Torturing 'does not get truth'
The extreme stress of torture harms the memory
Torture techniques used on suspected terrorists by the Bush administration may have failed to get to the truth, researchers say.
Professor Shane O'Mara of Trinity College, Dublin, said the interrogation techniques had a detrimental effect on brain functions related to memory.
He listed 10 methods of what he called torture used by the US, including stress positions and waterboarding.
His review is published in the journal, Trends in Cognitive Science.
'Lack of control'
Professor O'Mara said US Department of Justice memos released in April showed that the Americans believed that prolonged periods of shock, anxiety, disorientation and lack of control were more effective than standard interrogation in extracting the truth.
He said: "This is based on the assumption that subjects will be motivated to reveal truthful information to end interrogation, and that extreme stress, shock and anxiety do not impact on memory.
Techniques used by US
Walling - captive is placed with heels touching the wall and is pulled away and pushed back into it with force
Wall standing - captive stands four to five feet from wall with fingertips supporting all the body weight to induce muscle fatigue
Cramped confinement - captive place in small box in darkness for up to two hours, in a larger box for up to 18 hours
Sleep deprivation - captive is deprived of sleep for up to 11 days
Stress positions - captive sits on floor with legs straight out in front and arms raised above head or is made to kneel on the floor while leaning back at a 45 degree angle
Waterboarding - captive is bound head down on an inclined bench with a cloth over the eyes. Water is applied to the cloth for 20 to 40 seconds at a time inducing fast breathing and perception of drowning
"However this model of the impact of extreme stress on memory and the brain is utterly unsupported by scientific evidence."
He said studies of extreme stress with special forces soldiers had found that their recall of previously learned information was impaired afterwards.
"Waterboarding in particular is an extreme stressor and has the potential to elicit widespread stress-induced changes in the brain."
Professor O'Mara said contemporary neuroscientific models of human memory showed that the hippocampus and prefrontal cortices of the brain were very important.
The stress hormone, cortisol, binds to receptors in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex increasing neuronal excitability which compromises the normal functioning of the brain if it is sustained.
And other stress hormones called catecholamines could lead to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate which could cause long-term damage to the brain and body if they were maintained at a high level for a long time.
Conditioning
Professor O'Mara said a common argument in favour of torture was that it would reliably elicit truthful information from the captive's long-term memory.
But psychological studies had suggested that during extreme stress and anxiety, the captive would be conditioned to associate speaking with periods of safety.
And because torture was stressful for the torturers the fact that the captive was speaking also provided a safety signal to the captor.
"Making the captive talk may become the end - not the truth of what the captive is revealing.
"These techniques cause severe, repeated and prolonged stress, which compromises brain tissue supporting memory and executive function.
"The fact that the detrimental effects of these techniques on the brain are not visible to the naked eye makes them no less real."
Memory disruption
Dr David Harper, a clinical psychologist from the University of East London, said the study appeared to be consistent with previous research on memory and trauma and with evidence of previous torture survivors and those in the intelligence community critical of psychological torture techniques.
"Believers in coercive interrogation tend to believe that people will 'tell the truth' as a result but much evidence suggests that people will, in fact, tell those conducting the torture what they think will make the torture stop.
"This has been noted as a danger by commentators from the Spanish Inquisition, through the Moscow Show Trials of the 1930s to the present day."
Dr Stuart Turner of the Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law said: "There is now very strong evidence that torture and harsh interrogation techniques may disrupt normal memory processes.
"With this in mind, it is also unreasonable to expect torture survivors to be able to give consistent and complete accounts of their experiences.
"This is highly relevant, for example, to the process of decision making for asylum seekers, arriving in the UK seeking refuge and for whom credibility is often a central issue.
"It appears that O'Mara's review paper supports the contention that to expect consistent memories in asylum applicants is unreasonable and therefore that inconsistencies should certainly not automatically be interpreted as evidence of fabrication."
9/22/09
Smoking ban heart gains 'massive'
Passive smoke raises heart risk
Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing heart attacks than ever expected, data shows.
Smoking bans cut the number of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies report.
This "heart gain" is far greater than both originally anticipated and the 10% figure recently quoted by England's Department of Health.
The studies appear in two leading journals - Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Heart attacks in the UK alone affect an estimated 275,000 people and kill 146,000 each year.
Big impact
Earlier this month it was announced that heart attack rates fell by about 10% in England in the year after the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in July 2007 - which is more than originally anticipated.
But the latest work, based on the results of numerous different studies collectively involving millions of people, indicated that smoking bans have reduced heart attack rates by as much as 26% per year.
If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family
Ellen Mason of the British Heart Foundation
Second-hand smoke is thought to increase the chances of a heart attack by making the blood more prone to clotting, reducing levels of beneficial "good" cholesterol, and raising the risk of dangerous heart rhythms.
Dr James Lightwood, of the University of California at San Francisco, led the Circulation study that pooled together 13 separate analyses.
His team found that heart attack rates across Europe and North America started to drop immediately following implementation of anti-smoking laws, reaching 17% after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with a 36% drop three years after enacting the restrictions.
Dr Lightwood said: "While we obviously won't bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short-to-medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks.
"This study adds to the already strong evidence that second-hand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100% smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public."
Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "These studies add to the growing evidence that a ban on smoking in public places seems to have a positive impact on heart attack rates, which is clearly good news for our nation's heart health.
