Links for 2007-02-28
- BBC News reports that the gene that allows most Westerners to consume cow milk effectively only appeared in the last few thousand years Apparently it gave humans such an enormous advantage that it subsequently spread like wildfire through Western Europe.
- Interesting old piece of video from Steve Jobs about Microsoft and their lack of taste... "I'm saddened ... not by their success, which I think they've earned ... for the most part ... I'm saddened by the fact that they just make really third rate products..."
- Alister McGrath is all over the place (including the Daily Mail) in an attempt to promote his book, a response to Dawkins' The God Delusion The Dawkins book is, it has to be said, clumsy and yes, sure, Dawkins himself comes across as arrogant and rude. But while McGrath takes delight in picking apart some of Dawkins' strategies, he doesn't really counter his arguments...
- Henry Jenkins has made his comments known about the Second Life debate and Clay Shirky's quantitative style of historical impact measurement... I agree with the argument that something can be significant and influential even if it is not particularly popular. See the Pixies for more information on that one. However, it is reasonable to interrogate statistics to measure whether something has mainstream appeal and whether—as it stands—it's likely to eat a generation. Evidence on Second Life, not so much.
Comments
Please stay on-topic, informative and polite. I reserve the right to remove comments for whatever vague capricious reasons seem reasonable at the time.
"he doesn't really counter his arguments..." - I disagree. Whether or not Dawkins or McGrath is right here is an interesting talk by McGrath which I find pretty much deals with MOST of the main points: http://www.stebbes.org.uk/audio/0000%20%27The%20Dawkins%20Delusion%27%20Alister%20McGrath%2C%2006.02.07.mp3
→ Posted by: theOlster at February 28, 2007 10:58 AM
I disagree with Clay Shirky a lot, but with regard to Second Life I think he's spot on. Apart from anything else, his original piece specifically says that cultural significance and mass adoption are two different things, and doesn't take any position on cultural significance. Admittedly, the polemical framing of his argument does tend to imply that SL is culturally as well as numerically insignificant - a cooler presentation would have made the argument more powerful and harder to duck. But his basic criticism of the SL mass-adoption hype strikes me as pretty much unanswerable - and it looks as if Jenkins hasn't tried to answer it.
→ Posted by: Phil at February 28, 2007 12:14 PM
Olster - I'll endeavour to listen to that MP3 as soon as I get an opportunity. Phil - I agree completely.
→ Posted by: Tom Coates at February 28, 2007 4:18 PM