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Making of the English Working Class
by E.P. Thompson

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
by Neil Postman

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(no subject)

In the naval battle of Copenhagen in 1801 Nelson lead the attack of the British fleet against a joint Danish/Norwegian enemy. The British fleet of the day was commanded by Admiral Sir Hyde Parker. The two men disagreed over tactics and at one point Hyde Parker sent a signal (by the use of flags) for Nelson to disengage. Nelson was convinced he could win if he persisted and that's when he 'turned a blind eye'.

In their biography, Life of Nelson, published just eight years later, Clarke and M'Arthur printed what they claimed to be a Nelson's actual words at the time:

"Putting the glass to this blind eye, he [Nelson] exclaimed, I really do not see the signal."
The first recorded use of the phrase in the form we normally use it today is in "More letters from Martha Wilmot: impressions of Vienna, 1819-1829." These were reprinted in 1935 and this quotation is recorded as being sent by Ms. Wilmot in 1823:
turn a blind eye and a deaf ear every now and then, and we get on marvellously well."

via http://www.nerdtests.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=641&start=15&

also mentioned in UCB "History of Information".

(no subject)

re: http://ivanov-petrov.livejournal.com/531874.html?thread=16601250#t16601250

Let's say we have several problem generation modules ( Problemators), and we want to choose one of them to couple it to at least one of our problem solving modules ( Solvers). What would be the criteria for that?

Assuming problem compatiblity and unlimited ability of Solvers to deal with problems generated, the first thing that comes to mind is Value, i.e. the combined value of all solutions over the time of Solver use. Problemator that consistently generates problems with higher Values wins. Of course, it's not clear how we determine Value. It can be measured in Nobel prizes, or lives saved, or whatever. The main point is there has to be a Value calculation method. For example, double entry accounting is credited with enabling the current profit-based economy. I.e. our ability to compare different activities with regards to profits they generate allow us to select most profitable ones. Obviously, this approach selects for Problemators for which Value calculations can be made.
Sounds like a performance improvement problem.

A synthesis approach would be to come up with a Problemator that generates problems that none of the Solvers is capable of solving. This would be an indicator that new types of Solvers need to be created or a better Problemator-Solver matching procedure established.

cf Domain creation, growth, restructuring that I use in my Stanford lectures ( e.g. Session 10, slide 4).