"The statistics also show how quickly the benefits can be felt after a smoking ban is implemented and indicate how dangerous second-hand smoke can be to the heart.
"If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family."
Latest figures show at least 70,000 lives have been saved by NHS Stop Smoking Services in the 10 years since they were established in England.
Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing heart attacks than ever expected, data shows.
Smoking bans cut the number of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies report.
This "heart gain" is far greater than both originally anticipated and the 10% figure recently quoted by England's Department of Health.
The studies appear in two leading journals - Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Heart attacks in the UK alone affect an estimated 275,000 people and kill 146,000 each year.
Big impact
Earlier this month it was announced that heart attack rates fell by about 10% in England in the year after the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in July 2007 - which is more than originally anticipated.
But the latest work, based on the results of numerous different studies collectively involving millions of people, indicated that smoking bans have reduced heart attack rates by as much as 26% per year.
If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family
Ellen Mason of the British Heart Foundation
Second-hand smoke is thought to increase the chances of a heart attack by making the blood more prone to clotting, reducing levels of beneficial "good" cholesterol, and raising the risk of dangerous heart rhythms.
Dr James Lightwood, of the University of California at San Francisco, led the Circulation study that pooled together 13 separate analyses.
His team found that heart attack rates across Europe and North America started to drop immediately following implementation of anti-smoking laws, reaching 17% after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with a 36% drop three years after enacting the restrictions.
Dr Lightwood said: "While we obviously won't bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short-to-medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks.
"This study adds to the already strong evidence that second-hand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100% smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public."
Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "These studies add to the growing evidence that a ban on smoking in public places seems to have a positive impact on heart attack rates, which is clearly good news for our nation's heart health.
"The statistics also show how quickly the benefits can be felt after a smoking ban is implemented and indicate how dangerous second-hand smoke can be to the heart.
"If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family."
Latest figures show at least 70,000 lives have been saved by NHS Stop Smoking Services in the 10 years since they were established in England.
9/20/09
9/19/09
Listening: how it's made - hatchery chicks
Pls view this video clip at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkuohLV2u0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkuohLV2u0k
9/9/09
Unwanted Chicks Ground up Alive
Animals' rights
===================
Video Shows
Pls view English version here: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/hatchery/
rung ron cong nghe ap trung
http://vietnamnet.vn/thegioi/2009/09/867563/
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 3:25 AM
WASHINGTON -- An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.
Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video at Hy-Line North America's hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
Hy-Line said in a statement it has started an investigation "of the entire situation," adding that it would have helped their investigation "had we been aware of the potential violation immediately after it occurred."
The video, shot with a hidden camera and microphone by a Mercy for Animals employee who got a job at the plant, shows a Hy-Line worker sorting through a conveyor belt of chirping chicks, flipping some of them into a chute like a poker dealer flips cards.
These chicks, which a narrator says are males, are then shown being dropped alive into a grinding machine.
In other parts of the video, a chick is shown dying on the factory floor amid a heap of egg shells after falling through a sorting machine. Another chick, also still alive, is seen lying on the floor after getting scalded by a wash cycle, according to the video narrator.
Hy-Line said the video "appears to show an inappropriate action and violation of our animal welfare policies," referring to chicks on the factory floor.
But the company also noted that "instantaneous euthanasia" _ a reference to killing of male chicks by the grinder _ is a standard practice supported by the animal veterinary and scientific community.
According to Mercy for Animals, male chicks are of no use to the industry because they can't lay eggs and don't grow large or quickly enough to be raised profitably for meat. That results in the killing of 200 million male chicks a year.
The United Egg Producers, a trade group for U.S. egg farmers, confirmed that figure and the practice behind it.
"There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens," said the group's spokesman, Mitch Head. "If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we're happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need."
Using a grinder, Head said, "is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks."
Hy-Line says on its Web site that its Iowa facility produces 33.4 million chicks. Based on that figure, Mercy for Animals estimates a similar number of male chicks are killed at the facility each year. Hy-Line did not comment on that estimate.
Mercy for Animals says it will call on the nation's 50 largest grocery chains to include labels on their eggs that say, "Warning: Male chicks are ground-up alive by the egg industry."
Head called that proposal "almost a joke," saying the group had no credible authority, and had questionable motives. "This is a group which espouses no egg consumption by anyone _ so that is clearly their motive." The video does in fact end with a call for people to adopt a vegan diet, which eliminates all animal products _ meat, eggs or dairy.
Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, said most people would be shocked to learn that 200 million chicks are killed a year.
"Is this justifiable just for cheap eggs?" he said.
As to more humane alternatives to disposing of male chicks, Runkle said the whole system is inherently flawed.
"The entire industrial hatchery system subjects these birds to stress, fear and pain from the first day," he said.
© 2009 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
===================
Video Shows
Pls view English version here: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/hatchery/
rung ron cong nghe ap trung
http://vietnamnet.vn/thegioi/2009/09/867563/
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 3:25 AM
WASHINGTON -- An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.
Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video at Hy-Line North America's hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
Hy-Line said in a statement it has started an investigation "of the entire situation," adding that it would have helped their investigation "had we been aware of the potential violation immediately after it occurred."
The video, shot with a hidden camera and microphone by a Mercy for Animals employee who got a job at the plant, shows a Hy-Line worker sorting through a conveyor belt of chirping chicks, flipping some of them into a chute like a poker dealer flips cards.
