]> http://drupal.zigguratt.com Comments en http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/imaginary_lifeboat_will_save_you#comment-2292 this is a bit more information about this very short book - long essay... Brief but hopefully insightful, The Imaginary Lifeboat (ILB) applies the Lead, Follow and Get out of the way (LF&G) approach to usability to religion, religious belief, and the meaning of life. Religion is viewed as a tool constructed by humans for its practical use in day-to-day life. As a tool, it can be analyzed and understood in terms of its usability. (Although never directly stated, LF&G is unique in approaches to usability in that it can be applied to a field as remote from its typical application to industrial design or computer design as religion.) In addition to the lifeboat metaphor, the maiden voyage of the Titanic is used to illustrate the crisis that humanity faces, and why the lifeboat of religious belief is so appealing in the face of the failure of technology in the hands of mortals. “Crisis!” makes a fire and brimstone case for human destruction or survival in the balance and introduces the example of the Titanic. “The Imaginary Lifeboat” introduces the metaphor of the lifeboat and one of the major functions of religion – to provide hope. “Learning to Swim” discusses the unitary origins of science and religion and briefly touches on another water-related metaphor – swimming buddies in what Carl Sagan referred to as the Cosmic Ocean. The next chapter introduces the Lead, Follow and Get out of the way approach to usability. In “Usability” we compare Nielsen’s original 10 heuristics to the obvious Judeo-Christian archetype and the proliferation of new usability guidelines to the proliferation of rules in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, etc. In contrast, we present a simple approach based on instructional principles. These are Lead (the user to success). Follow (the individual’s progress through tasks towards goals and provide support and information when and where needed). And Get out of the way (so the individual may perform tasks and achieve goals efficiently and effectively). The following chapters go into further detail with the LF&G analysis of religion as a usable tool, discussing both the good and the bad aspects, without dwelling on some of the ugly facets of human nature. First we address the fundamental questions of life – to be, or not to be, and what to do in the meantime – and how religion is easy to use or not so easy to use, according to the LF&G approach. The common truth underlying all major religions – the Golden Rule – is a principle that can be agreed on and practiced by the faithful and non-religious alike. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are used to illustrate the Lead, Follow, and Get out of the way method as used by Jesus to teach this rule “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Written by the nephew of an Episcopalian Bishop, former acolyte who considered priesthood as a career during his adolescence (but is now a non-practicing non-theist), The Imaginary Lifeboat is easy to read, easy to understand, and one hopes, easy to use to illustrate what usability, religion, and atheism are all about. You should buy one for yourself, one to give to someone you love, one to give to someone you hate, and one to give to someone who hates you. The book ends with a message that is part tongue in cheek, part serious, part challenge, and part eternal truth. Hopefully it is one that both people of faith and people who are non-theist, empiricist, naturist, humanist, or agnostic can all agree on. Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:28:49 -0700 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/imaginary_lifeboat_will_save_you#comment-2291 I purchased this one, my first e-book purchase, this from “LuLu”. If you haven’t done that before, it’s not all that straight-forward. It says “Download immediately”, but what you get is a file for which you need a special Adobe application (Adobe Digital Editions; it’s free], not Adobe PDF. I guess it’s designed for e-book readers, but it works fine on a regular computer. The type is larger and more widely spaced than in a typical text document, and EZ to read on a good computer screen. I like it and it opened my mind to digital readers. Beyond that, I am enjoying Robert’s writing; the Titanic metaphor is a good one... As another has written: Are we condemned on our marbled globe The warnings ring out crystal clear. Ice-fields loom large in our dark night, Yet we press on. Full Steam Ahead! To meet our fate in that cold pink dawn (Or Not. if we so choose by free will. not God’s!) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:55:57 -0700 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/gallery/davidp/mourning_cloak#comment-2290 like the velvet red burgundy color Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:10:52 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/just_do_it#comment-2289 creators.com comics is the source for the cartoon - reproduced here for educational purposes only Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:44:34 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/gallery/robertkamper/nother_monarch#comment-2288 I saw one here today, but didn't move fast enough to catch it; similar scenc\e, around some blue asters. Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:15:24 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/gallery/robertkamper/swallowtail#comment-2287 used a monopod to steady the shaky hands, probably used flower program settings, cropped to magic ratio (basically composed in camera) used sharpness filter to digitally enhance, then used lighten shadows, darken highlights, and midtone contrasts adjustments to taste. But straight out of the camera without tweaking had the same basic image. Most images I don't do anything that would disqualify them from entry into the National Wildlife Federation contest. This one didn't make the deadline, which ended the 26th of July. Maybe next year. