What is Digg?74 Comments
- titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+39Trust me, I look nothing like a sunflower.
- chieffy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29Before I get flamed, let me point out that this article is tech related but has no valid category. I know it's not "news", but what other category does it belong in?
The industry news category is the category which is closest to the category which would be "general internet" if it existed. - invader, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19yeah.. better not let yourself get flamed..... look at me.. i mean my avatar... wait, now i'm confused
- DataSpring, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Except that I felt the article was a little bit of a long read for Monday morning (then again, what better use for a Monday morning?!) I think that it's length is well used and touches on things that some people may never think about regarding online avatars and communication with others.
Really, if the visual representation of a person in real life is eliminated (a photo of them in real life), we begin to recognize people only by their comments, patterns, and personality online, and don't worry about judging them based on anything they may "represent" in the real world - which is good, as we then judge them on what they think, how they act, and what they say....which is much more important than the clothes they wear, the color of their skin, how they keep their hair, or their nationality.
All in all, a good read, and something with which I agree. - Smwbigboss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12And I'm not Haruko's vespa.
- maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@gelicia
If you've seen GITS then you would understand that GITS is one of the most powerful (and popular) social commentaries to be created in anime form. Yes, anime is not just entertainment but an artwork. GITS entire purpose of existance transcends itself beyond entertainment. Maybe i sound crazy, but it takes a willingness to read into what you see and hear. Something some people are simply not willing to do.
If you're not thinking about what you're watching, what are you watching it for? - 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Great... I'm NASA's rendered view of a Planetary System.
Does this font make me look fat? - TheZorch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Actually, the anime "Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Complex" often discusses this very thing. A lot of very deep, philisophical subjects are brought up throughout the series from the ethics of implanting cybernetics into the human body, the moral issues faced when discussing AI that becomes self-aware, and immortality via technology ... aka transfering your mind into data and living inside the digital world while your old discarded body dies. These are things subjects society will be facing very soon. We're on the outskirts of the Cyberpunk era and human society is going to have to learn to adapt to the changes that are coming or it will suffer as a consequence.
- dtfinch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Recently, I've been using a variant of the digg "thumbs up" icon. It doesn't really represent me, but it seemed like a good choice at the time.
- Crackshot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If you've never seen it its foolish to say "yes" - rent it first
- maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6invader
Yes i do, over 150+ individual series, dozens of movies already seen. And i still have dozens left to watch, no joke i can't keep up.
For those who are counting that is ~1000 hours i've already watched. - yidali, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@maninblac1
As a fellow anime lover I salute you. - NoSuchAgency, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Dude... take a breath.
- DannoHung, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I use my face for my Digg avatar, but the other one I like to use is the Laughing Man icon from (coincidentally) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
I think this is a really great article. Goes to show that identity isn't much beyond who you convince to trust you. - maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The primary discussion in the first TV series (and movie) is, can completely synthetic beings, like the tachikoma's or androids create(develope) ghosts, or in otherwords, can machines develope a soul.
Also, once the physical body dies, can it reside in electronics as a ghost, so that when it is reborn, it is still the same being. - Crackshot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Really liked this article, a nice change from what is usually seen, sort of got me thinking more about concepts related to identity, personality, and general self-concept in the context of internet phenomenon...............
and I do in fact dress up like a giant arcade shooter on the weekends (its a lifestyle choice) - Coaleh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6A really good read, sums up what I have been thinking about the whole "online experience" as a whole rather well. I am a fan of GitS myself and would love to live in such a world, who wouldn't?
- maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5GITS and philosophy, as i recall, there was not much to do with god in the sense of philosophy, probably better catagorized as psychology and sociology. But you make an excellent point anyway.
Then again, my image of GITS is seeded more deeper in the 2 TV series than in the 2 movies, which would argueably contain more philosophy than the TV. Since the SAC is a sociological and psychological phenomenon. - LaughingMan11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf mutes...
Sorry. Couldn't resist what with the GITS tie in.
What then, does having an avatar of the mark of the LaughingMan say about me? - Pixellore, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I must admit.... I do look like the cute groundhogs from the Pixar Boundin' short...
- sakuraz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I am not invisible either
- bokchoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think its funny that some people on digg (such as myself) use the Laughing Man as their avatar, since it relates to the Stand Alone Complex idea that Ghost in the Shell discusses.
- NoNom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I wouldn't. The first Laughing Man incident where everyone had their cyber-brain hacked would be reason enough for me. The only people that saw the Laughing Man's face were two homeless guys that were not cyborized. Everyone else saw the "deaf mutes" logo.
I like being able to trust my vision. - Kirsha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I wouldnt mind, but I would be running in autistic mode all the time. Its stupid, in my opinion, to be connected to the Net ALL the time like they do in GitS. If I need something, connect, get it done, log out. That way nobody would be able to hack my brain.
- idonthack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@Smwbigboss
We digg you anyways. FLCL ftw. - Crackshot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Do you also think that Bladerunner was a silly futuristic action knock off?
- ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Gelica, it is to cater to an audience made up of people like you, that we have seen the intense dumbing down of most movies and television shows in the recent years.
There are entire websites devoted to explaining every nuance and tidbit about Evangelion (which is just basically another Deus Ex Machina story), as well as the entire GITS series. Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it babble.
Not everything has to be explained away to the lowest common denominator for it to be entertaining. I remember the huge crowds who didn't get Mission Impossible the movie (which wasn't really intelligent in the first place), and it was disturbing to say the least. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Isn't there a difference between having a normal organic body and sitting in front of a computer, and having your "essence" or whatever actually stored within a machine?
If so, then I'd think the answer to the question in the title is fairly obvious...