These chicks, which a narrator says are males, are then shown being dropped alive into a grinding machine.
In other parts of the video, a chick is shown dying on the factory floor amid a heap of egg shells after falling through a sorting machine. Another chick, also still alive, is seen lying on the floor after getting scalded by a wash cycle, according to the video narrator.
Hy-Line said the video "appears to show an inappropriate action and violation of our animal welfare policies," referring to chicks on the factory floor.
But the company also noted that "instantaneous euthanasia" _ a reference to killing of male chicks by the grinder _ is a standard practice supported by the animal veterinary and scientific community.
According to Mercy for Animals, male chicks are of no use to the industry because they can't lay eggs and don't grow large or quickly enough to be raised profitably for meat. That results in the killing of 200 million male chicks a year.
The United Egg Producers, a trade group for U.S. egg farmers, confirmed that figure and the practice behind it.
"There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens," said the group's spokesman, Mitch Head. "If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we're happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need."
Using a grinder, Head said, "is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks."
Hy-Line says on its Web site that its Iowa facility produces 33.4 million chicks. Based on that figure, Mercy for Animals estimates a similar number of male chicks are killed at the facility each year. Hy-Line did not comment on that estimate.
Mercy for Animals says it will call on the nation's 50 largest grocery chains to include labels on their eggs that say, "Warning: Male chicks are ground-up alive by the egg industry."
Head called that proposal "almost a joke," saying the group had no credible authority, and had questionable motives. "This is a group which espouses no egg consumption by anyone _ so that is clearly their motive." The video does in fact end with a call for people to adopt a vegan diet, which eliminates all animal products _ meat, eggs or dairy.
Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, said most people would be shocked to learn that 200 million chicks are killed a year.
"Is this justifiable just for cheap eggs?" he said.
As to more humane alternatives to disposing of male chicks, Runkle said the whole system is inherently flawed.
"The entire industrial hatchery system subjects these birds to stress, fear and pain from the first day," he said.
© 2009 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Internet and people's life
Nowadays technology changes the way people interact with each other. In what type does it affect people? Is it positive or negative?
50 things that are being killed by the internet
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6133903/50-things-that-are-being-killed-by-the-internet.html
The internet has wrought huge changes on our lives – both positive and negative – in the fifteen years since its use became widespread.
By Matthew Moore
Published: 7:00AM BST 04 Sep 2009
Comments 224 | Comment on this article
The web is changing the way we work, play and think Photo: REUTTERS
Tasks that once took days can be completed in seconds, while traditions and skills that emerged over centuries have been made all but redundant.
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The internet is no respecter of reputations: innocent people have seen their lives ruined by viral clips distributed on the same World Wide Web used by activists to highlight injustices and bring down oppressive regimes
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Mystery of Google's UFO logo Below we have compiled - in no particular order - 50 things that are in the process of being killed off by the web, from products and business models to life experiences and habits. We've also thrown in a few things that have suffered the hands of other modern networking gadgets, specifically mobile phones and GPS systems.
Do you agree with our selections? What other examples can you think of? Please post your comments on the bottom of the story – we hope include the best suggestions in a fuller list.
1) The art of polite disagreement
While the inane spats of YouTube commencers may not be representative, the internet has certainly sharpened the tone of debate. The most raucous sections of the blogworld seem incapable of accepting sincerely held differences of opinion; all opponents must have "agendas".
2) Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity's death
Twitter has become a clearing-house for jokes about dead famous people. Tasteless, but an antidote to the "fans in mourning" mawkishness that otherwise predominates.
3) Listening to an album all the way through
The single is one of the unlikely beneficiaries of the internet – a development which can be looked at in two ways. There's no longer any need to endure eight tracks of filler for a couple of decent tunes, but will "album albums" like Radiohead's Amnesiac get the widespread hearing they deserve?
4) Sarah Palin
Her train wreck interviews with NBC's Katie Couric were watched and re-watched millions of times on the internet, cementing the Republican vice-presidential candidate's reputation as a politician out of her depth. Palin's uncomfortable relationship with the web continues; she has threatened to sue bloggers who republish rumours about the state of her marriage.
5) Punctuality
Before mobile phones, people actually had to keep their appointments and turn up to the pub on time. Texting friends to warn them of your tardiness five minutes before you are due to meet has become one of throwaway rudenesses of the connected age.
6) Ceefax/Teletext
All sports fans of a certain age can tell you their favourite Ceefax pages (p341 for Test match scores, p312 for football transfer gossip), but the service's clunking graphics and four-paragraph articles have dated badly. ITV announced earlier this year that it was planning to pull Teletext, its version.
7) Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase
The ubiquity of free, hard-core pornography on the web has put an end to one of the most dreaded rights rites of passage for teenage boys – buying dirty magazines. Why tremble in the WHSmiths queue when you can download mountains of filth for free in your bedroom? The trend also threatens the future of "porn in the woods" – the grotty pages of Razzle and Penthouse that scatter the fringes of provincial towns and villages.
8) Telephone directories
You can find Fly Fishing by J R Hartley on Amazon.
9) The myth of cat intelligence
The proudest household pets are now the illiterate butts of caption-based jokes. Icanhasreputashunback?
10) Watches
Scrabbling around in your pocket to dig out a phone may not be as elegant as glancing at a watch, but it saves splashing out on two gadgets.
