Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2015
From Schneier on Security
The Risk of Unfounded Ebola Fears
Good essay. Worry about Ebola (or anything) manifests physically as what's known as a fight, flight, or freeze response. Biological systems ramp up or down to focus the body's resources on the threat at hand. Heart rate and blood…
From Computational Complexity
Barrier's for Matrx Mult Lower bound
Matrix Mult: The usual algorithm is O(n^3). Strassen surprised people by showing an O(n^{2.81}) algorithm. (Now its so well known that its not surprising. I try to teach it to people who don't already know its true so they'll…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
But I Have The Same as Him
One thing I hear a lot is “I have the exact same code and someone else and theirs work and mine doesn’t.” The obvious wise guy reply is “if yours doesn’t work then it is not the same.” Students are not huge fans of that reply…
From Wild WebMink
How To Safeguard Surveillance Laws
This letter was published in the London Evening Standard on January 12th, 2015: I watch with alarm as, in the wake of the barbaric murders in France, politicians seek increased surveillance powers for the security services. Surveillance…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Wal-Mart on the Strength of Physical Retail
Bill Simon, former president and CEO, Walmart U.S, speaks at the NRF on e-commerce, technology and design that helps physical retail. " ... "It's pretty one dimensional," he said of the e-commerce shopping experience. "You get…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Touch Interfaces in Communications
This is not new, but continues to advance. " .... The Communication Of The Future Is So Real You Can Touch It. Companies are starting to integrate Haptic Feedback into their technology. Welcome to the future you can reach out…
From Schneier on Security
Viking Runes as Encryption in the 1500s
This is an interesting historical use of viking runes as a secret code. Yes, the page is all in Finnish. But scroll to the middle. There's a picture of the Stockholm city police register from 1536, about a married woman who was…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
WATCH Talk-Differential Privacy: Theoretical and Practical Challenges
The next WATCH Talk is this Thursday, January 15, 12:00-1:00pm EDT. Salil Vadhan will discuss Differential Privacy: Theoretical and Practical Challenges. Dr. Salil Vadhan is the Vicky Joseph Professor of Computer Science and …
From The Eponymous Pickle
DataFloq: Connecting Data and People
Had heard of Datafloq before, now taking a closer look. " ... Datafloq is the One-Stop Shop around Big Data. We are the number one Big Data platform connecting Data and People, connecting all stakeholders in the global Big Data…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Debunking Data Myths
In ClickZ: A set of useful cautions about what are really mostly very human assumptions. Which summarize well in the statement that 'More is not always better' . You don't have have bigger data or more sophisticated methods…
From Putting People First
First edition of UX STRAT Europe to take place in Amsterdam this June
And all keynote speakers are American… UX STRAT Europe will take place in Amsterdam on June 4 – 5, 2015 at the Tobacco Theater in the heart of Amsterdam. The conference – which is in addition to UX STRAT USA, which will take…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
New NIH Data Science Blog!
Ever wondered what was going on in the data science community with relation to biomedical research? Ever wish to share your own knowledge about the field? No need to worry any longer! The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has…
From Schneier on Security
How Surveillance Causes Writers to Self-Censor
A worldwide survey of writers affiliated with PEN shows a significant level of self-censoring. From the press release: The report's revelations, based on a survey of nearly 800 writers worldwide, are alarming. Concern about surveillance…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 12 January 2015
It’s the end of the semester and I’ve been crazy busy. Outside projects, grading, exam writing, and more. Time for blogging seems to be in short supply these days. Plus I haven’t had much to say probably because of all the routine…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data and Visualization in Mining Industry
Mining Global (@MiningGlobal) Jason Nitz of @Newmont Mining discusses the potential Big Data presents to the mining industry. Good piece on an industry you usually do not see talked about in this context. " ... There has…
From Putting People First
How Lego used ethnographic studies to become the Apple of toys
Or said differently: “If you want to understand how animals live, you don’t go to the zoo, you go to the jungle.” Jørgen Vig Knudstorp began turning the company around by making several key moves: improving processes, cutting…
From Wild WebMink
Any Revolution Can Be Repurposed
In fact this memorial to one — three days of killing in Paris over free speech and blasphemy — has been: The July Column in the Place de la Bastille in Paris – itself dedicated to the celebration of liberty after the French Revolution…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Home of the Future at CES
In Engadget: A connected home wrap up from last weeks CES. Not very impressive. Lots of pieces there, as we have seen over a number years, since we built our own in 2000. But effectively and safely connecting them is still…
From updated sporadically at best
My Week at Hacker School
I first heard about Hacker School last summer. I had run into my friend Lindsey Kuper at a conference in Edinburgh. She told me that she had been a resident and that I should do it too."You’ll like it," she said. "I can put you…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Concept Maps Delivering Cognitive Systems
I just posted a note in the Linkedin Group Cognitive Systems Institute: Using Concept Maps to Deliver Cognitive System Design: One of the methods we used to develop, understand, deliver and maintain high level knowledge representation…
From Wild WebMink
Careless Stereotyping
I’ve been privileged to travel widely, and have had conversations with educated people in several countries where Islam is the norm. On one visit to the Levant, one of my acquaintances made statements starting “Christians should…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Disruption of Industry Forces
In GigaOM: Well put overview of a survey. Some expected things, others now. I mostly agree with their statement that: " ... It’s hard to disagree that new technologies can re-arrange industries and create new markets. But…
From The Eponymous Pickle
How can CPG Adapt
In CPG Matters, new and interesting updates on the onrush of digital enterprise and implications for CPG:6 ways CPG companies can adaptThe consumer packaged goods landscape has become complex, and having channel and digital…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Groups Promoting the Internet of Things
In the CACM: In particular the issue of evolving standards and protocols is becoming important. A good overview of the groups and participants forming.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Longer Container Ships
A supply chain background piece. With lots of instructive pictures and data. How container ships are changing world supply chains. And about the largest container ship in the world. Larger is better, as evidenced by our own…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cognitive and Neuromorphic Computing
On the reasons for the re-emergence of AI as cognitive computing. In the Economist:" ... Cognitive computing is AI redux. Researchers took the successful bits of AI, such as machine learning, natural language processing and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Abductive Reasoning, Sensemaking and Design
Via Brian Moon or Perigean Technologies, who writes on making sense of knowledge via methods like concept mapping. Good piece at link.Abductive Thinking and Sensemaking: The Drivers of Design Synthesis by Jon KolkoOverview:Designers…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cmap Tools now Available for iPad
Cmap is the best known general concept mapping tool, which we tested in the enterprise. Previously noted about this in test last year. See previous posts here about concept mapping." ... CmapTools for iPad now available for…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Watson Meets Machine Learning
In KDNuggets: An overview of the Watson ecosystem from a recent presentation. Examples in healthcare and education.
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Dumpling Squid and Sex
This just in: the threat of being eaten doesn't deter dumpling squid from having sex. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered....