I know a lot of you probably think my blog posts topics are the very definition of random, and, er, you might have a point, but that’s not the point I wanted to make. I think randomness is undervalued, not just positively ignored by the wheels of modern society, but actually being eradicated.
There are two philosophies that govern randomness; you either believe in determinism or free will. If you believe that everything can be predicted (from the Big bang, or the divine moment of creation, or whatever) then “randomness” simply arises because we don’t yet understand enough about the universe to be able to predict the outcome of an event. On the other hand, if you believe in free will then you believe human beings (and maybe other consciousness’s) can make a decision that is not predictable.
Free will (or the illusion of free will because I don’t understand enough about the universe) makes me feel as if I have a say in my life, and I like that. But, many things are driving us in the direction of determinism.
Shops have long worked to encourage people to buy things by understanding that if a customer buys X then they’re very likely to want to buy Y, so they put X and Y next to each other on the shelf. The iTunes store keeps track of what you buy and suggests other things you might like based upon people who bought similar items. This is great, you get to find other things that are similar to your taste, but it also means you don’t find anything that is different. The whole process reinforces your likes and preferences, making you a more predictable customer, and a more predictable customer means more dollars. It’s like a self-licking ice cream cone, and I’m sure I don’t need to point out how dark the world would be if you didn’t get to lick an ice cream once in a while.
Websites like Facebook and Twitter use the same idea to drive people into categories. They make you more like yourself, or perhaps more like a group of people who are similar to you. Freedom of choice isn’t taken away, you just get tempted down the deterministic path. When you “friend” someone, they suggest other, similar people you might like. That sounds great; people who like whatever I’m into, but wait, doesn’t that mean they’ll be a lot like me? Basically, I’m “friending” myself (which, for those of you who know me is a pretty scary proposition). I really wish Tweetdeck or Twitter or Facebook had a “random” option just to introduce me to other people’s thoughts.
So, let’s celebrate randomness, let’s keep Austin and the whole internet just a little bit weird, lets confuse big brother, let’s lick ice cream cones, lets go wild with unpredictability.
Or not, because you do have free will.
Probably.
Cheers!
The data mining used by shopping sites, Facebook, and web advertisers is a little creepy. What’s even creepier is if you are on Expedia looking at hotels for a certain destination for example, then those hotels start popping up in your web ads on other sites. Or furniture, or whatever you’ve been shopping for. Even though I understand the technology behind it (and how to get rid of it, if I want), it’s still a little creepy. And useless sometimes – what if I already booked a hotel, or bought my furniture?
So +1 for randomness! But I like free will as well (or more), so +1 for that, too. 😀
Hi Jennette
Yes, data mining is getting to extremes. When people used to make the link that people who bought X would like Y it wasn’t too bad. But now computers monitor our every click there’s no escape.
Thanks for the vote on randomness 🙂
I always know just from looking at the title of your post that I’m in for a good read, Nigel. This was no exception, naturally.
I’m with Jennette—I find data mining exceptionally creepy. It’s very Big Brother, and like you said, it coaxes you down a certain path by eliminating other options. Sure, Amazon knows that I liked Book X, but what if I don’t want to read another one like that? What if I want to read the opposite of Book X? Leave me alone, Amazon.
And in honor of your post on randomness, I’m just going to hit a bunch of random keys now.
w9g8y80qb4 gieow[g86tfbho dsw0uf034t=2ybhbtihq\h=oq4khwpj1295ug
There. I feel better.
LOL, thanks for the compliment – you know how to make a man blush, Madame Weebles.
Data mining is going too far. You look up a hotel and the rest of the week you’re bombarded with hotel ads. Strangely Rolls Royce’s don’t seem to garner the same attention.
Thanks for your randomness. In the same spirit, I’d like to wish you the happiest of lemon pickles for the weekend.
Cheers!
Should I be concerned that I detected a pattern in your picture of “random” numbers/characters? The pattern indicates Facebook will soon start offering you pop-up ads for carbuncle cream. Sorry about that.
Seriously, though, I love the way you think. It hadn’t occurred to me that we’re being gently channelled into predictability by data mining (and the thought of it makes my skin crawl – thanks for that). My tastes are very diverse (which sounds much nicer than “schizophrenic”), and I’d like to keep it that way. I’m not sure it’d be a good thing for the rest of the world if there was a group of people who were all like me.
