Submission + - Did Walt Disney Cause Global Warming?
DanielMarkham writes: "As technology wonks, we deal with more and more complex systems. People, however, have a natural tendency to want to deal in simple concepts. When we apply simple concepts to complex systems, we get sub-optimal results.
Over on WhatToFix, there is an article asking if Walt Disney caused Global Warming. Aside from the amount of CO2 given off by the Disney theme parks, the question is whether animating and personalizing animals in cartoons leads people to consider animals as equivalent to humans.
How many of us talk to users who say "the computer isn't happy with my typing" or some other such anthropomorphic statement? Markham asks the question of just where do these simplistic metaphors help political discussions, and where do they hurt it? As technology impacts the political world more and more, such questions are going to become critical for us to understand, whether it's Global Warming, DRM, or net taxes, this issue is here to stay."
Over on WhatToFix, there is an article asking if Walt Disney caused Global Warming. Aside from the amount of CO2 given off by the Disney theme parks, the question is whether animating and personalizing animals in cartoons leads people to consider animals as equivalent to humans.
How many of us talk to users who say "the computer isn't happy with my typing" or some other such anthropomorphic statement? Markham asks the question of just where do these simplistic metaphors help political discussions, and where do they hurt it? As technology impacts the political world more and more, such questions are going to become critical for us to understand, whether it's Global Warming, DRM, or net taxes, this issue is here to stay."