When and how did the Internet start?
October 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
International Internet Day is marked annually on 29 October. The day commemorates the anniversary of the first message that was sent between two computers on 29 October 1969 through ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet.
They intended to transmit the word “LOGIN,” but the system crashed just after they had sent the first two letters. Hence, the first message on the Internet was ‘LO’ — as in ‘Lo and behold!’
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A review of the novel “The Plot Against America” by Philip Roth
October 28th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
This work of fiction essentially poses two questions: could America become fascist? if it did, would it do so through a popular non-politician becoming president with the secret manipulation of a foreign power? When this novel was first published in 2004, these questions must have seemed fantastical. When I eventually read the work after a four-year term in the White House by Donald Trump, these questions seemed not merely very much less theoretical but almost prophetic.
The narrative is located in the period June 1940 to October 1942 in a Jewish suburb of Newark in New Jersey and the viewpoint is that of Philip Roth himself as a child of between seven and nine. The central proposition of this counterfactual history is that in November 1940 Franklin D Roosevelt failed to secure a third term when he was roundly defeated by Charles A Lindbergh, the famous aviator and noted Nazi sympathiser. Almost all the characters mentioned in the 360-page story were real-life individuals and, extraordinarily for a work of fiction, the novel concludes with 28 pages of historic notes consisting mainly of pen portraits of 39 personages.
At one point, the narrator’s father states of Lindberg supporters: “They live in a dream and we live in a nightmare”. At another point, FDR is made to refer to “a plot being hatched by anti-democratic forces here at home harboring a Quisling blueprint for a fascist America or by foreign nations greedy for power and supremacy”. Roth – who died during Trump’s occupation of the White House – could have been writing about Trump’s fanatical supporters and Putin’s nefarious interference.
Roth’s focus is very much on one Jewish family – ostensibly his family – but his sweep of characters and events is considerable. In spite of repeated use of very long (but perfectly formed) sentences, this is an easy – if unsettling – read, although the ending does seem rather sudden and somewhat contrived.
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Some more reviews for my book of short stories
October 25th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
“A little gem.”
“These stories from the many rooms in the author’s mind are so interesting, topical, yet vividly animated by ‘look backs’ on the characters’ lives.”
“An incredible read with meaningful lessons.”
“Loved the interesting read, lots of variety and an extraordinary grasp on the art of writing short stories, with each one containing a moral, and plenty of wit and humour.”
This is what they are writing on Amazon about my book of short stories titled “The Rooms In My Mind”. If you haven’t purchased it yet or think it would make a little gift to a relative or friend, please check it out here.
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A review of an impressive new book: “Exponential” by Azeem Azhar
October 24th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
Around a decade and a half ago, Azeem Azhar – what a wonderfully alliterative name – and I served together as members of the Consumer Panel of Ofcom. the UK’s regulator of telecommunications and broadcasting. He is much younger and much smarter than me and went on to become a tech entrepreneur and tech analyst. Now he has written as good a book as you will find on the current state of technological change and the profound issues raised by the technology.
Azhar’s main thesis can be simply stated: some of our most fundamental technologies are changing at an ever-faster pace so that, if plotted on a graph, they would follow a steeply-rising or exponential curve, while our institutions – whether governments, corporations, service providers or armed services – are responding in a much slower fashion that, again if represented on a graph, would show essentially a straight or incremental line. The result is what he calls the ‘exponential gap’.
Of course, rates of change are hard to measure but he concentrates on technologies such as microelectronics where change can be measured and he defines an exponential technology as one that can, for a roughly fixed cost, improve at a rate of more than 10% per year for several decades. He writes particularly about change in four key sectors: computing, energy, biology and manufacturing. He explains what is driving this exponential revolution: the power of learning by doing, the increasing interaction and combination of new technologies, and the emergence of new networks of information and trade.
One very visible outcome is superstar companies or tech giants – the likes of Amazon and Google – who may be serving consumers well but are – in his view – exploiting smaller-scale producers and making economies progressively less dynamic. Additionally, of course, they do not pay their fair share of taxes, they control access to information and opinion, and they act beyond the control of governments and regulators.
Azhar is a first-time author but this is a really impressive work. He has been well-served by both his editor (it is immensely readable) and his research team (the range of sources is considerable). The sub-title of the book is ‘How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving Us Behind And What To Do about It’. As with all such books, there is much more on the ‘How’ and than on the ‘What’. Azhar proposes a range of sensible suggestions – such as the mandation of interoperability between comparable networks, the adoption of the Danish system of ‘flexicurity’ and the devolution of political power to cities – but is hesitant about other ideas – such as a universal basic income or a digital bill of rights.