11) Music stores
In a world where people don't want to pay anything for music, charging them £16.99 for 12 songs in a flimsy plastic case is no business model.
12) Letter writing/pen pals
Email is quicker, cheaper and more convenient; receiving a handwritten letter from a friend has become a rare, even nostalgic, pleasure. As a result, formal valedictions like "Yours faithfully" are being replaced by "Best" and "Thanks".
13) Memory
When almost any fact, no matter how obscure, can be dug up within seconds through Google and Wikipedia, there is less value attached to the "mere" storage and retrieval of knowledge. What becomes important is how you use it – the internet age rewards creativity.
14) Dead time
When was the last time you spent an hour mulling the world out a window, or rereading a favourite book? The internet's draw on our attention is relentless and increasingly difficult to resist.
15) Photo albums and slide shows
Facebook, Flickr and printing sites like Snapfish are how we share our photos. Earlier this year Kodak announced that it was discontinuing its Kodachrome slide film because of lack of demand.
16) Hoaxes and conspiracy theories
The internet is often dismissed as awash with cranks, but it has proved far more potent at debunking conspiracy theories than perpetuating them. The excellent Snopes.com continues to deliver the final, sober, word on urban legends.
17) Watching television together
On-demand television, from the iPlayer in Britain to Hulu in the US, allows relatives and colleagues to watch the same programmes at different times, undermining what had been one of the medium's most attractive cultural appeals – the shared experience. Appointment-to-view television, if it exists at all, seems confined to sport and live reality shows.
18) Authoritative reference works
We still crave reliable information, but generally aren't willing to pay for it.
19) The Innovations catalogue
Preposterous as its household gadgets may have been, the Innovations catalogue was always a diverting read. The magazine ceased printing in 2003, and its web presence is depressingly bland.
20) Order forms in the back pages of books
Amazon's "Customers who bought this item also bought..." service seems the closest web equivalent.
21) Delayed knowledge of sporting results
When was the last time you bought a newspaper to find out who won the match, rather than for comment and analysis? There's no need to fall silent for James Alexander Gordon on the way home from the game when everyone in the car has an iPhone.
22) Enforceable copyright
The record companies, film studios and news agencies are fighting back, but can the floodgates ever be closed?
23) Reading telegrams at weddings
Quoting from a wad of email printouts doesn't have the same magic.
24) Dogging
Websites may have helped spread the word about dogging, but the internet offers a myriad of more convenient ways to organise no-strings sex with strangers. None of these involve spending the evening in lay-by near Aylesbury.
25) Aren't they dead? Aren't they gay?
Wikipedia allows us to confirm or disprove almost any celebrity rumour instantly. Only at festivals with no Wi-Fi signals can the gullible be tricked into believing that David Hasselhoff has passed away.
26) Holiday news ignorance
Glancing at the front pages after landing back at Heathrow used to be a thrilling experience – had anyone died? Was the government still standing? Now it takes a stern soul to resist the temptation to check the headlines at least once while you're away.
27) Knowing telephone numbers off by heart
After typing the digits into your contacts book, you need never look at them again.
28) Respect for doctors and other professionals
The proliferation of health websites has undermined the status of GPs, whose diagnoses are now challenged by patients armed with printouts.
29) The mystery of foreign languages
Sites like Babelfish offer instant, good-enough translations of dozens of languages – but kill their beauty and rhythm.
30) Geographical knowledge
With GPS systems spreading from cars to smartphones, knowing the way from A to B is a less prized skill. Just ask the London taxi drivers who spent years learning The Knowledge but are now undercut by minicabs.
31) Privacy
We may attack governments for the spread of surveillance culture, but users of social media websites make more information about themselves available than Big Brother could ever hoped to obtain by covert means.
32) Chuck Norris's reputation
The absurdly heroic boasts on Chuck Norris Facts may be affectionate, but will anyone take him seriously again?
33) Pencil cricket
An old-fashioned schoolboy diversion swept away by the Stick Cricket behemoth
34) Mainstream media
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News in the US have already folded, and the UK's Observer may follow. Free news and the migration of advertising to the web threaten the basic business models of almost all media organisations.
35) Concentration
What with tabbing between Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and Google News, it's a wonder anyone gets their work done. A disturbing trend captured by the wonderful XKCD webcomic.
36) Mr Alifi's dignity
Twenty years ago, if you were a Sudanese man who was forced to marry a goat after having sex with it, you'd take solace that news of your shame would be unlikely to spread beyond the neighbouring villages. Unfortunately for Mr Alifi, his indiscretion came in the digital age – and became one of the first viral news stories.
37) Personal reinvention
How can you forge a new identity at university when your Facebook is plastered with photos of the "old" you?
38) Viktor Yanukovych
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine was organised by a cabal of students and young activists who exploited the power of the web to mobilise resistance against the old regime, and sweep Viktor Yushchenko to power.
39) The insurance ring-round
Their adverts may grate, but insurance comparison websites have killed one of the most tedious annual chores
40) Undiscovered artists
Posting paintings to deviantART and Flickr – or poems to writebuzz – could not be easier. So now the garret-dwellers have no excuses.
41) The usefulness of reference pages at the front of diaries
If anyone still digs out their diaries to check what time zone Lisbon is in, or how many litres there are to a gallon, we don't know them.