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:36:31 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/gallery/robertkamper/swallowtail#comment-2286 Absolutely wonderful. 'Looks like a painting. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:55:13 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/middle_aged_women_with_migraines_have_an_aura_about_them#comment-2285 Hi just a thank you to you for posting this - really appreciate that you put this up. It has been a long time coming for me to see the day that this is acknowledged - and understood as a disorder, and not an excuse for getting out of something you don't feel like doing. As you know, I have always known and stated that migraine does damage. That statement apparently was further proof of my "crazy" way of dealing with it, instead of something to investigate further. Told it was my imagination, or that I was going too far with this thing, I never for a second doubted myself. Reminded that there is no evidence to support my claim I was supposed to just accept that as fact - and tell myself I was wrong. I made a point of reminding myself that viruses existed long before electron microscopes found them. They did not just suddenly appear now that we had a device to see them. That radio waves were all around us long before there where radios. So just because they could not find the damage, or the evidence that migraine is as serious as I claimed, does not mean it didn't happen. Took close to 30 years for me to be vindicated, but better late than never. What bothers me is that the people who stated I was wrong and that "the facts" show that it's just not possible to do damage, those people lived pretty good lives in contrast to people like me. They wrote books that are now useless, made appearances and got wealthy with their wrong advice. They influenced the masses with their "pop medicine" statements and probably got funding from drug companies to recommend pain killers. They had - as my mother would say " a nice chunk of Real Estate built on lies". My migraine brothers and sisters where stuck with our reality, and the bias toward us. My brother once suggested I engage in a law suit (class action suit) against them for the pain that their words caused me. Sometimes, I actually think about. People with migraine die from strokes, problems with medication and suicide. But I belive a lot of us died from the words of those people with the nice Real Estate. I doubt any of them are reading this. Or the ex-spouses that could not live with the crazy made up headaches of their partners. They won't see this. But they will see those news pieces that declare how wrong they were. I hope it affects them. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:34:20 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/dont_blink_and_take_notes_if_you_can#comment-2284 One of my all-time favourite Doctor Who episodes. And the Doc himself was hardly in it! Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:37:20 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/davidp/panasonic_dmc_fz28#comment-2283 "it gave up the ghost after I dropped it onto concrete from about 8 feet" - what, it didn't float this time? Ah well. Looks like you found a worthy replacement! I love that it has a "Pin Hole" mode. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:10:58 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/another_brick_in_the_wall#comment-2282 I empathize with your comments but there is some role for "non-scientific" thinking and decision-making, as I am sure you appreciate. I am thinking about the many females I know who manage to bridge the gap (unfortunately, few males). Science is conservative in assessing evidence, which it should be in an academic context, but real life often calls for action in the face of incomplete evidence which takes us into the realm of the non-scientific; then who do we look to? Fundamentalists (the simple answer), or something less tangible but very human with many shades of gray. I vote for the latter! Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:19:34 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/dont_blink_and_take_notes_if_you_can#comment-2281 wasn't thinking about Dr Who when I wrote the original post but just finished watching "Blink" on the telly and it reminded me...ooo wee ooo Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:07:54 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/middle_aged_women_with_migraines_have_an_aura_about_them#comment-2280 .. when individuals close to me have a migraine or are really upset - or excited (happy) in a positive sense - I usually know ahead of time or at least on first encounter. Don't we all to some degree? Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:58:20 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/middle_aged_women_with_migraines_have_an_aura_about_them#comment-2279 ya got me...migraineurs see auras before the headache hits, in some cases it accompanies the pain. The headline writer obviously was using the term as "air of mystery" which had nothing to do with the article...or does it? hmmm... Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:40:10 -0600 http://drupal.zigguratt.com/blog/robertkamper/middle_aged_women_with_migraines_have_an_aura_about_them#comment-2278 Interesting use of “aura” in this article. I always associated "auras" with something that precedes or lingers after the presence of something or an individual. Here is a definition drawn off the web: Define: Aura: # a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure # an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint # air: a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing; "an air of mystery"; "the house had a neglected air"; "an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the candidate's headquarters"; "the place had an aura of romance" In the article you cited, it states “..recent studies suggest that migraine attacks may be associated with brain lesions identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), " Could auras as defined above could be verified scientifically with MRI measurements? Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:33:23 -0600