The Obvious?

The virtues of being broken

The virtues of being broken

Synchronicity is a funny thing. After writing yesterday's blog about letting the bad times roll I get to the chapter named "Perfection" in David's Weinberger's book "Small Pieces Loosely Joined".

This section particularly rang true...

Our biggest joint undertaking as a species is working out splendidly, but only because we forgot to apply the theory that has guided us ever since the pyramids were built. Whether we have thought about it explicitly or not, we all tacitly recognize - it's part of the Web's common sense - that what's on the web was put there without permission. We know that we can say what we want in an e-mail or on a discussion board without permission. The sense of freedom on the web is palpable. The Web is profoundly permission-free and management-free and we all know it.

[snip]

Yet the Web works. It grows without much maintenance. It invents at insane speeds. We can get done what we want, although usually after clicking down some dead ends. Beyond any unreasonable expectation, it works. But it works only because it has remained true to its founding decision: remove the controls and we'll have to put up with a lot of broken links and awful information, but in return we'll get a vibrant new world, accessible to everyone and constantly in the throes of self-invention. The Web works because it's broken.

The virtues of being broken

The virtues of being broken

Synchronicity is a funny thing. After writing yesterday's blog about letting the bad times roll I get to the chapter named "Perfection" in David's Weinberger's book "Small Pieces Loosely Joined".

This section particularly rang true...

Our biggest joint undertaking as a species is working out splendidly, but only because we forgot to apply the theory that has guided us ever since the pyramids were built. Whether we have thought about it explicitly or not, we all tacitly recognize - it's part of the Web's common sense - that what's on the web was put there without permission. We know that we can say what we want in an e-mail or on a discussion board without permission. The sense of freedom on the web is palpable. The Web is profoundly permission-free and management-free and we all know it.

[snip]

Yet the Web works. It grows without much maintenance. It invents at insane speeds. We can get done what we want, although usually after clicking down some dead ends. Beyond any unreasonable expectation, it works. But it works only because it has remained true to its founding decision: remove the controls and we'll have to put up with a lot of broken links and awful information, but in return we'll get a vibrant new world, accessible to everyone and constantly in the throes of self-invention. The Web works because it's broken.

The virtues of being broken

The virtues of being broken

Synchronicity is a funny thing. After writing yesterday's blog about letting the bad times roll I get to the chapter named "Perfection" in David's Weinberger's book "Small Pieces Loosely Joined".

This section particularly rang true...

Our biggest joint undertaking as a species is working out splendidly, but only because we forgot to apply the theory that has guided us ever since the pyramids were built. Whether we have thought about it explicitly or not, we all tacitly recognize - it's part of the Web's common sense - that what's on the web was put there without permission. We know that we can say what we want in an e-mail or on a discussion board without permission. The sense of freedom on the web is palpable. The Web is profoundly permission-free and management-free and we all know it.

[snip]

Yet the Web works. It grows without much maintenance. It invents at insane speeds. We can get done what we want, although usually after clicking down some dead ends. Beyond any unreasonable expectation, it works. But it works only because it has remained true to its founding decision: remove the controls and we'll have to put up with a lot of broken links and awful information, but in return we'll get a vibrant new world, accessible to everyone and constantly in the throes of self-invention. The Web works because it's broken.

Let the bad times roll

Let the bad times roll

It's really the bad times that we need to "let roll" - settling in to the feeling that things aren't going too well and you might as well enjoy the trough before it inevitably passes and things get better. The biggest mistake we all make is to think that these "bad times" will last forever which they very rarely if ever do. And indeed how would we know how good the good times were if we didn't have bad times to compare them to?

Think back the the worst times in your life. I would bet a lot of money that it is out of each of these bad times that you have learned your biggest lessons. It is only by being stretched and thrown off balance that we really learn anything new or significant and yet we need adversity to make us take these big steps.

It is also a choice. We can choose to see every event in our lives as good or bad, we can seize the opportunity to learn or we can feel hard done by and suffer.

Shame I can't remember this all the time.....

Let the bad times roll

Let the bad times roll

It's really the bad times that we need to "let roll" - settling in to the feeling that things aren't going too well and you might as well enjoy the trough before it inevitably passes and things get better. The biggest mistake we all make is to think that these "bad times" will last forever which they very rarely if ever do. And indeed how would we know how good the good times were if we didn't have bad times to compare them to?

Think back the the worst times in your life. I would bet a lot of money that it is out of each of these bad times that you have learned your biggest lessons. It is only by being stretched and thrown off balance that we really learn anything new or significant and yet we need adversity to make us take these big steps.

