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Thread: Quality of the Internet

  1. #1
    Senior Member IKnowNot's Avatar
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    Arrow Quality of the Internet

    Tonight after updating my laptop and catching up on a few overdue e-mails, etc., finding nothing worth watching on TV, I poured myself a drink, popped in a CD that I haven't listened to for a while, and started playing Freecell. Everything seemed right in the world until suddenly the music brought tears to my eyes.
    ( for those that don't know, not that you care, I am a musician ( not noise maker ) at heart , though not by trade. )

    I decided to check the Internet to see what the artist ( Douglas Yeo ) was up to nowadays. ( Back in the early days of the Internet I was a member of a mailing list we mutually belonged to. Unfortunately circumstances took me away. ) Back in the day I came to respect this individual, and it appears I still do.

    To shorten this, anyone who uses the Internet should, IMHO, read his What Happened to the Internet?

    ( Anyone claiming or caring to call themselves a musician should also review his site. )

    Few if any not being of his generation could understand completely where he comes from, but believe me, he is dead on ! ( Being of his generation aside. )

    A computer is a tool. ( that is period! )
    Communication is a tool. ( that is period! )
    Not all noise is music. ( IBID )
    Music is not only a language, ..... an art, ..... it is a universal abstraction, quantified only by its existence !

    I wish Mr. Yeo well, hope he finds what he is seeking during his sabbatical , and hope this post will enlighten, educate, and enrich some.

    And if Mr. Yeo ever reads this, ... Your pictures are not the man I remember ... you are getting old pal ( though we never met in person ... wish we could have met in person when you were teaching next door! )
    I guess I shouldn't look in the in the mirror!
    " And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be" --Miguel Cervantes

  2. #2
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Communication is a tool. ( that is period! )
    Nope, "communication" is an "activity" or "action" One uses tools and media to achieve it.

    The distinction I am making is that communication has an objective, it is a means to an end. "Tools" do not satisfy that criterion; it is the way in which they are used that does.

  3. #3
    Just a Virtualized Geek MrLinus's Avatar
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    IKnowNot:

    Interesting article. I read through it and I have to thank you for posting it today. I was actually pondering what and where I would be had it not been for the internet. It does feel, in many ways, that the identity of the person I am today is entirely mired in "MsMittens" (or my other online pseudonym) and there is no distinction from that. In fact, it feels like people only see me as an avenue to fix things or help them with their computer issues and nothing more.

    I do remember a time when there was respect online, that it was earned through knowledge (and you had to dig deep and long for it); and there was great joy at being able to pass that on to others in their endeavours to dig deep and long. Perhaps I'm feeling cynical these days.

    And if I may disagree and agree with both you and Nihil. Communication is a tool. It can be a means to an ends: the pursuit of knowledge in the purest of forms. But it is a method of exchanging ideas, concepts and understanding that makes it more than a simple tool of fire and stone. It is, to me, both the tool of achievement enlightenment and understanding as well as a way to convey new concepts and ideas, of forming bonds and creating cultures, societies, etc.

    A last note: IKnowNot: look up Mr. Yeo's domain name and you'll find an email address. That's what I used to thank him for the article.
    Goodbye, Mittens (1992-2008). My pillow will be cold without your purring beside my head
    Extra! Extra! Get your FREE copy of Insight Newsletter||MsMittens' HomePage

  4. #4
    Right turn Clyde Nokia's Avatar
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    A long yet worthwhile read.

    I agree that communication is a tool. We only communicate to achieve something, whether our goal is to gain information, give information or just to pass some time away; ergo it is the tool we use to achieve our goal.

  5. #5
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Well, I wouldn't hire any of you lot as a business or systems analyst or a systems architect

    Communication is not a tool, it is a process. The actual "tools" are things like radio, TV, printing, telephones, computers and so on.

    The difference is that a "tool" does not achieve anything per se. It is actions with tools (processes) that achieve objectives.

    A hammer is a tool, a screwdriver is a tool, an automobile is a tool. By themselves they achieve nothing, zilch, nada. You have to use them (by invoking a process) to achieve anything.

    You all seem to be confusing "communication", that is the process or activity with "communications" which is a generalisation referring to the actual media or technologies that are the tools.

    Last edited by nihil; November 8th, 2007 at 11:10 PM.

  6. #6
    Senior Member isildur's Avatar
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    I think you can consider it anything you want. If my objective is to get in some girl's knickers, communication could be a tool toward that objective. Although, generally speaking I think for most of us it is a process.
    Only trust Pipe-smoking Penguins.

  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    If my objective is to get in some girl's knickers, communication could be a tool toward that objective.
    No, it would still be a process. The tools would be phones, e-mails, speech and so on............ IRL is a very effective tool

    On the other hand, one might argue that the level 0 process is "seduction" and that communication is a sub-process or "procedure". That still doesn't make it a tool

  8. #8
    Senior Member IKnowNot's Avatar
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    From dictionary.com :

    5. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose: Education is a tool for success.
    " And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be" --Miguel Cervantes

  9. #9
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Another misnomer. Education is also a process, not a tool.

    EDIT:

    My main point here is regarding analysis, architecture and process re-engineering. You cannot hope to analyse, design and re-engineer if you do not understand the hierarchy of:

    1. Objectives (including critical success factors)
    2. Processes (that support the objectives)
    3. Procedures (that support the processes)
    4. Tools (that are used to implement the procedures)

    Hasn't anyone here studied and used structured design and documentation methodologies? They actually force you to make those distinctions.

    Hell's teeth, I hate to talk like a textbook tutorial, but this is real life, not philosophy or semantics.

    I am sure that many of you will have heard of CMM? (Capability Maturity Model).

    If you do not fully understand these distinctions I doubt if you would get to CMM l2 let alone the l4 or 5 that I am used to
    Last edited by nihil; November 9th, 2007 at 01:31 AM.

  10. #10
    Right turn Clyde Nokia's Avatar
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    I think for once you may have to just concede that others have different opinions from you Nihil.

    In my eyes communication is a tool to achieve a goal.

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