Ghost in the Machine

The phrase, “ghost in the machine,” was coined by 20th century British philosopher, as a means of characterizing 17th century mathematician and philosopher, theory of mind. Descartes theory was an offshoot of the age-old dualism theories that dated back to and . His theory—referred to as —distilled dualism into today’s mind-body theories, wherein “consciousness and self-awareness” were mind, and brain was “intelligence.” Descartes further went on to propose that the seat of the soul was the pineal gland.

After the Hype

Today, there is a new "old" buzzword: . By definition, it involves using "software" to engage in "social" activities. Of course, the idea of technology-based networking is not new and has appeared in various forms since the mid-1970s. And even earlier, depending upon your definition of technology based networking. Ever hear of (1945)? Or for that matter (1909)? It was not until the 1980s however that technology-based networking began making inroads with the public at large and was redefined within the spectrum of social software. And this was not for lack of interest, rather that doing so was largely cost prohibitive, from both the price of the equipment and the "" fee.

Is your fantasy really worth it?

The term, “ageplay” has become synonymous with a form of BDSM role play where one individual (usually a sub) dons all aspects of a child (i.e., dress, demeanor, behavior) and the other (usually a dom) dons all aspects of an adult. This, however was not always the case. To better understand why there is such a division within the second life community regarding ageplay, it would behoove us to take a history walk to the origin of ageplay and explore its trajectory within the social landscape.

Not so childish play…

In the fall of 2007, several large corporations were jumping on the Second Life bandwagon. By October, CBS announced that they would feature Second Life on their popular television series, CSI:NY, along with a launch of a role play. Watch the show! Solve the mystery in Second Life! Or so the story went.

Grid Scholastics

If you do a quick search for “eCampus,” you will find articles wherein the writer enthusiastically proclaims, “these are the campuses of the future!” While eCourses come in a variety of forms, just how much do people learn, anyway? Moreover, how can students be measured beyond the standard regurgitation that is required for passing tests?

There are, of course, a number of eCampus software companies. Although, no research to date has proven this type of long-distance learning actually works, I would proffer long-distance learning is questionable at best and an abysmal failure at worst. For a number of reasons, the least of which involves ensuring the student meet the minimum criteria of viewing lecture material, submitting acceptable work, and achieving comparable test scores to those of the sister courses where such things as cheating (google anyone?) are much harder to do. Enter tomorrow’s teachers.