It is also a choice. We can choose to see every event in our lives as good or bad, we can seize the opportunity to learn or we can feel hard done by and suffer.

Shame I can't remember this all the time.....

Let the bad times roll

Let the bad times roll

It's really the bad times that we need to "let roll" - settling in to the feeling that things aren't going too well and you might as well enjoy the trough before it inevitably passes and things get better. The biggest mistake we all make is to think that these "bad times" will last forever which they very rarely if ever do. And indeed how would we know how good the good times were if we didn't have bad times to compare them to?

Think back the the worst times in your life. I would bet a lot of money that it is out of each of these bad times that you have learned your biggest lessons. It is only by being stretched and thrown off balance that we really learn anything new or significant and yet we need adversity to make us take these big steps.

It is also a choice. We can choose to see every event in our lives as good or bad, we can seize the opportunity to learn or we can feel hard done by and suffer.

Shame I can't remember this all the time.....

Great interview about a great

Great interview about a great book.....
Marek interviewing David Weinberger about his new book Small Pieces Loosely Joined elicits this response.

But, yes, it is idealistic, hippy talk. Really and truly. That's why the last chapter is called "Hope." We *are* escaping to the Web. "Escaping" is the right word. And we're not just escaping assholes (although we're doing that too). We are definitely escaping reality. We are leaving behind some inherent limitations of the real world, such as distance, and, more important, we are leaving behind some non-inherent, oppressive ideas we've let obscure the lovely, light-filled, pine-scented clearing of the world. We are escaping the manly realism that we've confused with what's real. We are leaving behind the notion that we don't care. That we're impassive machines. That our intelligence is best when it calculates. That individualism is a virtue rather than a sentence. That we are above passion and stupidity and embarrassment. We are escaping into the remembrance of what's most true about the real world: we are our connections and our connectedness is nothing but another name for passion.

Cracking stuff!

Great interview about a great

Great interview about a great book.....
Marek interviewing David Weinberger about his new book Small Pieces Loosely Joined elicits this response.

But, yes, it is idealistic, hippy talk. Really and truly. That's why the last chapter is called "Hope." We *are* escaping to the Web. "Escaping" is the right word. And we're not just escaping assholes (although we're doing that too). We are definitely escaping reality. We are leaving behind some inherent limitations of the real world, such as distance, and, more important, we are leaving behind some non-inherent, oppressive ideas we've let obscure the lovely, light-filled, pine-scented clearing of the world. We are escaping the manly realism that we've confused with what's real. We are leaving behind the notion that we don't care. That we're impassive machines. That our intelligence is best when it calculates. That individualism is a virtue rather than a sentence. That we are above passion and stupidity and embarrassment. We are escaping into the remembrance of what's most true about the real world: we are our connections and our connectedness is nothing but another name for passion.

Cracking stuff!

Great interview about a great

Great interview about a great book.....
Marek interviewing David Weinberger about his new book Small Pieces Loosely Joined elicits this response.

But, yes, it is idealistic, hippy talk. Really and truly. That's why the last chapter is called "Hope." We *are* escaping to the Web. "Escaping" is the right word. And we're not just escaping assholes (although we're doing that too). We are definitely escaping reality. We are leaving behind some inherent limitations of the real world, such as distance, and, more important, we are leaving behind some non-inherent, oppressive ideas we've let obscure the lovely, light-filled, pine-scented clearing of the world. We are escaping the manly realism that we've confused with what's real. We are leaving behind the notion that we don't care. That we're impassive machines. That our intelligence is best when it calculates. That individualism is a virtue rather than a sentence. That we are above passion and stupidity and embarrassment. We are escaping into the remembrance of what's most true about the real world: we are our connections and our connectedness is nothing but another name for passion.

Cracking stuff!

Vibrating planet? When I was

Vibrating planet?
When I was a musician, both in classical groups at school and University and then later in club bands, we would, very rarely, lift into another gear. We would be, as athletes tend to call it, in the flow and everything would seem clearer, more connected and more meaningful. Invariably other members of the band would share the feeling and comment on it after the concert. We all knew when we had tapped into something special.

While climbing mountains with friends, sometimes in cold, dangerous situations but again in the presence of beauty I felt the same feelings of connectedness and shared meaning - this time with the planet. I would be immersed in the environment and caught up in the rhythms of the landscape and the weather.

The web for me is the same. A lot of the time it is enervating, full of idle chatter and people mouthing off on meaningless topics. But then there are times, when blogging mostly, when I feel in the flow again. The sense of connectedness and meaning is strong. By finding my voice and being part of the landscape of ideas and conversations I feel like I am contributing in a small way to the energy which makes the planet vibrate.