A theory is put forward according to which Star Trek’s DS9 is the meeting
place of at least two major populations : socially-declining aliens who seek a
reclassification through Federation institutions (Starfleet and adjacent agencies
in particular), and humans on a late stage upward trajectory (culminating in
e.g. dilettante / artist o…[Read more]

13 years
in the life of Aaron Swartz (1999-2013) *older re-upload

Fassbinder’s principle of not showing successful revolutions on screen in order
to incite real ones, is established. Internal examples from his own oeuvre are
referenced : Fox and his Friends (1975) and The Third Generation in particular
are discussed. External examples follow as part of a comparative analysis. [The,
contemporaneously t…[Read more]

A second historiography series was started and is now continued, with the
same goal of encouraging prospective research.

A second historiography series is started with the goal of producing an irreverent,
hopefully useful review of available references. We call this new, stimulating
field the history and sociology of computer science and, (therefrom derived),
technology but do not forget the historical if not current role of philosophy.

Even historians writing at the beginning of the 20th c. felt the need to apologize
to their readership for writing ”yet another history” of Port-Royal.
But, this is guaranteed not one of them …

“When we think of the origins of computers we think of…”

Various events and people in the life of Pascal during his ”worldly”
period (here significantly revised, extended).

I – The topic of infinity in the Pensees
etc.

I – A first overview of primary sources and their peculiar conventions
(ie. editions, archives, locations of original texts, summaries…),
II – Resources for the Early modern period (major works, encyclopedia…).

Summary of editorial and interpretative issues – then and now. Cousin’s
1842 Report; Pensees as seen by contemporaries up to about Nietzsche…

Bertrand Russell had little love for Pascal – this should be no secret :
In A History of Western Philosophy, Nietzsche became the ‘anti-Pascal’.
A role too perfect for Nietzsche whose relationships with the latter were
complex (“I don’t read Pascal, I love him…”, a regular companion).

“Pascal, the boy genius” – geometry, social geometry (i.e. sociology),
etc. etc.

Information on marketing, networking, patenting, and reflecting the
famous machine for arithmetic (‘Pascaline’). – “There was a hustler in
Pascal ”; There was also a philosopher, writer of the Pensees.

In particular computer science and technologies.
With references to the history of philosophy
and the social sciences.

Early history of computing and national interests – An essay.
(Including translations of Rene Taton’s work.)

An old genre is rediscovered
in a modern entertainment form…

Ten years ago ”Bittorrent over Tor isn’t a good idea” was published by
the Tor Project. A technical discussion of Bittorrent over Tor is followed
by a more general, philosophical one on privacy’s goals.

The original act of computer science : the erasure of diversity. A scientist was
made acceptable for the benefit of this new, respectable discipline.

How does one establish a science as a respectable discipline? The
first decades of computer science; and, from Kant’s conceptions of philosophy as
queen discipline to a new kind of scientific imperialism : science of everything.