Maybe we are just big data

Humans are diverse, complicated, and often un-calculated. Computers are our antithesis. Yet we unceasingly try to meld our worlds into one. Susan Etlinger in her TED talk "What do we do with all this big data?" argues an interesting point. She claims as we have more statistical and numerical representation of reality we are not getting closer to the truth. We don't know why people stop smoking, or what causes actually causes cancer, or what in our genes makes us behave differently. We quantify things, but don't know how to critically think about them yet. I believe technology can be harnessed to unveil problems and build solutions, but the human element is still critical. Etlinger argues this same point by emphasizing the necessity to critically think about our big data. The data is only numbers until we make it something more, but if we make it the wrong "more", it is useless just the same.
What do we do with all this big data?

The Cuckoo's Egg

I benefited much from reading the "Cuckoo's Egg." I often fall into a trap thinking that my life is destined to drab computer code, Little Caesar's pizza, and an overall feeling of being like a robot. It is a genuine concern of mine studying Computer Science. This book presented not only a genuinely exciting story in the CS world (albeit an extremely uncommon story), but also a truly fascinating character. Both of which give me hope for the future. Through 400 pages of development, I found Cliff Stoll to be a terrific lead character; one full of passion and energy. Unfazed by the pessimism and disinterest around him concerning the hacker, Stoll trusted his gut. Being willing to act on feelings despite a lack of support is to do things out of the ordinary. Stoll was willing to do what others were not and became a hero. He followed no prescribed protocol or path to catch the hacker. Instead he engineered his own solution by sleeping under his desk, rigging up printers to track activity, and being willing to respond to trouble at any time. I admire this. He was able to discover a problem and his efforts to fix it were extremely proactive and focused. This is an attitude I would like to employ more in my own life. Too often I feel on the defensive side, or in the passenger seat of the car. I am hanging on the curtails of the world around me. One of my deepest desires is to unveil societal problems that I can be a part of the solution to. I want to be filled with excitement and curiosity to the point that I too am willing to do things I would not ordinarily do. I believe that only then can we make truly worthwhile changes in the world.

Singularity

Singularity is a word gaining traction and entrance into the vocabulary of many in the world. It is the calculated prediction that artificial intelligence will overrun humanity due to the accelerated progress of technology. Ray Kurzweil, a famous futurist, says "we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century - it will be more like 20,000 years" (The Singularity isn't Near). As an average "human" likely to be alive in 2045, the predicted year of the event, I'm still deciding my thoughts on the matter. It makes me wonder, what do we as a race define as "progress" anymore? What is it we're seeking? And as far-fetched as the suspected singularity may sound, what if our greed for technology does cost us our existence? Is it preposterous to organize efforts to slow the progress of technology? Time only will reveal the answer to these questions and I am quite excited to be along for the ride.