42) The nervous thrill of the reunion
You've spent the past five years tracking their weight-gain on Facebook, so meeting up with your first love doesn't pack the emotional punch it once did.
43) Solitaire
The original computer timewaster has been superseded by the more alluring temptations of the web. Ditto Minesweeper.
44) Trust in Nigerian businessmen and princes
Some gift horses should have their mouths very closely inspected.
45) Prostitute calling cards/ kerb crawling
Sex can be marketed more cheaply, safely and efficiently on the web than the street corner.
46) Staggered product/film releases
Companies are becoming increasingly draconian in their anti-piracy measure, but are finally beginning to appreciate that forcing British consumers to wait six months to hand over their money is not a smart business plan.
47) Footnotes
Made superfluous by the link, although Wikipedia is fighting a brave rearguard action.
48) Grand National trips to the bookmaker
Having a little flutter is much more fun when you don't have to wade though a shop of drunks and ne'er-do-wells
49) Fanzines
Blogs and fansites offer greater freedom and community interaction than paper fanzines, and can be read by many more people.
50) Your lunchbreak
Did you leave your desk today? Or snaffle a sandwich while sending a few personal emails and checking the price of a week in Istanbul?
17 thói quen đang bị 'xóa sổ' trong thời đại số
http://vnexpress.net/GL/Vi-tinh/2009/09/3BA133AA/
Ảnh: TopNews.
Internet, điện thoại di động.. đã thay đổi thế giới theo hướng tích cực dù vẫn còn mặt hạn chế như biến cuộc sống của nhiều người thành địa ngục vì những hình ảnh bị phát tán trên mạng.
Báo Telegraph (Anh) đã liệt kê 50 điều đang bị công nghệ kết nối "giết chết", trong đó có nhiều thứ gần gũi với Việt Nam như:
1. Bày tỏ sự không đồng tình một cách nhã nhặn: Thường ai "dũng cảm" hoặc quá nóng giận mới to tiếng, làm ầm ĩ nơi công cộng, còn trên diễn đàn online, cả người điềm tĩnh nhất cũng có thể tuôn ra những lời khó nghe với người/ý kiến mà họ ghét.
2. Thưởng thức trọn vẹn một album: Người ta chỉ chọn và nghe những file nhạc mà họ thích nhất.
3. Đúng giờ: Chỉ cần gọi điện, bạn có thể biết người kia đang đi tới đâu, hoặc báo cho họ biết bạn có thể đến muộn.
4. Sự rụt rè khi lần đầu mua ấn phẩm "dành cho người lớn": Nội dung khiêu dâm lan tràn trên Internet khiến những chàng thanh niên mới lớn không cần hoặc không còn bối rối khi lần đầu ra cửa hàng mua các tờ báo "mát mẻ".
5. Đồng hồ đeo tay: Trừ khi chiếc đồng hồ đó thể hiện sự lịch lãm, sang trọng hay có ý nghĩa nhất định, nếu chỉ để xem giờ, người ta sẽ ngó vào điện thoại, laptop...
6. Thư tay: E-mail nhanh, rẻ, tiện lợi và dễ biên tập hơn với người dùng Internet.
7. Không cần nhớ nhiều: Số điện thoại mới được lưu vào danh bạ, ngày tháng các sự kiện lịch sử đã có Google và Wikipedia trợ giúp, một số học giả cho rằng trẻ em không cần học thuộc lòng nữa.
8. Thời gian chết: Bạn có còn dành hẳn 1-2 giờ ngồi lỳ bên cửa sổ ngắm trời mây? Có lẽ chỉ khi kết nối Internet bị ngắt, điện thoại hết pin mà không tìm thấy sạc còn TV đang hỏng.
10. Xem TV cùng nhau: Qua rồi những buổi tối sau giờ cơm, cả nhà quây quần trước màn hình vô tuyến xem thời sự, phim, văn nghệ... bởi mỗi phòng đã có một TV riêng, hoặc các thành viên còn bận vào mạng, nhắn tin với bạn bè...
11. Kết quả trận đấu muộn: Vài năm trước, nếu nhiều trận đấu bóng diễn ra cùng giờ, khán giả xem truyền hình chỉ biết ngay kết quả một trận, còn lịch chiếu những trận khác sẽ bị lùi lại. Ngày nay, tỷ số được cập nhật từng phút trên nhiều website và qua tin nhắn điện thoại.
11. "Mù" thông tin khi đi nghỉ: Bây giờ, ở đâu người ta cũng có thể biết được tình hình của bạn bè, người thân nhờ điện thoại, chat, mạng xã hội...
12. Thần tượng: Học trò từng coi giáo viên là "kho tri thức sống", bác sĩ là nguồn tham khảo tin cậy về sức khỏe..., nhưng hiện nay, có những người đi khám bệnh về vẫn lên Google để tra xem loại thuốc bác sĩ kê đơn có thực sự an toàn không.
13. Sự bí hiểm của ngoại ngữ: Các công cụ dịch thuật trực tuyến giúp họ hiểu gần hết mọi từ vựng.
14. Tính riêng tư: Thông tin người dùng đăng rải rác trên mạng, chẳng hạn những status, ảnh... ngẫu nhiên trên Facebook tưởng vô hại khi đặt riêng lẻ nhưng lại giúp người khác hiểu rất rõ về họ nếu biết cách kết nối và tổng hợp lại.
