New forms of Group-think

We all define ourselves. One definition is with whom we spend our time. With the limitations of geography removed, the internet continues to revolutionize how we create, and interact in, social circles. These seemingly endless possibilities in social construction are exciting, but there is cause to be weary as we explore them. Who we spend our time with does help define us, but shouldn't be the only thing that does. Hamlet's Ophelia illustrates the dangers of drifting in a sea of opinions without a firm internal sense of identity. For society to re-form into positive new structures, we must each continue to fight to be our best selves.

It takes a village to... solve a problem

Software solves abstract problems. Take communication, for example. How do I send my ideas to a friend? This problem has been solved dozens of times through email, IM, texting, voice calls, video calls, web-pages, wikis, rss feeds, social networks etc. Each solution has slight nuances which cause different people to use it in different ways and situations. To find effective solutions to complex problems we must be willing to listen. We all navigate solution spaces differently. The best solution is bound to be found more quickly by a crowd, then an individual. So as the software industry matures, we must construct a tolerant environment in which un-orthodox solutions are allowed to mature and compete on their own right. After all, where would we be now if assembly purists had been allowed to relegate compilers to the fringe of research just because they were different?

It was so funny... what was it?

The internet's memory is short. Viral videos and trending topics bloom, wilt, and vanish like a flash. Meems are like inside-jokes that lose their edge once everyone is inside. The internet's memory is also infinite. Once posted, an item can be infinitely copied. A lasting interest grants content immortality. Thus the internet is the perfect place for water-cooler talk, scholarly exchange, dictionaries, and works of art. These two uses of the internet are a reflection of the users. We users can be flighty or enduring, trendy or timeless. Both have value. A balanced person learns from the past, enjoys the present, and works for a better future.

Heathen Computers

Human senses have been digitally duplicated in modern electronics. Cameras approximate sight; microphones approximate hearing, even touch is being refined. Scientific breakthroughs continue to expand not only the speed and capacity of computers, but also the very types of data that are available to them to analyze. We appear to be hurtling towards an inevitable technological singularity. But, there is one sense that computers cannot duplicate. Computers will never have a conscience. The complexity and variety of human legal and religious systems is evidence that we can't definitively quantify right from wrong. What we can't define we can't program, therefore computers have no morals. Honestly it doesn't really matter that computers are heathens. We just need to remember that fact when they start recommending modest proposals to us.

Look What I Did

Closed-source software development operations are like blockbuster movies where the credits all say "contributor" and list the names of everyone who worked on the project; the proprietary nature of the project requires that the contributions of the individuals be kept a secret.  Alternatively a vibrant open-source developer has the opportunity to display their work to a large community of peers and users.  The open-source developers can earn the title of "Director", "Producer" or "Gaffer".  This binding of performance to ego is one of the most important ingredients in the success of the open-source development mindset.  One of the greatest motivators of the human race is the desire to show off.