I forgot to mention this, but there's a true-false component to the Glass Room.
True or false?
You can preserve your brain and upload it to Cloud before you die.
There's a smart fork that will vibrate when you're eating too fast and show a green light when it's okay for you to start eating again.
There's an app for birth control.
There's an app for undocumented people trying to cross the border.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
The Glass Room--in More Detail
Jenny Goodman, the amazing daughter of My Best Friend in Peace Corps Tonga, showed me The Black Mirror when she was here this year on her way back to Thailand. So I wrote her this letter:
Dear Jenny,
I don't know whether you've seen my post on Facebook, where I share some pictures about the Glass Room, an exhibit that's been in Berlin, London, New York, and is now in SF.
I thought of you when I got to The Smell Test, a way of rating people that reminded me of "Nose Dive." In fact, I told one of the guides there that it reminded me of a program in which people rate each other all the time and--He knew I was talking about The Black Mirror episode you showed me. It also reminded me of the Korean film I recently saw, "Parasites," in which the very poor interlopers overhear the very rich talk about their smell, like the smell of the people who ride the subways. (How would they know?)
Just now as I was looking for a link to give you background, I see that The Black Mirror is mentioned!
So this article can give you background, and I'll just focus on what I enjoyed doing and what impressed me.
The Glass Room is intentionally like an Apple Store, but instead of selling tech, they're warning us against it. The first exhibit I saw shows various tech companies--Google, Facebook, Hewlett Packard, etc--and citizen action both by them and against them. For example, when Trump announced his policy to keep Muslims out of the country, 2,843 tech employees signed a petition that they would refuse to create a data base identifying people by their religion. It also shows protests against and boycotts of the companies for specific reasons.
Getting into the more personal, I looked into a facial recognition mirror and saw all the faces that looked like mine come up. I was jealous because the woman who did this after I finished had prettier faces come up to match hers.
I also took a personality test, and the results showed I was outgoing, extroverted, and not very agreeable. (They had statements like "I know how to comfort people" with choices of "Very accurate, fairly accurate, somewhat accurate, somewhat inaccurate," etc., and I know I don't know how to comfort people so I rated myself low.) But the area they said most defined me was neuroticism because I was 68% less neurotic than most people, which made me a target for a particular kind of campaign, one to give people who've been in prison a second chance!
Of course, I also enjoyed the exhibits giving me a chance to wear a crown or a puppy's mug and see a reflection of myself with ever- changing analyses like "You are 35% one of them,"/"...5% autonomous"/..."83% surprising"/"...
On one screen I got a smiley face emoji and hearts on my eyes with the words "reaction to yourself: good" and "estimated income: $31,099." If I got $31,009, I don't think my reaction to myself would be very good. They also told me my estimated IQ was 100! I think it's like that study done (Forer) where people took a personality test and were then given results that were so generic that all thought the analysis described them perfectly, only to find out later that everyone was given exactly the same results. But, hey, an IQ of 100?? I know I'm struggling to understand this world, but still...
Someone in dating services was quoted as saying, "When two people are told they have a lot in common, they tend to make this true" or something like that.
Another part of the exhibit, Invisible Labor, shows the labor that goes into making our tech projects like tablets and smartphones. I thought this was going to include the poor people who mine the minerals used in our products, but it shows instead all the movements that go on in the factories after the excavation.
The exhibit has four main areas: Red is "Trust Us," blue "Highly Personal," gray "Invisible Labor," and green "Big Mother." Big Mother shows how high tech tries to "protect" us.
It's all very interesting, and I have Maxine Anderson to thank. She's another board member of OWL and on OWL's Political Action Committee who told Kathie Piccagli and me about this after our meeting this past Thursday.
Here are some pictures as well as the official link:
The Glass Room – Looking into your online life.
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Meanwhile, California is burning. I may join a friend (Robert Liu--He's the one we met at Samovar and later went on the march with) and the Red Cross at St. Mary's Cathedral this coming Sunday to help evacuees a little bit.