15. Sự tập trung: Ai có thể chuyên tâm vào công việc khi mà cứ 3-5 phút lại xuất hiện một thông báo nho nhỏ ở góc màn hình về một e-mail mới trong Gmail, bình luận mới ở Facebook hay một bản tin tại Google News?
16. Niềm vui sướng "vỡ òa" khi gặp nhau: Hội ngộ sau bao ngày xa cách luôn đem lại sự hân hoan. Nhưng mức độ sẽ hoàn toàn khác giữa việc hai người xa 5 năm mà chỉ liên lạc qua thư tay và vài cuộc điện thoại đường dài hiếm hoi với hai người chat với nhau cả ngày, "nói quên ngày tháng" qua Skype, cập nhật ảnh và mọi hoạt động từ việc ngủ dậy lúc mấy giờ đến chuyện vừa bị ngã xe qua Facebook.
17. Ra ngoài ăn trưa: Thói quen này không thể bị "xóa sổ" nhưng ngày càng nhiều người sẵn sàng ngồi lỳ trong văn phòng, vừa gặm bánh mỳ vừa duyệt mạng xã hội, nhất là ở những công ty chỉ cho phép truy cập web vào giờ nghỉ.
50 things that are being killed by the internet
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6133903/50-things-that-are-being-killed-by-the-internet.html
The internet has wrought huge changes on our lives – both positive and negative – in the fifteen years since its use became widespread.
By Matthew Moore
Published: 7:00AM BST 04 Sep 2009
Comments 224 | Comment on this article
The web is changing the way we work, play and think Photo: REUTTERS
Tasks that once took days can be completed in seconds, while traditions and skills that emerged over centuries have been made all but redundant.
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Mystery of Google's UFO logo Below we have compiled - in no particular order - 50 things that are in the process of being killed off by the web, from products and business models to life experiences and habits. We've also thrown in a few things that have suffered the hands of other modern networking gadgets, specifically mobile phones and GPS systems.
Do you agree with our selections? What other examples can you think of? Please post your comments on the bottom of the story – we hope include the best suggestions in a fuller list.
1) The art of polite disagreement
While the inane spats of YouTube commencers may not be representative, the internet has certainly sharpened the tone of debate. The most raucous sections of the blogworld seem incapable of accepting sincerely held differences of opinion; all opponents must have "agendas".
2) Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity's death
Twitter has become a clearing-house for jokes about dead famous people. Tasteless, but an antidote to the "fans in mourning" mawkishness that otherwise predominates.
3) Listening to an album all the way through
The single is one of the unlikely beneficiaries of the internet – a development which can be looked at in two ways. There's no longer any need to endure eight tracks of filler for a couple of decent tunes, but will "album albums" like Radiohead's Amnesiac get the widespread hearing they deserve?
4) Sarah Palin
Her train wreck interviews with NBC's Katie Couric were watched and re-watched millions of times on the internet, cementing the Republican vice-presidential candidate's reputation as a politician out of her depth. Palin's uncomfortable relationship with the web continues; she has threatened to sue bloggers who republish rumours about the state of her marriage.
5) Punctuality
Before mobile phones, people actually had to keep their appointments and turn up to the pub on time. Texting friends to warn them of your tardiness five minutes before you are due to meet has become one of throwaway rudenesses of the connected age.
6) Ceefax/Teletext
All sports fans of a certain age can tell you their favourite Ceefax pages (p341 for Test match scores, p312 for football transfer gossip), but the service's clunking graphics and four-paragraph articles have dated badly. ITV announced earlier this year that it was planning to pull Teletext, its version.
7) Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase
The ubiquity of free, hard-core pornography on the web has put an end to one of the most dreaded rights rites of passage for teenage boys – buying dirty magazines. Why tremble in the WHSmiths queue when you can download mountains of filth for free in your bedroom? The trend also threatens the future of "porn in the woods" – the grotty pages of Razzle and Penthouse that scatter the fringes of provincial towns and villages.
8) Telephone directories
You can find Fly Fishing by J R Hartley on Amazon.
9) The myth of cat intelligence
The proudest household pets are now the illiterate butts of caption-based jokes. Icanhasreputashunback?
10) Watches
Scrabbling around in your pocket to dig out a phone may not be as elegant as glancing at a watch, but it saves splashing out on two gadgets.
11) Music stores
In a world where people don't want to pay anything for music, charging them £16.99 for 12 songs in a flimsy plastic case is no business model.
12) Letter writing/pen pals
Email is quicker, cheaper and more convenient; receiving a handwritten letter from a friend has become a rare, even nostalgic, pleasure. As a result, formal valedictions like "Yours faithfully" are being replaced by "Best" and "Thanks".
13) Memory
When almost any fact, no matter how obscure, can be dug up within seconds through Google and Wikipedia, there is less value attached to the "mere" storage and retrieval of knowledge. What becomes important is how you use it – the internet age rewards creativity.
14) Dead time
When was the last time you spent an hour mulling the world out a window, or rereading a favourite book? The internet's draw on our attention is relentless and increasingly difficult to resist.
15) Photo albums and slide shows
Facebook, Flickr and printing sites like Snapfish are how we share our photos. Earlier this year Kodak announced that it was discontinuing its Kodachrome slide film because of lack of demand.
16) Hoaxes and conspiracy theories
The internet is often dismissed as awash with cranks, but it has proved far more potent at debunking conspiracy theories than perpetuating them. The excellent Snopes.com continues to deliver the final, sober, word on urban legends.
