In my chosen hometown of Victoria BC, there is a Philosophy Salon that regularly meets at my local Pub (the Bent Mast). The topic for a recent meet-up was "Imagination Versus Wisdom." It struck me as an odd topic but I threw myself into some preparations anyway. This in turn led me back to my past inquiries into what I have dubbed "the knowledge dynamic" (see The Anatomy of Knowledge and more recently Human Knowledge, Responsibility, and Wisdom). One consequence of preparing for, and participating in, this meeting was that I realized that I could, and indeed should, have a... Read more →

It seems like a lot to tackle. Almost on par with "Life, the Universe, and Everything." So points for ambition. Of course, some points will be deducted when I start to cut corners in order to keep this post manageable. In casting such a wide net, and then tailoring it down, what I really want to focus on is the central role of responsibility - or what I sometimes refer to as the "R-Word". This makes it feel suitably unpopular, even threatening. I guess I could even call it "R-Rated" which just makes matters worse. This would normally send me... Read more →

King Lear is not Shakespeare's best play - but it is his greatest. The truth of this, which I recall one of my Shakespeare professors claiming, grows more apparent to me as I grow older. And especially as our world lurches forward in unexpected ways then those of us who are older, and have settled into our routines, feel more and more affinity with the aging Lear. So perhaps at different times King Lear grows even more emblematic of our predicament. Of course, this is a little disconcerting when we recall that King Lear loses his marbles. In the scene... Read more →

Terminology is a slippery commodity. And especially when viewed over time. The meanings we assign to words evolve. Contending meanings battle it out for dominance and frequently there is no clear winner left standing when the dust settles. Now what is true of language in general seems to be doubly true for the words we use in the technology field. And ironically it is three times as true when we look at what we mean by the moniker "Web 3.0". It is ironic because early on, say 15 years ago, when we said "Web 3.0", and very few people did,... Read more →

As a bit of a perverse hobby, I have been studying "Management". I have been doing so for many years and, for reasons I struggle to explain to myself, I continue to do so. Fortunately, this hobby provides moments of merriment. As one example, I have come across multiple studies and even some books that explore, or more correctly serenade, the exemplary management practices displayed by the managers of the City of Ottawa (Canada's capital). The merriment comes from being able to contrast these glowing representations to the stark reality of the City of Ottawa's grotesque mismanagement of many large... Read more →