Yes, Yes I am. - TopherT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The ghost in the shell is not referring necessarily to a non-biological intelligence but rather to the 'soul' or ghost which resides in a shell, be that a body or a mainframe.
- itanshi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3nah not enough, the ova of GITS is not out yet
but i agree, who i am online is different than offline. online i am much more social.
maybe too much, i tend to ramble, poor people on my buddy lists - maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Of all the concepts in GITS the SAC phenomenon is the most abstract.
I can't say that i perfectly understand the concept because i have some fundemental logic issues with the definition. Since the person who was "the laughing man" was real, but the idea of "the laughing man" was not, doesn't that make the SAC a technicality. The fact the real person existed should make him the center point of the complex, thus unifying it.
*rolls eyes* I think i need to watch the series again.... - maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2damn!, i knew it was something like that
- quietbob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Ms. Jones is physically a “91 year old woman in New York” or a “40 year old guy in Maine” or a “25 year old woman in California.”
or a fully starched t-shirt that says "I digg _____" - maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Write a thesis about it, i'm sure you could (if i was majoring in something like that maybe i would, i'm surprised someone hasn't already), Though while it makes good science fiction and excellent social commentary, but i'm not sure we're ready to make leaps and bounds into defining ideology on it. But yeah, there is a lot of meat to the idea and you make a great statement.
I mean, just look at the time it took for the fansubbers to finish each episode if that doesn't tell you about the complexity. Although laughingman fansubs is a 1 man team, it took him weeks to release an episode simply because of the vocabulary complexity, GITS doesn't use normal japanese. We're not talking naruto here (dattebayo) with a 3 or 4 man team that can whip out an ep in 20 hours, it's some seriously heavy stuff that not only does he have to understand himself, but he has to write it in such a way as to convey the message as clearly as possible. But i'm rambling.
Though i suppose laughingman, if we can't agree on macs and PCs, at least we have GITS in common. ;-) - LaughingMan11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Stand Alone Complex is not for those looking for a simple visceral reaction to an action-anime. Even with very decent subtitles, hell... even with a very high level fluency in Japanese, it really relies on a multiple viewings to really get the most out of it. The plot is complex, sometimes convoluted, the jargon is extreme and esoteric, but if you can make it past all that, at its core is something you could write theses on.
Oh... and it helps if you've studied J.D. Salinger closely. :) I agree with maninblac... it does require substantial background knowledge. I found that it's almost like you're thrown into the mix and trying to solve the mystery along with the characters. - LaughingMan11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2... or should I?
^-^ - burke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2^
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That's my real picture. I'm very shiny, and I lost my face in a tragic accident 3 years ago. - maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2or maybe not.
Couldn't resist adding that line from the episode at the autism clinic. - rorrison, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I am me, who else would I be?
- LaughingMan11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Laughing Man avatars unite!
I think the thing that amused me most about the first season of Ghost in the Shell SAC is exactly that... they conjured up a character who inspired large scale imitation and whose logo became a powerful meme in the GiTS universe, but in doing so, the meme, the logo, and the Stand Alone Complex phenomena actually leaks out onto the REAL Internet, and the REAL world....
And here I am, finding myself imitating the Laughing Man, just like all of you. ^-^ - adam.skinner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1> For centuries we have relied on books and other external memories, but the Internet, through the ease of searching, has invaded our actual thought processes. There are things I think I know, but I don't. What I know is how to instantly retrieve them when my global external memory is attached. As I become reliant on this kind of extended identity, losing my Internet connection is like a lobotomy—I feel an almost physical sense of loss as a portion of my intelligence is removed. I've become dependent on a new brain center that isn't located inside of my body.
Excellent. It's true, too, to a certain extent. The internet, as a freely available knowledge base, allows one to not necessarily "know" something, so long as one knows how to find it. It's very much like an external memory. - johnbmull, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My avatar is nothing like me. I am not a 40 year old balding male. Please pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. There is nothing to see here... Please move along.
- Antebios, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am Jack's medulla oblongata !
- maninblac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1shrimp,
that's a little harsh
The artwork loses it's power when it has to be explained to you, would you admire a painting the same way if someone had to tell you "how" it was pretty, obviously you didn't think it was pretty in that way, so now you know, you feel a little bitter cause you didn't get it.
to understand GITS the series gelicia, watch all the complex(blue) episodes from season 1. the stand alone(green) episodes are filler which only add character developement essentially. This will help you weed out the necessisary from the unnecessary. - DannoHung, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think the idea is that it was a meme that was never intended to be memetic.
Snakes on a Plane is basically the same thing, though nowhere near as cool as corporate blackmail. - mta3d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1did you make it? it looks remarkably like the avatar i made with the couple of pixels gap on the right hand side and the blue-ish background to blend into a forum i used to frequent :) note i dont really care, because its hardly my IP to begin with :)
- krack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@Gelica:
Dismissing something because you don't understand it is a very dangerous thought process. In some cases, it can kill you. Dismissing it after understanding it because it is indeed useless is a very useful thought process.
It is also useful to recognize that there is a variance in the level of intelligence and wisdom in individual humans. From this realization, it naturally follows that other people may be more intelligent than you. This is similar to people that are stronger than you in that stronger people can lift more than you for longer periods of time than you. Following this thought, more intelligent people may create things that take a lot of energy for you to understand and leave you exhausted because you don't have the mental lifting power or stamina that the author expected.
The easiest way to see this case in action is when several people are extracting valuable information from a source, but you yourself cannot see anything valuable in the source. - caboosemoose, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You're probably correct there. Of course you learn more from a face than an avatar. To suggest one obvious aspect, although there are countless other issues, the anonymity of the internet breeds idealization.
- r©ain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I tried using an ***** as mine, but I chose to be Casper instead.
- Bisqwit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Guilty, without an excuse.
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