How are YOU doing?
Love,
Tina
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
The Glass Room
I wore myself out having fun and learning stuff at the Glass Room today. But tomorrow I'll be back to describe the experience.
Here's a link to some photos.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p7g1t2rrmu8xe3i/AAAm1JAiVdQFYmKbk8wGLI2Xa?dl=0
Here's a link to some photos.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p7g1t2rrmu8xe3i/AAAm1JAiVdQFYmKbk8wGLI2Xa?dl=0
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Walking and Taking BART to keep cars off the road
Today's San Francisco Chronicle reports that there may be a security clearance perk for riders of BART to SFO! The BART board may vote to approve new technology to scan Clipper cards and BART smartphone apps so that riders who show proof of payment can stand in a separate line--one shorter and faster. They have a perk like this in Boston, where people who take the bus to Logan International Airport get to cut in front of everybody else.
They might try this at Oakland Airport too.
That's because BART riders have decreased since Uber and Lyft became popular, so they need to offer perks.
The Race to Chase
In today's Chroncle, October 24, 2019, was a report "The Race to Chase," about the Chronicle reporters out to investigate the fastedst way to Chase Center. Would it be walking, Lyft, MUNI, bike, scooter, or private car?
I'm so glad that the walker won and
not just because I love Steve Rubenstein, the Chronicle's Mark Twain. My friend Bill Shoaf and I walked San
Francisco in 2016 in preparation for the Camino de Santiago and loved seeing
the city on foot.
Among our
routes were Stern Grove to Ocean Beach to Sutro Park, From the Conservatory of
Flowers to Church and 30th to McLaren Park and the Philosopher's Way, from
Castro and Market to Corona Heights, Mountain Lake, Bakers Beach, and Golden
Gate Park, from Hoffman and 24th to BillyGoat Hill with our friend Janet, who
walked with me from Ocean Beach and Fulton to Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury,
Post Street and the Embarcadero and
joined us from Castro and Market to Sausalito and from Castro and Market
to the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, Russian Hill, and Chinatown.
I also took
some solo walks including one from 19th and Vicente to Wisconsin, a pilgrimage
to honor a friend on her retirement.
Walking really is the best way to go if you're not carry8ing a lot of heavy groceries and if we can spare the extra time. (Sometimes, as iwith the "race to Chase") walking takes less time, not more!
Sunday, October 20, 2019
The Ann Patchett Show at Book Passage Thursday, October 17, 2019
To celebrate a friend's 70th birthday, I was taking her lunch and "Downton Abbey," which she really wanted to see, but we postponed the movie so we could hear Ann Patchett, whose presentation was much more engaging than Downton Abbey, which I'd already seen.
The 49-Mile Anything But Drive Route in SF
I'm glad that Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight are creating a 49-Mile Scenic Anything but Drive Route, and having recently visited Twin Peaks, I agree that there are unheralded views that are easier to access and more weather-friendly, not to mention safer from purse-grabbers. He mentioned Bernal Heights Park, Grandview Park, and the Golden Gate Overlook in the Presidio.
He also says that our idea that driving is the best way to enjoy the scenic route is like saying "a dentist's chair is the best place to listen to classical music."
These two San Francisco Chronicle writers are trying for "the lesser-traveled neighborhoods, divesity, art, delicious food, unique architecture, small business and discovery."
But when they put this to a readers poll, Twin Peaks got 52% of the vote. He ends by saying, "Twin Peaks will be on the 49 Mile Scsenic Route. Don't leave any valuables in your car."
He also says that our idea that driving is the best way to enjoy the scenic route is like saying "a dentist's chair is the best place to listen to classical music."
These two San Francisco Chronicle writers are trying for "the lesser-traveled neighborhoods, divesity, art, delicious food, unique architecture, small business and discovery."
But when they put this to a readers poll, Twin Peaks got 52% of the vote. He ends by saying, "Twin Peaks will be on the 49 Mile Scsenic Route. Don't leave any valuables in your car."
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