from now historians will point back to this decade as an important milestone
in the development of human society. The decade where the import and utility
of the 'net became broadly diffused throughout general society rather than
the tool of a small group of adepts. That Doug Plager sits here to write
this and you to read it, is my proof that the diffusion, even at this early
date, is wide. Clearly the Internet is quite crude and unwieldly...now.
Things change. Things evolve. As long as there is electricity there will
be computers and from here forward as long as there are computers there
will be the 'net.
As its detractors point out, it has its deficiencies and
surely there are lamentable lapses of character by some users-it is, after
all, a creature of the human mind, but it's shortcomings pale before the
opportunity for improvement for us all. The spread of knowledge, both good
and evil, can never be counted as a negative sum in free society. I believe
it was Cinncinatus (though it may have been Seneca, where else but on the
Internet will I quickly find the answer?) who said "nothing human,
is foreign to me." Nowhere is that statement more true than on the
Internet. It is extremely human, indeed, it is humanity in the extreme.
(..here's a bit of late-breaking news. Anders Winroth of Columbia University
tells
us that it was actually the playwright Terence who said that. We'll quote Mr.
Winroth here:"Homo sum: humani nil a me
alienum puto" 'The quotation you ask about comes from one of Terence's
comedies, the
Heauton Timorumenos ("The Self-tormentor"), act 1, scene 1, line 25.'" ...and
here
we coulda sworn it was Cinncinatus or Cato the Elder, but we shall certainly
defer
on such erudite matters.)
...anyway. Below are some further proofs of the value of the internet, if any are
needed. The list isn't complete nor even adequate. It only represents a
portion of the results of my own small surfing attempts. They are sites
that I feel display areas of human endeavor that deserve a wider audience
and more publicity.
As I find other interesting sites I shall include them on this page for
your entertainment. If you have other suggestions, please feel free to email
them to me, so I may include them.
- Samuel Johnson is
a man whose achievements and singular personality, at least in America,
have faded into obscurity. Many have perhaps heard the name and are vaguely
aware of his biography by Boswell, but that's about it. Forgive me my conceit,
but dead white man or no, we can all profit from a greater knowledge of
Johnson and his writings. Mr. Lynch is a substantial authority on Johnson
and this is his page.
- The Hubble Space Telescope. Despite
its initial, well-publicized glitches, it is performing 'nominally' now.
Raw data for you amateur cosmologists. You can even propose your own
investigation
into the cosmos. Good luck on getting it accepted.
- Jinkies, what page could be thought complete without a link to
Space Ghost and his Ghost Planet Industries. 'Garbage in' doesn't necessarily
mean 'garbage
out.' What this pathetic Hanna-Barbera action comic figure needed was a little
'processing
in post' and a dollop of '90's nihilism, that's all. Perks it right up.
- The Bodleian Library
manuscripts.
The humanities-all of 'em-can be found here. The normal span of years is
far too little to explore the wealth of this single site.
- Snappy
comebacks division. A trenchant quote for all occasions. Don't leave
home without one.
- Government.
This site at USC can lead to the vast array of documents and sites supplied
and maintained by the U.S. government.
- Orwell's Revenge.
Peter Huber wrote a thought-provoking book about the Internet and its social
ramifications in 1994. He also delves into the rich, paradoxical character of
Eric Blair; I've always wondered how the man who wrote 'Animal Farm' and '1984'
could be, to the end of his days, a committed socialist. Huber goes far in clarifying
that conundrum. Also, for you fans of junk
science, Huber wrote another book named 'Galileo's Revenge' about the
insidious nature of junk science in our courtrooms. Anyone who values the
empirical method could do worse than to consult this site.
- Hubris anyone? Mathematician Frank Tipler wrote a book entitled 'The Physics of Immortality'.
Since Mr. Tipler's home page is a bit of a roadkill, this link goes to Swedish scientist
Anders Sandberg who remarks on Mr. Tipler's book. Tipler claims. "...I shall in the
body of this book," show "that theology is a branch of physics, that physicists
can infer by calculation the existence of God and the likelihood of the resurrection
of the dead to eternal life in exactly the same way as physicists calculate the
properties of the electron." Pretty heady stuff, indeed. If you follow the various
links Mr. Sandberg has you will find yourself wandering into some very curious
speculations about the nature of the Universe. If these people did their homework
right, then I would have to believe that our five senses are more intended to
shield us from reality than to inform us. Time is only an artifice, according to
some physicists, for the future and the past exist simultaneously and influence
each other profoundly. Then there's the
Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum theory cosmology
which will surely give one pause to reflect. All possible quantum states exist
according to this interpretation i.e. Hitler won in some Universe, dinosaurs evolved
further the last 65 million years because no comet struck the Earth and so on.
Which leads one to presume that anything any one thinks or believes or presumes
is true...somewhere. If any of you folks out there happen to run into my
Personal Universe could you email me? I lost contact with it some time ago and
would very much like to find it again.
- NASA. What are those space cadets
up to now?
...and I can't resist the urge to put in a couple plugs for friends of mine
and their pages. They represent one of the really wonderful aspects of the
Internet i.e. the ability to preserve and promulgate cultures and practices
that, already marginalized, would rapidly disappear completely from the
ken of man. These labors of love probably don't throw off enough revenue
to pay attention let alone the rent, so I feel it behooves the rest of us
to support their efforts at least by our approbations and attention. I'm
glad they are doing it and consider it an honor to have come to know them.
- Village
Pulse. Adam Novick and his partner Carl Holm have been schlepping digital
recording equipment all over central Africa to record the vast, rich tribal
drumming styles that are threatened with extinction through neglect and
the intoxicating allure of western pop culture (did we really ask for Abba?-do
we need Pizzaman?). These guys are not exploitative dilettantes, ala Mick
Jagger, but dedicated students of African music and culture working against
time. Their tapes have been burned to CD's and are for sale at a variety of locations
which you'll find at their site.
- The Pow-Wow Editions.
Photographer Ben Marra has been traveling all over the West to photograph
Native Americans at pow-wows. This page and the published pieces that attend
them are availible directly and at some retail outlets.
- Interactive Design Inc.
Here is a great place to start looking for web animations, graphics and comics. A wonderful
guy doing great work. Joe Bob sez check it out.
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This page last revised on January 16, 1998
Matt, my oldest son, turns seven today.
Happy Birthday short man.