Hurray for randomness! And if anybody tries to lick my ice-cream cone, I’ll hit them with my torque wrench.
Hi Diane.
A pattern in my randomness? Damn, I must be human, after all. Next time I’ll stick to binary. Or maybe that would be worse, so much chance for repetition!
Sadly, I think big brother would like us to be far more predictable.
LOL, how polite you are. You do have eclectic tastes. I wouldn’t call them schizophrenic, just appropriately unpredictable. Who else could know so much about calibrated torque wrenches and Swahili? And interchange the two?
Cheers!
Hey – 1984 was nearly thirty years ago. Big Brother is definitely watching.
Yes, I think George Orwell would be inspired to write something new if he saw the monitoring that goes on these days.
Cheers!
I love this post, Nigel! Thanks for helping me feel less Sybil-like. 😉 Cheers to you and randomness.
I knew there was something dangerous going on with you!
Hey August, I’m very glad to make you feel less Sybil-like. I think we’d all like to be slightly less Sybil-ish. Yes, no Sybil for me. No, no, no.
Er, excuse my artistic ignorance, or social ineptitude, but Sybil who?
Have a great, slightly non-conformist, weekend 🙂
Cheers!
Great post! And, I’m all for randomness. If you’ve ever visited my blog, you know I’m a believer. LOL One never knows what will pop up there. I tried doing set days for different topics but then sometimes what I wanted to write about didn’t fit into those either. So I gave up. Now I write about what I want to write about and I figure some will like some of them and still some will be liked by others. Clear, huh? But I have to agree – I think all the data mining is creepy. I can look at something online and within seconds I have ads about what I was just doing. Seriously dislike it.
Hi Rhonda. I’d never accuse you of too much randomness. After all, how much of something unpredictable is too much? And You might be entirely predictable tomorrow. It’s always better to write about something you do want to write about than something you don’t. Yes, you can add stating the bleeding obvious to my list of “skills” 🙂
Cheers!
I love it, Nigel! I also remember reading about a recent study which showed that what your companions ordered at a restaurant strongly influenced what you would request when the server took your order. Weird. That makes me want to order first every time. LOL.
LOL, Julie. You better order before me because I’m a vegetarian! That’s an interesting fact though. It’s a bit like overtaking people of the freeway. When you’re behind them they’re doing 52, but when you try and pass they’re doing 60 because you’re actions reminded them to speed up.
Cheers!
Yay randomness!!! Shimmy. (There, that’s my random comment.)
Hi Kathleen. Hope you’re doing well. I’ll counter your shimmy with wishing you a very happy bratwurst. Have a great weekend.
Cheers!
I’m sorry Nigel. I’m afraid that I just caused a major setback in your campaign to preserve randomness. I have cleaned up my garage. I gave away more mass to charity then I care to admit. I avoided extraterrestrial charities so as to preserve our planets orbit and keep the oceans’ tides calm. I single-handedly set back entropy to a measurable degree. Randomness suffered a tremendous defeat in my garage.
Nigel I do like you and I admire your work but I HAD to clean that garage. I couldn’t take it any more. Forgive me.
I’m a huge fan of random, Nigel! And Gene Lempp has shared with me that it helps make kids into great thinkers, so now I’m really embracing the concept. 🙂
Hi Jenny. Random makes kids great thinkers? I’m for anything that helps improve education. I’m going to have to check that out. I really do think that we need a little random in our lives sometimes.
If you want something to interesting the kids try this Curiosity 🙂
http://www.360cities.net/image/curiosity-rover-martian-solar-day-2#806.77,32.67,110.0
Cheers!
random… good…. writing…. word….placement….even…. apply….can….handle? Thanks for another great post Nigel.
Hi Rachel. LOL. I won’t try to mimic that writing! Glad you enjoyed it. Hope your week is going well, and at least slightly unusually 😉
Cheers!
Love this Nigel! I’m all about spicing it up! That’s why I have an eclectic group of friends. It’s so much more interesting that way 🙂
Hi Ingrid. Glad you’re keeping things random!
Cheers 🙂