Note: This site is currently "Under construction". I'm migrating to a new version of my site building software. Lots of things are in a state of disrepair as a result (for example, footnote links aren't working). It's all part of the process of building in public. Most things should still be readable though.

Cognitive Surplus

This article entitled "Gin, Television, and Social Surplus" has come up a time in the various sources I visit. While I don't buy into it completely, it's got more than enough interesting concepts to warrant a recommendation. Key concepts that caught my eye are the idea that the entire Wikipedia represents \~100 million hours of human thought and that we, in the U.S. spend 200 billion hours watching TV each year. In other words, 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year spent watching television. I think we'll always tend towards relaxing entertainment when it's available, but I like it's fun to think about what we might come up with by using a small portion of the surplus. Or, more to the point, if somehow we shift towards "active" entertainment. Check back in five years.