My most recent post is on the group blog Non-Zero:

The technology we might need for a literal global consciousness is still in the realm of science fiction, which is probably just as well. The mechanism of the brain which directs our conscious attention is not really part of our consciousness itself. Are we really ready to have that power over other people's brains - and trust them with it over ours? Neurons seem prone to certain unwarranted intimacies with each other.

I think we should start practicing with collective intelligence first. This may sound rather similar, but it's something quite familiar.

I realize my leave of absense was rather sudden and unannounced. I thought of leaving a post saying how long it would be - but I did not know myself. I could have left a message, but since I didn't know if it would be days or months, I I wasn't even quite ready to articulate the reasons it was necessary, it wouldn't have been very informative.

I have been thinking about this blog rather hard, wondering if it was worth continuing in objective terms. I think it's a great idea for everyone who enjoys it to blog, but I somehow can't muster enthusiasm for it myself unless there's at least the potential it will serve some purpose beyond that.

For awhile, I looked at the headlines of ten or twelve English language online newspapers published in non English language speaking places around the world, to find news that didn't make it into the mainstream news outlets. I still consider this a worthwhile endeavor, and my sidebar still has a special place for blogs which do those things. So far though, I don't think I've found anything major which the mainstream press didn't pick up eventually. I still tend to glance at the headlines of the New York Times online to see what's happening in the world, and the Washington Times to see what conservatives consider worth talking baout that liberals don't.

I still strongly agree with most of the political views I've espoused over the past few months, but I honestly can't say I'm the best exponent available for any of them.

If blogging or the web are ever going to lead us closer to forming a global brain, there are some great blogs written by people who know a lot more about the technology than I do. Joi Ito of Joi Ito's Web and Flemming Fyunch of Ming the Mechanic are two that come quickly to mind. If I have ever written anything that they have not written better first, it must relate not to that but to the concept of a human global brain as already extant. That concept too has been discussed by people more knowledgeble than I, though to the best of my knowledge more often in print than online. I have found nobody besides myself who has started with the latter concept and methodically tried to deduce what the global brain must be thinking about, so as to become more intimately part of it. I don't have as much time to blog as I did when I first started, so I must limit myself to what seems most valuable here.

By the way, if a partial duplicate of this entry appears underneath here, blame Blogger, though the exact details are not worth recording.

I realize my leave of absense was rather sudden and unannounced. I thought of leaving a post saying how long it would be - but I did not know myself. I could have left a message, but since I didn't know if it would be days or months, I I wasn't even quite ready to articulate the reasons it was necessary, it wouldn't have been very informative.

I have been thinking about this blog rather hard, wondering if it was worth continuing in objective terms. I think it's a great idea for everyone who enjoys it to blog, but I somehow can't muster enthusiasm for it myself unless there's at least the potential it will serve some purpose beyond that.

For awhile, I looked at the headlines of ten or twelve English language online newspapers published in non English language speaking places around the world, to find news that didn't make it into the mainstream news outlets. I still consider this a worthwhile endeavor, and my sidebar still has a special place for blogs which do those things. So far though, I don't think I've found anything major which the mainstream press didn't pick up eventually. I still tend to glance at the headlines of the New York Times online to see what's happening in the world, and the Washington Times to see what conservatives consider worth talking baout that liberals don't.

I still strongly agree with most of the political views I've espoused over the past few months, but I honestly can't say I'm the best exponent available for any of them.

If blogging or the web are ever going to lead us closer to froming a global brain, there are some great blogs written by people who know a lot more about the technology than I do. Joi Ito of Joi Ito's web and Flemming Fyunch of PN - The Political Network
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