"One aspect of our culture that is no longer open to question is that the most significant developments in the sciences today (i.e. those that affect the lives of everybody on the planet) are about, informed by, or implemented through advances in software and computation."

Table of contents for this issue:

Marc D. Hauser: How Does The Brain Generate Computation?
Jaron Lanier: The Central Metaphor Of Everything?
Alan Guth: A Golden Age Of Cosmology
David Gelernter: Streams
Jordan Pollack: Software, Property & Human Civilization

Edge 95: 'Rebooting Civilization'

Inventing Modern America: From the Microwave to the Mouse celebrates the best of American ingenuity and inventiveness. In-depth profiles of 35 inventors tell the often surprising stories of the creation of everyday objects, from Kevlar and the personal computer to the pacemaker. This site explores the life and work of five of these intriguing innovators. Choose one of the inventors' qualities -- courage, insight, know-how, vision, and perseverance -- to find out more. Then check out what you'll find in the rest of the book.

Inventing Modern America: From the Microwave to the Mouse

In this book Bernardo Huberman explains in accessible language the laws of the Web. One of the foremost researchers in the field, Huberman has established, for example, that the surfing patterns of individuals are describable by a precise law. Such findings can lead to more efficient Web design and use. They also shed light on social mechanisms whose significance goes beyond the Web. In this sense, the Web is a gigantic informational ecosystem that can be used to quantify and test explanations of human behavior and social interaction.

The Laws of the Web

IX was formerly (and perhaps still) an activity of ARDA (ic-arda.org) rather than DARPA. But it appears this new DARPA office will address similar technical issues, although perhaps for different applications.

"The Information Exploitation Office (IXO) develops sensor and information system technology and systems with application to battle space awareness, targeting, command and control, and the supporting infrastructure required to address land-based threats in a dynamic, closed-loop process. IXO leverages ongoing DARPA efforts in sensors, sensor exploitation, information management, and command and control, and addresses systemic challenges associated with performing surface target interdiction in environments that require very high combat identification confidence and an associated low likelihood for inadvertent collateral damage.

Site under construction."

Check back for more details, and expect a few BAAs to be posted soon.

DARPA Information Exploitation Office (IXO)

From an article in the Australian newspaper _The Age_:

"Reputation is the key to sifting the good from the bad on the Web.

"How do you sort out the good stuff on the Web?" People have been asking this question ever since the Web specification escaped from its home in a Swiss nuclear research lab. Most Web professionals see it as pointless: They know what they trust. But only when I tried to answer this question for a friend recently did I realise how the answer has continued to change."

Read the rest...

Winnowing grain from the Internet chaff

A new specialized web directory; worth a look. From the announcement:

"EEVL provides access to quality networked engineering, mathematics and computing resources and aims to be the national focal point for online access to information in these subjects."

Some of the recommendations were well known and fairly obvious ("for general research on computer communications networks, try _IEEE Transactions on Networking_"). Others were equally useful though perhaps less well known, like Tech Law Journal (techlawjournal.com), which unfortunately is moving to a subscription model on January 1.

EEVL : the internet guide to engineering, mathematics and computing

Not a new publication, but potentially useful. Published in 2000 in the Journal of Memetics.

From the abstract: The science of memetics aims to understand the evolution of socially transmitted cultural traits. Recently attention has focused on the interaction between memetic and genetic evolution ... A body of formal theoretical work already exists that can be readily employed ... We reject the argument that meaningful differences exist between memetics and ... population genetics methods. The goal of this article is to point out the similarities between memetics and cultural evolution ... We illustrate how the theory can be applied by developing a simple illustrative model to test a hypothesis from the memetics literature.

Mathematical Models for Memetics

Phil Agre writes:

"Technologies often come wrapped in stories about politics. In the case of peer-to-peer technologies on the Internet, the standard story goes like this:

Once the world was centralized under the control of a top-down hierarchy. Then came the Internet ... Peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies deliver on the Internet's promise ...

I propose to analyze this story ...

Architectures and institutions are often shaped to fit another another, but they are still different sorts of things. As a means of evaluating the prospects for P2P, therefore, I will briefly present four theories of the relation between architectures and institutions."

Peer-to-Peer and the Promise of Internet Equality

If you buy electrical, mechanical, and optical components, this site is a handy way to find the parts you need. The form-based search interface is customized for each kind of part (accelerometers, opamps, EDFAs, FETs, pressure sensors, etc.), results are tabulated for easy comparison, and links to vendor documents are provided. Some features require free registration.

"Built for engineers, GlobalSpec.com provides instant access to over 590,000 electrical, mechanical and optical components. Forget that time-consuming catalog process. Our engineers standardize parts data across suppliers so your online search results are thorough, up-to-date, accurate - and immediate."

GlobalSpec: integrated, searchable components catalog

The new issue of MIT Technology Review is now online. There are special features on bioterrorism and other homeland security problems, including Simson Garfinkel's column. Also, articles on post-desktop GUIs, digital cash, R&D, optical interconnects, patents, displays, nanotech, DRM/IPR, and more.

Technology Review - December 2001