How we use and abuse the word genius. – By Ron Rosenbaum – Slate Magazine

To that point, I bring you Carrotmob.

“Carrotmob organizes consumers to make purchases, rewarding companies who make environmentally friendly choices”

Check out their mission statement and the results of their first event.

I think this is a great way to raise awareness. Working within the system, using the system, playing the system… choose your line… works. You can protest consumerism, capitalism, etc. all you want, but that does not change the fact that these are FORCES. They are not people, entities, corporations, governments… they are forces that other have tapped into for their own ends. And thus they can be used to good, bad, and anything in between.

These guys put something together that seems to provide a net benefit to just about everyone involved. I am sure some poor sucker had to wait in line for an hour longer than usual to pick up their weekend booze at the usual store, but that’s not a great inconvenience. Maybe traffic was bad in the area, too. But it would cause people to take notice that there was an event going on, and hopefully check into the situation and thus become INFORMED of the cause. I think there are a lot of people that will take a lock at the placards and maybe try to catch what slogans are being chanted, but I bet people are a lot more curious when they see a long line of enthusiastic, POSITIVE people at an ordinary looking store.

Read the carrotmob explanation. They do a good job of explaining their goals and approaches.

Although that does bring up the point that saving babies rarely comes up in the green sales pitch, in fact it’s often the other way around. I’d like to see an honest opinion on whether the world has too many humans. Maybe, or is that implication evil? I’m sure as hell not going to walk into that one…

Q: All ethics aside, do you think you could make more money obtaining sensitive information about high net worth individuals and using blackmail/extortion to get money from them, instead of writing books, founding companies, etc.?

A: Basically, you’re asking if crime pays. Most of the time, it doesn’t, and the problem is the different risk characteristics. If I make a computer security mistake — in a book, for a consulting client, at BT — it’s a mistake. It might be expensive, but I learn from it and move on. As a criminal, a mistake likely means jail time — time I can’t spend earning my criminal living. For this reason, it’s hard to improve as a criminal. And this is why there are more criminal masterminds in the movies than in real life.

Freakonomics Blog: Bruce Schneier Blazes Through Your Questions

Driving to work a couple of days ago, I was listening to a Toronto sports station, Chris Chelios’ workout routine that had been written up in a Sports Illustrated article. Rather then reading any of the article, or detailing the workout, they simple talked about it and then suggested that the audience could just ‘google’ it if they were interested.

This drove home the notion that everyone ‘googles’, and its a generally understood and performed activity these days. At least in a society with high levels of internet access, such as here in North America. Interesting stuff.

From Boing Boing: Swedish boy outthinks angry moose with Warcraft skillz.

The comments indicate that the boy was Norwegian and not Swedish. I don’t know squat about World of Warcraft, so I can’t make any nifty insider comments, but this story is very interesting. Most animals, humans included, learn social and survival skills through play. Just watch your kitten attack a foil ball, or your own balls if their hanging low on a given day. Now we have World of Warcraft ‘play’ teaching 12 years olds how to survive large animal attacks in real life.

“In the article he describes how he first yelled at the moose, distracting it so his sister got away, then when he got attacked and the animal stood over him he feigned death. “Just like you learn at level 30 in World of Warcraft.”

On that theme, if anyone has not read Orson Scott Card’s novel Ender’s Game, it ties into this concept. The premise is that video game-like skills are required to operate remote attack ships that are used to fight an alien race. Children are recruited and used for this purpose. Ok, its not exactly the same as avoiding a terminal hoofing from a moose..

Slate: Feel the Sting of My Foam Sword

“But no matter how many people it helps to get laid, Americans will always be suspicious of adults playing a game of make-believe as gloriously and goofily unself-conscious as Darkon.

Ok, the article is NOT about who Live Action Role Playing can get you laid, but that was my favorite quote. I’m thinking about starting up a minor league version for lazy people. Maybe we could tone it down and just simulate things with dice, or something.

One thing the author does not get into are the economics of free time and the draws of competing hobbies and interests. Obviously people need time to pursue non-work-related interests, and that can often be a challenge unless you make that a lifestyle priority. Actually, put that way it seems simple, but anyone with a stack of books they haven’t gotten too knows what I’m talking about.

The other end is competing hobbies. With the unparalleled access to information and to like-minded individuals that we have, primarily through the internet, we have the option to pursue any interest that we want. I think that definitely has an impact on how much we interact with our neighbors. We no longer have to rely on people within a certain proximity in order to socialize. But doing things remotely, on the computer, is certainly not the same as hanging out at a neighborhood BBQ, and will not build the same local community bonds. I think the lessoning of localized relationships does have a negative impact.