“Just as divine authority was legitimised by religious mythologies, and human authority was legitimised by humanist ideologies, so high-tech gurus and Silicon Valley prophets are creating a new universal narrative that legitimises the authority of algorithms and Big Data. This novel creed may be called “Dataism”. In its extreme form, proponents of the Dataist worldview perceive the entire universe as a flow of data, see organisms as little more than biochemical algorithms and believe that humanity’s cosmic vocation is to create an all-encompassing data-processing system — and then merge into it.”

Whole article here.

“I am not a number, I am a free man [or person]” (The Prisoner, tv series, 1967).

“To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human.” The Matrix, movie, 1999)

For further reading, see:

The matrix and philosophy : welcome to the desert of the real / edited by William Irwin. (Chicago : Open Court, c2002.)
PN 1997 .M395 .M433 2002

Adapting philosophy [electronic resource] : Jean Baudrillard and The matrix trilogy / Catherine Constable. (Manchester University Press, 2009.)

Not exactly guaranteed to keep you awake…

Max

I found this dedication in a book this morning. The book is American but it applies just as much to us doesn’t it:

“To the countless unnoticed librarians of our country, who are carrying on their cultural work with intelligence and patience”

Max

The TAFS programme has now been completely phased out. TAFS staff have all left.  TAFS postgrads have all graduated. No new TAFS  enrolments will be accepted from 2016 on ….. so the TAFS libguide has now gone the way of all things too.  RIP

Max

“An award-winning Kiwi novel has been banned after a complaint by conservatives, potentially sparking a wave of new restrictions on books with sexually explicit content.

The teen novel Into the River by Auckland author Ted Dawe has gone through a considerable censorship battle.

The interim ban makes it a crime to supply, display, or distribute the book in any way – if one knows about the order. Individuals and organisations who knowingly supply the banned book are liable to fines of up to $3000 and $10,000 respectively. The ban includes schools and libraries….” (The Press, 8 Sep. 2015)

Ridiculous isn’t it that we could be in breach of this ban through putting the book on display in the Library… any thoughts?

Max