Monthly Archives: January 2010

Puzzlement

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I don’t get the iPad, except as a Kindle and Nook killer. It doesn’t seem to me to offer more than a netbook or other tablets. Arguably it offers less, in a more closed and proprietary environment that has some … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology and Information Literacy | 8 Comments

Customer Dissatisfaction

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I made a few comments on a thread at Inside Higher Education concerning UCLA’s recent decision to stop the streaming of video materials for classes behind password-protected course management systems, in response to pressure from the Association for Information and … Continue reading →

Hearts and Minds

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I can always work my way through an issue intellectually in a fashion that dissipates or checks my quick, easily manipulable gut feelings about the political news. Take the Citizens United decision. My quick emotional reaction was, “Well, that’s it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 10 Comments

Hester Prynne, Schmester Prynne, or Sarah Palin’s Ressentiment Clubhouse

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Timothy Burke

A friend of mine recently remarked that her 16-year old was frustrated by having to read The Scarlet Letter and other works of classic literature being pushed at him in his high school English class. She’s helping him stick to … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics, Production of History | 9 Comments

The Conspiracy to Destroy Conspiracy

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Timothy Burke

A friend of mine once asked me why I so disliked the use of George Lakoff’s concepts of “frames” by political operatives, after reading me complain here about those ideas several times. After all, my friend argued, there’s some truth … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off

Whose Dime?

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I meant to talk about this compelling post by Brian Croxall back when I first read it via 11d. Croxall has a lot of interesting things to say about the problems of academic labor but I want to focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia | 16 Comments

Everybody Out of the Pool

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Modest proposal: not just Google, but every single multinational company offering online products and services should get out of China. Not as an embargo designed to force improvements in human rights, but out of self-interest. Why operate in a country … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology and Information Literacy, Intellectual Property, Politics | 3 Comments

Mikey Doesn’t Like It. Neither Do I.

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Timothy Burke

A basic point: if the Transportation Security Administration is permitted by the executive branch to “mythbust” on its web pages, it should be instructed to fully and accurately respond to public confirmations that the putatively busted myths are in fact … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Gathering Twilight, Part the Second

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Gary Jones at Muck and Mystery takes on a piece about Jaron Lanier’s new book that caught my eye as well. My negative reaction to Lanier’s views wasn’t quite as strong as Gary’s was, but I had some similar feelings. … Continue reading →

Posted in Games and Gaming, Popular Culture | Comments Off

Reading the Not-Yet

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I really like John Holbo’s point about teaching Descartes’ actual writings as an introduction to “modern philosophy” in this Crooked Timber post. There’s a general pedagogical point here about intellectual history. When we teach canonical texts that are commonly held … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 3 Comments