BWI beginnings 3
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By Terry Beaubois (5), Sat, 25 Mar 2006 09:59:46 PST Comment feedback score: 0 +|- (net 0 from me) Darlene Charneco said: Ok, so back to the concept of Better World Island.:) Are any of you familiar with the Art of Memory, The Method of Loci and/or the concept of a Memory Palace? These all refer to an ancient mnemonic device used by rhetoricians and orators until the invention of the press. http://mappa.mundi.net/cartography/Palace/ Through the detailed visualization of an imagined space,called a memory palace, those proficient in the art could recite entire texts and commit huge amounts of information to memory. The way I see it, Tom, is that if you want to coevolve your book with a virtual island, we are in fact working on an immersive 3D hypertext, a sort of Camillo Theatre(http://cotati.sjsu.edu/spoetry/folder6/ng6211.html): where you learn by walking and clicking. I'm very excited about the probability that we're entering a new phase in the internet where this form of memory retention and learning (which traces back to this concept of memory palaces) will become second nature to the masses.'Memory palaces' and 'Camillo Theatres'are, can and will be made in 3d graphic interface. You don't as much need to 'hold' the whole structure in your mind...as you BUILD the building/space and return to it over and over, learning while you 'play'. Think of typical computer games....the addictive warring kind even...those who play them regularly come to KNOW all the aspects of the various environments...they know that over 'here' are power-point giving things...and that at this point some flying bad guys will come out of that precise door to the right..and they have to jump to that exact stone and click on that button and whatever whatever to keep going... They learn how to move from room to room, landscape to landscape, level to level of the game, just by playing it...by tracing the steps and gathering a sort of 'memory-skill'. Now what I'm terribly excited about and see happening...is a gradual reordering of the internet in just this way. Our regular ways of storing information for retrieval are just not cutting it anymore. I have tons of information stored in 'files' but the accessibility of each diminishes with each additional folder. A new spatial arrangement is needed, and I believe information-embedded objects and 3D memory palaces might be the way to go. So, with the hope that SecondLife integrates links to webpages and outworld content soon enough...I do believe that we can all organize our most 'shareable' information there in intuitively accessible visual ways. The design of each person's home-page on the web is already an attempt to give an interface to the information we each personally would like to share with a random visitor. So we can each design a memory palace or 3d space which hold this information and is a portal to other related spaces in the way that hypertext leads you out of the immediate text. This 'choose-your-own-adventure' style to information access is at the basis of the pier10 web browser/portal idea I mention on my profile. Anyway, at omidyar network we are all organizing information we feel is valid toward this 'better world' goal...and creating a space where the connections between the ideas...and collaborative efforts can thrive. I would be very interested in helping translate the ON concept into a connected immersive virtual space on secondlife which serves the same ideal and also becomes an intuitively accessible and inspirational experience for the random visitor. so many thoughts on this.
By Gillo Cutrupi (CCAL30) (59), Wed, 29 Mar 2006 02:42:51 PST
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What we do now? :)
<a href="http://socialsoftware.weblogsinc.com/2006/03/28/second-life-creators-score-11-mill-more-vc-bucks-to-extend-audi/">Linden Labs gets $11 million to turn Second Life into Walmart World</a>
By Darlene Charneco (CCAL30) (594), Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:25:19 PST
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Gillo Cutrupi said:
What we do now? :)
<a href="http://socialsoftware.weblogsinc.com/2006/03/28/second-life-creators-score-11-mill-more-vc-bucks-to-extend-audi/">Linden Labs gets $11 million to turn Second Life into Walmart World</a>
It's all strange loops I tell you. Here is a journal entry from last year... http://avad.livejournal.com/82316.html#cutid1 which was just a moment before I serendipitously landed on omidyar.net . The serendipity is all in there (well, much of it drips into the comments area and about). I'm still trying/hoping but feeling like in a hamsterwheel sometimes. The landscape is a bit different but the same challenge/questions. help?!!.
By Darlene Charneco (CCAL30) (594), Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:32:40 PST
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Terry, I'm lost- did you reply something in there- did you just repost my post...or are our words mixing? Oh please do say you're going to work on something like this??
By Tom Munnecke (1530), Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:12:04 PST
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Gillo Cutrupi said:
What we do now? :)
http://socialsoftware.weblogsinc.com/2006/03/28/second-life-creators-score-11-mill-more-vc-bucks-to-extend-audi/">Linden Labs gets $11 million to turn Second Life into Walmart World
Maybe we could use Second Life as a perfect example of the best of capitalism. A few folks had an incredible vision, charged off with entrepreneurial zeal, attracted millions of dollars of venture capital, and created this new opportunity for all of us to join (Or not).
We all have new capabilities, Second Life continues to grow, and the founder's vision is validated (or not). We are all free to vote with our attention and/or our dollars; and the founders will thrive or perish depending on whether they meet our interests.
It seems to me that this is a wonderful flowering of creativity - something we should do a whole lot more of. Seems like this is a win-win situation for all concerned.
By Darlene Charneco (CCAL30) (594), Sat, 01 Apr 2006 21:00:42 PST
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SHould be good. Just hoping that a good model of more conscious consumerism can be started and spread wherever the commercialism is. If it was designed in, even better...(the Pier10/10%concept)...so that the energy could have continuous real-life uplift..
Well that said, I'm very excited about the link to BetterWorldIsland's CampDarfur in there (NewWorldNotes). Should generate more traffic/interest/awareness.
By Andrew Hoppin (16), Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:42:00 PST
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Tom, years after your initial Better World inspiration and your innovative use of Second Life:http://www.secondlife.com, it's has suddenly become a big contribution to my life...
I've been involved with creating RootsCamps:http://www.rootscamp.org, which are post-election debrief sessions for the NetRoots:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netroots in 6 cities across the USA in the wake of the mid-term election, and are based on the BarCamp:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcamp "unconference" model.
It occurred to me that since we only have RootsCamps in six US cities in this its innaugural year, we ought to enable the rest of the country to participate. Enter Second Life. So we created RootsCampSL:http://www.rootscampsl.org and launched it on November 8th, the day after the election. As we, Second Life newbies all, cast about for a suitable venue for RootsCampS, we came upon Riversong Garden and she generously offered to allow us to host it on the Better World Island estate that she manages. So, thank you Tom. Your investment years ago is still making a difference.
Best, Andrew Hoppin (aka Drew Frobozz in Second Life)
PS: RootsCamp continues each day through November 15th from 1-3pm PST. Join us! Full details at RootsCampSL:http://www.rootscampsl.org
