Defining World with Haptic Technology

'Haptic gloves help blind people to 'see' art'. This is the most welcoming news that has a personal relevance and I am sure that all those wonderful paintings hanging on museum walls can be experienced and appreciated by blind people. Perhaps we need to update the expression, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'....

Living in a self-selected world

Having picked up a very old newspaper by chance, dated December 9th 1945, price 2d, the contents were intriguing regarding the news of yesteryear, perhaps had missed some important news...? Casting an eye over the pages, many things appeared interesting ranging from; ‘Cable ship sank without a trace’, ‘The Minister of Works will announce shortly his master plan for the great housing drive’, ‘Talks with Gandhi will take place in the new year’ to ‘the black marketeers are busy with wads of bank notes, tempting the farmers to evade the food regulations’ despite a shortage of Turkeys for Christmas meanwhile. Little change there then... However, as I was scanning these articles I was intrigued to think about how my habit of news consumption has changed.

In my possession are many Internet connected communication gateways that I have signed up to including Twitter feeds, news sights, aggregated content providers etc. This has almost completely replaced the hard paper copy. It is a long time since buying a copy off a news stand, instead, I pick up the ipad or turn on the computer and flick through the titles until something of interest catches my eye, among the aggregated news feeds that have been self-selected.

I ask myself, if I am depriving myself from all those rich serendipitous juxtapositions by selecting what I want to read from a list of self-selected news.

Do I feel empowered?

The ubiquitous of IT and its far-reaching capabilities that penetrated in every aspect of our lives have posed many questions in its role as an empowerment abler. We do not need to think too much about IT in order to identify its characteristics and components that have facilitated and generated feelings of empowerment for example, I have control over access to a vast amount of information. However, further reflection on the previous posting that highlighted the concerning aspect of the way in which Gmails operates behind unsuspected users and what I have experienced with my broadband provider last week led me to consider that the unknowns are challenging and threatening the feeling that I have of empowerment.

As my broadband contract was close to an end, I called and spoke to a very friendly customer service to discuss my options. As a valued customer, I was offered a deal but I wanted to compare it with other providers before taking it. I was told that the offer would expire in 7 days and hence I needed to make a decision and call back. Afer two days, having compared the prices online, I decided to renew my contract, so I called. Then, I was told that the offer was no longer available and the price has risen. I was questioned why I had not taken the offer there and then as it was my fault. After reading the note on their system and my explanation, the customer service accepted the fact that there had been a mistake on their part and I have been misled as holding an offer for 7 days is apparently not possible due to a price change. Despite that, they were unable to offer the same original deal. I had to repeatedly argue my case and I was finally given a credit to make up the difference. Until that credit note was offered to me, meant that I had to pay the price for being misled. It did not make much sense to me and I felt rather powerless, the unknowns were challenging my feeling of empowerment.

Unknowns exist and will always, but I had a feeling of empowerment, facilitated by the Information revolution. Perhaps this is fallacious?

Gremlins in Gmail

Privacy and data protection have been hot topics especially running up to the implementation of the GDPR then we hear about Gmail messages 'read by human third parties'.  I used to think that we don't really need to know what is going on behind the IT system, the technical composition as I have focused on understanding its implications, the social composition of the IT system. However, it is this naive separatist thinking that I suspect has led us to a blind alley of our data being breached.

Tick IT

Sungmin: It has been many years since we have published a posting here. Are we back for sure, Howard?

Howard: Indeed, unfortunately, many distractions have gotten in the way. Sungmin, let's get back to putting some thinking down, perhaps to share, but also so we don't forget. 

Sungmin: How about we restart our Blog with what you have said to me the other day, ‘Ticking culture’?

Howard: Yes, I feel that I am living in a tick box culture. Everywhere I go, I am given a piece of paper to tick, tick, and tick….I have had many hospital visits and people visiting my home to assess various things which always seem to either start or end with ticking a form! I may have to tick or being ticked.

Sungmin: This endless tickings is a form of categorization that we need to use to inform a system we live in.

Howard: This is what we see in analyzing, designing and implementing IT Systems. We do little else but produce abstractions from context and the reality of the everyday living to form its own reality. 

Sungmin: So, the IT systems is an idealized categorization.

Howard: The result is, context is being lost.

Sungmin: ✔