I cannot help feeling that the totality of Azhar’s policy proposals are not adequate to the huge challenges that he so eloquently describes. It seems to me that, as well as an ‘exponential gap’, there is a ‘comprehension gap’. Most tech analysts do really understand politics or like politicians, while almost all politicians have very little understanding of technology and are rather in awe of technologists.
Ultimately these tech challenges require some big and bold political and regulatory solutions with radically new approaches to taxing corporate income and personal wealth, the empowering of worker and consumer bodies, and clever integration of human and artificial intelligence in a whole range of sectors including child care, education, training, health and social care.
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Word of the day: ruminant
October 22nd, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’d never come across this word until recently when I was reading an article about the climate crisis.
I checked it out and found that a ruminant is an even-toed ungulate mammal that chews the cud regurgitated from its rumen. The ruminants comprise the cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer, giraffes, and their relatives.
Ruminants produce a huge quantity of the greenhouse gases which significantly contributes to global warming namely, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). On an average, a cow produces around 70–120 kg CH4 per year which is 23 times more potent factor to climate change than that of CO2.
So, if you’re a meat-eater and want to protect the environment, think of eating less beef and lamb as compared with pork and chicken.
Posted in Cultural issues, Environment | Comments (0)
A break in Slovenia to visit Lake Bled and Ljubljana
October 10th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
For many years now, top of my bucket list has been, for as long as I have the health and wealth, to have visited as many countries as my age. I am currently 73 and I’ve visited a total of 77 countries.
Of course, as for everyone on the planet, the global pandemic has severely curtailed my travelling. It’s now two years since I’ve been abroad and I’m really keen to travel again. Since the pandemic is far from over, I don’t feel confident enough yet to travel outside Europe and I always like to travel to a new country, so I’m off now to Slovenia – my 78th country.
Slovenia is a tiny nation – just 2.1 million (I live in London which has a population of 8 million). Between the two world wars, it was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In the Second World War, it was occupied by the Germans, Italians and Hungarians. Between 1945 and 1991, it was part of the former Yugoslavia, but it is now a member of the European Union and the Eurozone.
The first half of my holiday will be at Lake Bled. Located in the northwest of Slovenia, Bled is well placed on the edge of a former volcanic lake in the shadow of the picturesque medieval Bled Castle. Apparently this fairy-tale castle, high up on the bluff, houses an expensive restaurant and a museum detailing the area’s history.
In the western part of the lake is Bled Island, which has been the site of a Christian church since the 9th century. I understand that it has become customary for lovers to swim out to the island and ring the church bell, but I’ll probably give that a miss.
The second half of my holiday will be in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. This is more of a quaint provincial town than a capital with a population of just 300,000 (about the size of a London borough). There are many cafés and bars that pack the main square, Presernov Trg.
A funicular goes up to Ljubljana Castle, which dominates the skyline, and the Cathedral of St Nicholas with its classic twin towers. One can cross from the world of the living to the dead through the monumental arch of Zale Cemetery which is described as one of Europe’s prettiest cemeteries.
Note: Slovenia is not to be confused with Slovakia or Slavonia or Slavinia (check them out).
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Word of the day: disinformation
October 8th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
Disinformation is a subset of propaganda and is false information that is spread deliberately to deceive . It is also known as black propaganda.
It is sometimes confused with misinformation which is false information but is not deliberate.Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The growing death toll from covid in the UK
October 7th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
It troubles me that the announcement each day of the previous day’s deaths from Covid-19 disguises the size of the cumulative figure.
The number of deaths within 28 days of a positive covid test now totals 137,417. The number of deaths with covid 19 mentioned on the death certificate now totals 160,824.
These figures compare with the suggestion at the start of the pandemic that “a good result” would be 20,000 deaths. What has happened – and is still happening – is both a tragedy and a disgrace.
The way things are going the final death toll in the UK will not be that much less than the cost of the so-called Spanish flu of 1918. That pandemic killed an estimated 228,000.
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Word of the day: immiserate
October 6th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’m reading a book called “Exponential” by Azeem Azhar, someone I used to know when we sat together as members of Ofcom’s Consumer Panel.
One of his favourite words – one I’ve hardly seen before- is ‘immiserate’, a verb meaning to make miserable or to cause to become impoverished.
It seems that many new technologies will cause much immiseration.
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)
Word of the day: tchotchke
October 5th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
A tchotchke is a small bric-à-brac or miscellaneous item. The word has long been used by Jewish-Americans and in the regional speech of New York City and elsewhere. It is Yiddish in origin.
The word may also refer to free promotional items dispensed at trade shows, conventions, and similar commercial events. They can also be sold as cheap souvenirs in tourist areas, which are sometimes called “tchotchke shops”.
I only just came across this word for the first time in a book on technological change.
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