Recent read: Mind’s I

Mind’s I: Douglas R Hofstadter, Daniel C. Dennett

It is kind of book that sets tumults up in your thinking part, you begin to try to distance your “self” with a new point of view. To a diehard reductionist, this book is a treat of anthology with nicely articulate articles. The basic premise is around the very question you tend to ask but never get any satisfactory answer on the nature of consciousness in scientific framework.
‘Non Servium’ by Lem is one of the best and closest descriptions I felt.
Some of the essays on reductionism and holism are fascinating. It kinda triggered some thoughts and lead to some catchy T-shirt messages.

Here is what it is..

Curing test, explained by the book as a corner stone for AI aficionados, as makes one feel that a machine can be programmed the way human mind is programmed in brain.
The book explores the possibility of different organizational structure between what is represented in us and other self aware entities. It goes to the extent that the notion of self is a mere consequence and matter of conditioning for neuro-bio-physio elements which constitute a human.

recent read : Small Pieces Loosely Joined

Small Pieces Loosely Joined : A Unified Theory of Web ...by David Weinberger

One of the fascinating book on the wonder called world wide web. It starts with a insightful analogies between web-space and real space and when these analogies fail it comes up with why and how in a much interesting way.
He compares the aisles in Mall and e-commerce site, malls makes you move around before you reach to what you want, it leads to unplanned buying and showcasing.
Same strategy in e-commerce site can drive you away, annoyed by the maze of mere navigation.
The author has structured this book on the lines of ‘Tao of physics’ and go about supporting his hypothesis with nice instances and anecdotes. He calls web with no spatial connotation but place-ial one, places connected with distancelessness.Author gives a splendid example of poetics of space and how every corner in our house holds a different feeling for us and stretches the same for web space and its effect on sensitive web design.
Book elaborates the social impact of www under different clusters of thoughts :
"perfection" : Nobody is bothered to be immaculate and perfect as there is a continued attempt in real world, in-your-face attitude of netizens,
"togetherness"- masses in real world are cursed with facelessness and loss of individuality but web makes every individual his vioice to be heard and "be famous in fifteen people";
"time" - web is a constant gold rush wherein time move 8 times faster than real world.
This makes it a must read for any of those who care about web and define a part of it.

To smallpieces.com
To Amazon

This book induces really crazy ideas. I call them low hanging fruits.
On net you can give link to any of the other page-web document that exists on net without any permission. More the links that direct to your page, more popular relevance value of your site.
Is it possible to have a reverse link? Something like I program a link backward from your page to my page.

I have my own reservation against using the web history in its current form it is hardly of any use in a chronological form.
What I need is context, a map of that context, the whole surfing session neatly laid in front of me so that I can re visit a page I bookmarked in my mind to go back. Because at times no of open IE windows become so many for the display and still you are reluctant to close them due to fear of loosing it. I fear I may not come again so let me take as much from my current visit.

new location

Because of constant popping up of geocities ad banners, which inspite of my much coding efforts I could not get rid of, without disturbing the css defined layout.
so, I have shifted my site to

http://ifordesign.webspace4free.biz