17) Watching television together
On-demand television, from the iPlayer in Britain to Hulu in the US, allows relatives and colleagues to watch the same programmes at different times, undermining what had been one of the medium's most attractive cultural appeals – the shared experience. Appointment-to-view television, if it exists at all, seems confined to sport and live reality shows.
18) Authoritative reference works
We still crave reliable information, but generally aren't willing to pay for it.
19) The Innovations catalogue
Preposterous as its household gadgets may have been, the Innovations catalogue was always a diverting read. The magazine ceased printing in 2003, and its web presence is depressingly bland.
20) Order forms in the back pages of books
Amazon's "Customers who bought this item also bought..." service seems the closest web equivalent.
21) Delayed knowledge of sporting results
When was the last time you bought a newspaper to find out who won the match, rather than for comment and analysis? There's no need to fall silent for James Alexander Gordon on the way home from the game when everyone in the car has an iPhone.
22) Enforceable copyright
The record companies, film studios and news agencies are fighting back, but can the floodgates ever be closed?
23) Reading telegrams at weddings
Quoting from a wad of email printouts doesn't have the same magic.
24) Dogging
Websites may have helped spread the word about dogging, but the internet offers a myriad of more convenient ways to organise no-strings sex with strangers. None of these involve spending the evening in lay-by near Aylesbury.
25) Aren't they dead? Aren't they gay?
Wikipedia allows us to confirm or disprove almost any celebrity rumour instantly. Only at festivals with no Wi-Fi signals can the gullible be tricked into believing that David Hasselhoff has passed away.
26) Holiday news ignorance
Glancing at the front pages after landing back at Heathrow used to be a thrilling experience – had anyone died? Was the government still standing? Now it takes a stern soul to resist the temptation to check the headlines at least once while you're away.
27) Knowing telephone numbers off by heart
After typing the digits into your contacts book, you need never look at them again.
28) Respect for doctors and other professionals
The proliferation of health websites has undermined the status of GPs, whose diagnoses are now challenged by patients armed with printouts.
29) The mystery of foreign languages
Sites like Babelfish offer instant, good-enough translations of dozens of languages – but kill their beauty and rhythm.
30) Geographical knowledge
With GPS systems spreading from cars to smartphones, knowing the way from A to B is a less prized skill. Just ask the London taxi drivers who spent years learning The Knowledge but are now undercut by minicabs.
31) Privacy
We may attack governments for the spread of surveillance culture, but users of social media websites make more information about themselves available than Big Brother could ever hoped to obtain by covert means.
32) Chuck Norris's reputation
The absurdly heroic boasts on Chuck Norris Facts may be affectionate, but will anyone take him seriously again?
33) Pencil cricket
An old-fashioned schoolboy diversion swept away by the Stick Cricket behemoth
34) Mainstream media
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News in the US have already folded, and the UK's Observer may follow. Free news and the migration of advertising to the web threaten the basic business models of almost all media organisations.
35) Concentration
What with tabbing between Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and Google News, it's a wonder anyone gets their work done. A disturbing trend captured by the wonderful XKCD webcomic.
36) Mr Alifi's dignity
Twenty years ago, if you were a Sudanese man who was forced to marry a goat after having sex with it, you'd take solace that news of your shame would be unlikely to spread beyond the neighbouring villages. Unfortunately for Mr Alifi, his indiscretion came in the digital age – and became one of the first viral news stories.
37) Personal reinvention
How can you forge a new identity at university when your Facebook is plastered with photos of the "old" you?
38) Viktor Yanukovych
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine was organised by a cabal of students and young activists who exploited the power of the web to mobilise resistance against the old regime, and sweep Viktor Yushchenko to power.
39) The insurance ring-round
Their adverts may grate, but insurance comparison websites have killed one of the most tedious annual chores
40) Undiscovered artists
Posting paintings to deviantART and Flickr – or poems to writebuzz – could not be easier. So now the garret-dwellers have no excuses.
41) The usefulness of reference pages at the front of diaries
If anyone still digs out their diaries to check what time zone Lisbon is in, or how many litres there are to a gallon, we don't know them.
42) The nervous thrill of the reunion
You've spent the past five years tracking their weight-gain on Facebook, so meeting up with your first love doesn't pack the emotional punch it once did.
43) Solitaire
The original computer timewaster has been superseded by the more alluring temptations of the web. Ditto Minesweeper.
44) Trust in Nigerian businessmen and princes
Some gift horses should have their mouths very closely inspected.
45) Prostitute calling cards/ kerb crawling
Sex can be marketed more cheaply, safely and efficiently on the web than the street corner.
46) Staggered product/film releases
Companies are becoming increasingly draconian in their anti-piracy measure, but are finally beginning to appreciate that forcing British consumers to wait six months to hand over their money is not a smart business plan.
47) Footnotes
Made superfluous by the link, although Wikipedia is fighting a brave rearguard action.
48) Grand National trips to the bookmaker
Having a little flutter is much more fun when you don't have to wade though a shop of drunks and ne'er-do-wells
49) Fanzines
Blogs and fansites offer greater freedom and community interaction than paper fanzines, and can be read by many more people.
50) Your lunchbreak
Did you leave your desk today? Or snaffle a sandwich while sending a few personal emails and checking the price of a week in Istanbul?
