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April 16, 2001—Web
Sharing
Off to the Louvre. Perhaps six or eight years ago, a
SMU professor friend took me off to his office for a trip to the Louvre via
the Internet (www.louvre.fr).
I think he knew we'd always be in touch with each other if he got he started
on the Web. And he was right. Today our emails shoot back and forth,
covering everything from the best in French hotels to best sources on
website development--a virtual connection that remains between us well after
we have both moved on from Dallas.
Collaboration Everywhere. Academics mixed up with DARPA got the
Internet rolling to make sure everybody everywhere could collaborate about
everything. That has remained the essence of the Web.
The academy still best understands the uses of the Internet, despite the
efforts of business and government to adjust. It's a lousy propaganda tool,
and advertisers strike out big time in this medium. It is a wondrous forum
for those who want to lay all their cards on the table in order to get to
see the other guy's game. It is far better for moving knowledge than for
moving products, leveraging minds instead of pocketbooks.
Kindlmann's Years of Sharing. It's the place to share a thought if
you have one. Peter J. Kindlmann, Professor of Electrical Engineering and
other things at Yale, has more than one. Once or twice a week you can get a
quick take from him if you sign up for his e-mailings. On April 11, he
passed on some wisdom about mumbo jumbo from NYU writing instructor Tom
Schachtman, who's written a book -- The Inarticulate Society --
showing how experts in everything use gooblygood to keep us under their
thumbs. On another occasion, Kindlmann points out what scientists can
decipher from Lady Hamilton's portrait. In other words, engineer Kindlmann
ranges pretty far afield--Yale education at its best, as provided on the
Internet.
You will find Kindlmann on our free newsletter list this week on the Global
Province under "Other Global Sites."
Gods, Heroes, and Legends. And per our promise last week, here we
have fired an opening salvo on heroes. Our trial balloon is a little paean
about the first guys to make it around the world in a balloon in twenty
days. And, of course, we include a website to really get you into
ballooning.
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