Data visualization isn’t something most people get all het up about. This is a pity, though, because we live in a world that is swimming in a sea of data. More than at any time in the past, massive amounts of information are being collected, sorted, collated and used. Where is it getting used? Governments, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Technology & Society
Proceed with Caution: the Dark Side of Data
So recently my life is full of tech talks. First I went to this Girl Geek Dinners Social and Economic Development Through Technology series of talks. I was a little nervous about going, actually, because it’s geared towards women in technology and I thought I might not be enough of a programmer to fit in. … Continue reading
The Colossus
It’s hard to imagine, now, a life before the internet. Of course I do in fact remember a life before the internet–I remember getting our very first home computer, setting it up out of the box. I remember the sound of the modem as we connected. Nothing like now–and that was less than 20 years … Continue reading
For Data Wizards Everywhere
Today’s discussion topic is the similitude between querying databases and casting spells. If you are not a person who deals frequently with databases, that probably means nothing to you. Actually, I imagine many of you who do deal frequently with databases are equally mystified. I shall endeavor to explain. Databases are made up of tables. … Continue reading
Crocheted IA
Last Wednesday night I headed out to London IA, a social networking event for people working in Information Architecture, User Experience Design and other related fields. I don’t work precisely in this area, but I’d like my work to involve more direct interaction with users. Research on people’s experiences is what I’m trained to do, … Continue reading
Offloading Memory
A few weeks ago, an article in Science on how search engines are changing the nature of memory became very popular in the news. Specifically, if people know that they can easily look answers up instead of remembering them by rote, their recall of the answers themselves declines while their memory of where to find … Continue reading
Computing Anthropology
Lately I’ve been spending a LOT of time at the computer. The vast majority of my life, in work and entertainment, has revolved around this screen recently, in exactly those kinds of scenarios that writers like Faranheit 451 and Brave New World and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? got all worked up about. This … Continue reading
Life, Wired and Wireless
Managed to pry my eyes away from the glowing screen today to go out with my mom. We went to see a movie (also a screen, but much further away from my face and less likely to damage my eyesight in the long run). There was a Fire Incident as we were trying to buy … Continue reading
Caitiewrites 