17 thói quen đang bị 'xóa sổ' trong thời đại số
http://vnexpress.net/GL/Vi-tinh/2009/09/3BA133AA/
Ảnh: TopNews.
Internet, điện thoại di động.. đã thay đổi thế giới theo hướng tích cực dù vẫn còn mặt hạn chế như biến cuộc sống của nhiều người thành địa ngục vì những hình ảnh bị phát tán trên mạng.
Báo Telegraph (Anh) đã liệt kê 50 điều đang bị công nghệ kết nối "giết chết", trong đó có nhiều thứ gần gũi với Việt Nam như:
1. Bày tỏ sự không đồng tình một cách nhã nhặn: Thường ai "dũng cảm" hoặc quá nóng giận mới to tiếng, làm ầm ĩ nơi công cộng, còn trên diễn đàn online, cả người điềm tĩnh nhất cũng có thể tuôn ra những lời khó nghe với người/ý kiến mà họ ghét.
2. Thưởng thức trọn vẹn một album: Người ta chỉ chọn và nghe những file nhạc mà họ thích nhất.
3. Đúng giờ: Chỉ cần gọi điện, bạn có thể biết người kia đang đi tới đâu, hoặc báo cho họ biết bạn có thể đến muộn.
4. Sự rụt rè khi lần đầu mua ấn phẩm "dành cho người lớn": Nội dung khiêu dâm lan tràn trên Internet khiến những chàng thanh niên mới lớn không cần hoặc không còn bối rối khi lần đầu ra cửa hàng mua các tờ báo "mát mẻ".
5. Đồng hồ đeo tay: Trừ khi chiếc đồng hồ đó thể hiện sự lịch lãm, sang trọng hay có ý nghĩa nhất định, nếu chỉ để xem giờ, người ta sẽ ngó vào điện thoại, laptop...
6. Thư tay: E-mail nhanh, rẻ, tiện lợi và dễ biên tập hơn với người dùng Internet.
7. Không cần nhớ nhiều: Số điện thoại mới được lưu vào danh bạ, ngày tháng các sự kiện lịch sử đã có Google và Wikipedia trợ giúp, một số học giả cho rằng trẻ em không cần học thuộc lòng nữa.
8. Thời gian chết: Bạn có còn dành hẳn 1-2 giờ ngồi lỳ bên cửa sổ ngắm trời mây? Có lẽ chỉ khi kết nối Internet bị ngắt, điện thoại hết pin mà không tìm thấy sạc còn TV đang hỏng.
10. Xem TV cùng nhau: Qua rồi những buổi tối sau giờ cơm, cả nhà quây quần trước màn hình vô tuyến xem thời sự, phim, văn nghệ... bởi mỗi phòng đã có một TV riêng, hoặc các thành viên còn bận vào mạng, nhắn tin với bạn bè...
11. Kết quả trận đấu muộn: Vài năm trước, nếu nhiều trận đấu bóng diễn ra cùng giờ, khán giả xem truyền hình chỉ biết ngay kết quả một trận, còn lịch chiếu những trận khác sẽ bị lùi lại. Ngày nay, tỷ số được cập nhật từng phút trên nhiều website và qua tin nhắn điện thoại.
11. "Mù" thông tin khi đi nghỉ: Bây giờ, ở đâu người ta cũng có thể biết được tình hình của bạn bè, người thân nhờ điện thoại, chat, mạng xã hội...
12. Thần tượng: Học trò từng coi giáo viên là "kho tri thức sống", bác sĩ là nguồn tham khảo tin cậy về sức khỏe..., nhưng hiện nay, có những người đi khám bệnh về vẫn lên Google để tra xem loại thuốc bác sĩ kê đơn có thực sự an toàn không.
13. Sự bí hiểm của ngoại ngữ: Các công cụ dịch thuật trực tuyến giúp họ hiểu gần hết mọi từ vựng.
14. Tính riêng tư: Thông tin người dùng đăng rải rác trên mạng, chẳng hạn những status, ảnh... ngẫu nhiên trên Facebook tưởng vô hại khi đặt riêng lẻ nhưng lại giúp người khác hiểu rất rõ về họ nếu biết cách kết nối và tổng hợp lại.
15. Sự tập trung: Ai có thể chuyên tâm vào công việc khi mà cứ 3-5 phút lại xuất hiện một thông báo nho nhỏ ở góc màn hình về một e-mail mới trong Gmail, bình luận mới ở Facebook hay một bản tin tại Google News?
16. Niềm vui sướng "vỡ òa" khi gặp nhau: Hội ngộ sau bao ngày xa cách luôn đem lại sự hân hoan. Nhưng mức độ sẽ hoàn toàn khác giữa việc hai người xa 5 năm mà chỉ liên lạc qua thư tay và vài cuộc điện thoại đường dài hiếm hoi với hai người chat với nhau cả ngày, "nói quên ngày tháng" qua Skype, cập nhật ảnh và mọi hoạt động từ việc ngủ dậy lúc mấy giờ đến chuyện vừa bị ngã xe qua Facebook.
17. Ra ngoài ăn trưa: Thói quen này không thể bị "xóa sổ" nhưng ngày càng nhiều người sẵn sàng ngồi lỳ trong văn phòng, vừa gặm bánh mỳ vừa duyệt mạng xã hội, nhất là ở những công ty chỉ cho phép truy cập web vào giờ nghỉ.
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