Re: [ba-ohs-talk] DKR Progress, backlink database data
On Sun, 9 Dec 2001 cdent@burningchrome.com wrote: (01)
> Eugene, I think what you might want is /^--\s?$/ because otherwise
> aren't you matching too much? (02)
I used "*" instead of "?" on the off chance that someone might separate
their .sigs from their messages with "-- " or something similar. :-) (03)
> This list has a tendency to get a bit distracted by the details,
> delaying actual experimentation, don't you think? What Eugene is
> talking about here isn't particularly complicated, could gather some
> interesting data and could expose some patterns of understanding that
> lead somewhere interesting. Even if fails to create a product of some
> kind the process of experimenting with something semi-tangible has a
> much different impact than just thinking about it. (04)
Thank you for saying this, Chris! (05)
I like discussion and "big thinking," but I also like action. The two
need to coevolve, in the same way that tool and human systems need to
coevolve. (06)
Much of my understanding of the big picture has been heavily influenced by
small, concrete projects undertaken by people on this list. Eric's KRNL
influenced Lee's NODAL, and both gave me a stronger understanding of what
we're trying to accomplish with the OHS. I didn't fully understand topic
maps until Jack released Nexist, and I had an opportunity to play with
them. Purple was my idea, but Murray's followup, plink, gave me new
insights and knowledge. And although I had read about IBIS, I didn't
fully appreciate it until I took Jeff Conklin's wonderful Dialog Mapping
workshop, and had the opportunity to experiment with it myself. (07)
In addition to these projects, people on this list are involved with all
sorts of really important projects -- GSIX, D3E, TouchGraph, etc. I
glanced at Chris's web site, and found all sorts of stuff that seemed
directly relevant to the stuff we're talking about now. I sense that we
as a group are close to convergence on several fundamental ideas, and I
want to do everything I can to facilitate this. (08)
That means more action, and more dialog as a consequence of this action.
Don't be afraid to try new things, and to lean on people on this list for
feedback and encouragement. Above all, don't be afraid of failure, or of
working on something "useless." Failure begats understanding, and
understanding is never useless. (09)
-Eugene (010)
--
+=== Eugene Eric Kim ===== eekim@eekim.com ===== http://www.eekim.com/ ===+
| "Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they |
+===== can have an excuse to drink alcohol." --Steve Martin ===========+ (011)