even if it is as simple (or useless, in some people's minds) as the fact that you enjoy eating strawberries for lunch. While we twitter about nonsensical things, how much of that information is kept and retained usefully?
Our world is being dominated by electronic social networks. Lavalife, facebook, myspace, youtube, pof. The developed world's love affair with intimate information will not fade. On the other hand, the developing world is being dominated by raw information. Prices of crops for example will have lasting effects on life. Weather information is critical. Somehow, I think the Western world's love for celebrity gossip does not bode well for us. Sometimes I think information overload is driving most of us to a level of apathy towards information. We think of information gathering as instantaneous, with wikipedia at our fingertips and google everpresent, but is it really?
I think this rant has a unpolished jewel of a good thesis for an essay, but I will have to organize this sometime.
But information will rule the world. It's just who would control information?
Everything we do is based on the premise we exchange information with someone else. The whole "no man is an island" idiom really emphasizes this point. Our relationships, professional or intimate, friendly or romantic, chaste or carnal are all based on this idea of sharing information.
Without new information, people grow bored. I don't understand sensory deprivation chambers, but I understand all they do is try to stop you from sensing anything for a short while, so that you can experience everything afresh and give yourself a sense to free yourself from earthly sensations. A sensory deprivation chamber time is limited though. It's like drinking wine to clear your palate so you can enjoy your steak again, or having an affair so that the old regular stuff might seem interesting again. The thing is, the time in a sensory deprivation chamber is limited though, which is good. If it lasts indefinitely, it's akin to being buried alive, which is one of the deaths that we fear the most.
People need new information. Some people learn about the external world, becoming news junkies and/or academics. Others seek to learn about the social world, becoming leaders, players, or politicians. Some look at the world and use that information to experience new information about themselves in a spiritual realm of identity. Whatever it is though, people need to categorize their information. We are so bombarded with information nowadays, we have dedicated memory devices for it. Some people have newsfeeds and saved information on computers, cellphones for address books and blogs for information about ourselves. The problem is, how do we concentrate this into a usable form. Most of what we learn or know is lost in the shuffle of everyday life.
Google did very well, allowing searching through many different things using human interaction as the driving force for their search algorithms. Even though their algorithms do not apply to everything in life, it does apply to a lot. The problem is how do we shift through information in our daily life?
Our very identity is tied in with information and information control. And yet, our information control technologies have not kept pace with information broadcasting technologies. I do believe there is something we can learn from everyone, even if it is as simple (or useless, in some people's minds) as the fact that you enjoy eating strawberries for lunch. While we twitter about nonsensical things, how much of that information is kept and retained usefully?
Our world is being dominated by electronic social networks. Lavalife, facebook, myspace, youtube, pof. The developed world's love affair with intimate information will not fade. On the other hand, the developing world is being dominated by raw information. Prices of crops for example will have lasting effects on life. Weather information is critical. Somehow, I think the Western world's love for celebrity gossip does not bode well for us. Sometimes I think information overload is driving most of us to a level of apathy towards information. We think of information gathering as instantaneous, with wikipedia at our fingertips and google everpresent, but is it really?
I think this rant has a unpolished jewel of a good thesis for an essay, but I will have to organize this sometime.
But information will rule the world. It's just who would control information?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Marching on College Park
The Tamil protest on Saturday. Even in the pouring rain, they protest. Even though they inconvenience others, how many people actually care or even know about their plight?
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
Sakura 2
I liked this shot. However, I used the 70-200mm at its full 200mm length, so it was a bit soft. Had to resize it.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
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