ink's recent activity
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~humanities
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Comment on Users thoughts on groups? in ~tildes
ink LinkI'm starting to think I like the idea of tags better than groups. Especially when there are so few groups. Need a way to subscribe to multiple tags. And worry about people gaming tags later. I've...I'm starting to think I like the idea of tags better than groups. Especially when there are so few groups. Need a way to subscribe to multiple tags. And worry about people gaming tags later.
I've read about the dream of an quasi-organic growth of subgroup hierarchies. The germ of it maybe already exists to a limited extent, with more user freedom currently, in the form of tags. Sort of. Tags tend to be more specific, and often rely on tagging conventions.
Think of twitter (but don't think of it too hard) and how the terrible (and brutally ugly) hack of so-called hashtags freed users to create their own databases of categorization, grouping, and (in some cases) lateral communication.
Vive la tags! (Also known, in the good old days, as keywords.)
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Evidence of a hydrogen wall at the edge of the heliosphere from New Horizons
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Comment on What is your experience with jailbreaking your e-reader? in ~books
ink LinkI've rooted every ereader I've owned. I rarely ended up finding it to have been useful to do so, but I still do so, and insist on doing so, and feel much better somehow knowing I am in control of...I've rooted every ereader I've owned. I rarely ended up finding it to have been useful to do so, but I still do so, and insist on doing so, and feel much better somehow knowing I am in control of my device. Back when I used to have Sony ereaders, hacks were sometimes vaguely useful... but they were often also annoyingly hacky. Like trying to get coolreader or fbreader working to give more options than the build in reader. However there were always UI glitches and inability. Lately I've just been using Kobos -- and honestly the custom hacked menu on my current Kobo only ever just times out, or I quickly select, to boot the default original kobo environment (nickle). Maybe this is because I have more hand held devices than in the old days, I don't feel the need to mess so much with my ereader and force it to do things it was never intended for, and isn't really suitable for. At long last, I just use my hacked ereader... for reading.
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Comment on What are some of the best free MOOC classes you have taken just for fun instead of career advancement? in ~hobbies
ink LinkI've taken many, though none very recently. I should get back into that. Probably the one that has stuck with me the most and affected my thinking was "Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and the Modern...I've taken many, though none very recently. I should get back into that.
Probably the one that has stuck with me the most and affected my thinking was "Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and the Modern World: Lesser Vehicle" via Coursera. The course contained three tracks: a historical and religious account of Buddhist practices, applicable neurological research, and modern social application (i.e. Buddhist inspired programs for recovery programs, business management, and so on). The course was pretty in depth and probably more academic than many who signed up had anticipated. I found the history fascinating, and the meditative techniques discussed in the "lesser vehicle" quite unexpectedly helpful. The discussion around trying to come up with empirical frameworks for scientifically evaluating subjective experiences was a novel concept.
After that, the course I probably still think the most about was "Subsistence Marketplaces". It gave me an interesting and surprisingly intimate (via videos) perspective on the business practices and struggles of monetarily poor communities, as well as some new perspective on the complications of intersecting aid programs. It was actually kind of inspirational.
The electronic literature course mentioned above looks pretty interesting to me. I might give that one a go sometime.
Not debate, per se, but some generally high quality conversation between various theistic/non-theistic perspectives can be found in a podcast called Unbelievable. The show is hosted by a Christian, but the moderation is usually well balanced.
For a similar concept hosted by an atheist there is Dogma Debate. Despite the name, and the past pattern of using the term "versus" in show titles, this show also isn't really debates, but is also conversations. It is not quite up to the level of Unbelievable (in my opinion), but it can be good.