It’s fair to say that there will be no heroes... Heroism requires understanding the person in the absolute best light. I’m not sure this is good. What was Barack Obama like in elementary school? ‘Oh, yeah, here’s a picture of him picking his nose. God, he’s no longer a hero.’
--Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the influence of pervasive information (NY Times)
2009/06/29
2009/06/21
Forgetting and Nonsequiturs--Not Memory and Ration
... We do something like [computers] with our brains, but we do it differently; we get things wrong. We use information not so much for its own sake as for leading to thoughts that really are unrelated, unconnected, patternless, and sometimes therefore quite new. If the human brain had not posessed this special gift, we would still be sharpening bones, muttering to ourselves, unable to make a poem or even whistle.
These two gifts, the ability to lose information unpredictably and to get relationships wrong, distinguish our brains from any computer I can imagine ever being manufactured. Artificial Intelligence is one thing, and I never spend a day without admiring it, but human intelligence is something else again.
--Lewis Thomas, "The Youngest Science," Chapter 8
These two gifts, the ability to lose information unpredictably and to get relationships wrong, distinguish our brains from any computer I can imagine ever being manufactured. Artificial Intelligence is one thing, and I never spend a day without admiring it, but human intelligence is something else again.
--Lewis Thomas, "The Youngest Science," Chapter 8
2009/02/11
Trasparently Accesing Georgetown eJournals from Home
The following instructions tell you how to access ejournals transparently from home, with your Georgetown University Library account. (e.g. when you access "www.nature.com", you will automatically be redirected to "0-www.nature.com.library.lausys.georgetown.edu" which will serve you the page thru the Georgetown library proxy. You will be asked for your library account and password.)
Of course, you can always go to eJournals from home by accessing http://0-www11.tdnet.com.library.lausys.georgetown.edu/frames.asp, but this can be a hassle.
The redirection method is especially convenient for me, because I read my journal subscriptions through Google Reader. Using this method, I can just click on a feed article from home, and automatically get access to the full text through the library.
1. Install the Firefox addon Redirector (http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5064)
2. Restart Firefox.
3. Go to the Firefox property sheet by typing "about:config" in the address bar.
4. Find the preference key "extensions.redirector.redirects" (you can type "redirector" in the search box).
If you have eJournals which are served by the Georgetown Library proxy but aren't included in the above preprogram, you can go to Tools-Redirector, and manually enter the journal. (With redirector wildcards, the settings "http://*.nejm.org/*" "http://$1.nejm.org.extra.stuff.here/$2" will redirect "http://content.nejm.org/whateverPage" to "http://content.nejm.org.extra.stuff.here/whateverPage"
Another tip when searching from a non-academic IP address for journal articles... The "Link Out" feature can sometimes get you to an article even when the main pdf link says that you have no subscription. Sometimes, an academic institution (i.e. Georgetown, will be subscribing not to the Journal directly but through an aggregator like ScienceDirect or Ebsco, and "Link Out" can get you to the aggregator links.
If this tip is helpful, you can send me a fraction of a cent by surfing some of the page abvertisements!
Of course, you can always go to eJournals from home by accessing http://0-www11.tdnet.com.library.lausys.georgetown.edu/frames.asp, but this can be a hassle.
The redirection method is especially convenient for me, because I read my journal subscriptions through Google Reader. Using this method, I can just click on a feed article from home, and automatically get access to the full text through the library.
1. Install the Firefox addon Redirector (http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5064)
2. Restart Firefox.
3. Go to the Firefox property sheet by typing "about:config" in the address bar.
4. Find the preference key "extensions.redirector.redirects" (you can type "redirector" in the search box).
5. Double click on the key name "extensions.redirector.redirects", and copy the following text into the dialog box. (Instead of copying the key, you can also manually enter all of the redirection values by hand. See instructions at the bottom of the page.)
!!! Updated for Redirector 2.0 on Firefox 3.5 !!!
For older versions
6. Click OK to exit the dialog box. You will now be automatically redirected for most biomedical journals, including www.pubmed.com, common aggregation sites (ScienceDirect, MDConsult, Ebsco, Ovid, Ingenta, Factiva), common society journals (AMA, AAP, PNAS, ), common publishing houses (Nature Prss, OUP, Cambridge, Springer, Wiley, Karger, Thieme), and selected independent biomedical journals.
If you have eJournals which are served by the Georgetown Library proxy but aren't included in the above preprogram, you can go to Tools-Redirector, and manually enter the journal. (With redirector wildcards, the settings "http://*.nejm.org/*" "http://$1.nejm.org.extra.stuff.here/$2" will redirect "http://content.nejm.org/whateverPage" to "http://content.nejm.org.extra.stuff.here/whateverPage"
Another tip when searching from a non-academic IP address for journal articles... The "Link Out" feature can sometimes get you to an article even when the main pdf link says that you have no subscription. Sometimes, an academic institution (i.e. Georgetown, will be subscribing not to the Journal directly but through an aggregator like ScienceDirect or Ebsco, and "Link Out" can get you to the aggregator links.
If this tip is helpful, you can send me a fraction of a cent by surfing some of the page abvertisements!
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