DR-KNOW / IQ-2k Information Services
The Information eQuation
The Information eQuation
By: Todd Wheatley
T H E I N F O R M A T I O N E Q U A T I O N
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WHO / WHAT + WHERE / WHEN = WHY?! / HOW
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? W7 ?
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Copyright (c)2009
IQ-2k Information Services
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TABLE-OF-CONTENTS
----------------- PAGE
Preface ................................ ii
S E C T I O N I
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Introduction ................................ 1
"What is the Matrix?!" ................................ 13
eQuation Derivation ................................ 28
S E C T I O N I I
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2-0 Introduction ................................ 39
2-1 Time-lines ................................ 46
2-2 Business ................................ 59
2-3 Science ................................ 68
2-4 Politics ................................ 76
2-5 Religion ................................ 84
2-6 * ANSWERS * ................................ 91
S E C T I O N I I I
-----------------------------
Smart / Smart A__ ................................ 98
APPENDIX ................................................... 104
( ii )
PREFACE
-------
This book is comprised of three complimentary but separate sections
that include a historical background, philosophical underpinnings,
multiple "solution sets" and the ultimate expression of the eQuation:
artificial intelligence (AI).
The history of the eQuation is intertwined with my information service
company and was in fact created to organize... well EVERYTHING.
Initially my plans were grandiose as is evidenced by the former name of
my service company:
Questions Answered?! originally serviced college students and faculty
though it was later expanded to include small business and the general
public. Unfortunately the business and subsequent incarnations failed.
Still I am proud of the few accomplishments those businesses produced.
Most notably, of course, the Information eQuation.
Originally written in the year 2000 the Information eQuation has an
even longer time span and is now 20 years old. Sadly it took 10 years
to find the first working solution. But I never suspected that writing
a complete book would involve so much effort. Still, I kept the faith
and always remembered one guiding prinicpal:
WITH INFORMATION ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Absolutely anything! Naturally there's a catch. It involves a three
step process:
1 - input information 2 - think about it 3 - act on it.
It's simple, but a surprising number of people fail to input, think or
act. Alternatively the Information eQuation intervenes. The Informa-
tion eQuation is logic so pure and simple it will hopefully result in
far reaching consequences. Perhaps even becoming the basis for AI.
And while this book is not an AI text I believe the eQuation will make
an efficient AI method. But human intelligence is the key. No other
goal reaches as far.
Education systems are failing to keep pace with the rapid advancement
of technology and human cognition development needs help making the
transition. It's time to take a revolutionary leap. The Information
eQuation makes that leap. The Information eQuation creates one unit of
information and may be applied to any type of problem. Many examples
have been provided including some that address science and politics.
The content should give you something to think about if not openly
challenge.
I've tried to keep my sarcasm playful - for example - on the political
front I would like to see Republicans practice what they preach;
smaller government -- Quit your #%@&! government job. On the other
hand Democrats need to understand that no one likes taxes. No one !!!
Consider other revenue sources. No doubt some ideas presented in this
text will invite criticism, however I like to believe that I am open
minded enough to bare it.
I tend to have a flare for drama, so please put these caustic (smart
ass) comments in perspective. After all, I'm not a golden plumed
novelist or some politically correct speech writer, I'm just an
information specialist trying to make a name for himself.
P.S. W7 will not be revealed until IQ is in mass publication.
( iii )
????
who / what + where / when = why / how <<< W7 >>>
item + location = EVERYTHING ANYTIME
-- like the movie Stargate (c)1994 the seventh symbol is the key; "So
you think you've solved in 2 weeks what they could not solve in two
years? ... anytime."
( 1 )
The Information eQuation -- INTRODUCTION
My name is Todd Wheatley and late in 1988 I formulated a communications
breakthrough called the Information eQuation. More than a gimmick or
contrivance the Information eQuation uses scientific methods to manipulate
information in a manner that reduces written communication into the most
basic format possible. Stripped of all connecting verbage the Information
eQuation mixes art and science to create free form information associa-
tions that can be used in many ways. Still, some may be unimpressed, but
you know, if you can't be impressed with EVERYTHING... you can't be
impressed.
THE INFORMATION EQUATION
------------------------
WHO / WHAT + WHERE / WHEN = WHY?! / HOW
item + location = everything !
-----------------
Throughout this book eQuations will be used to present arguments, solve
problems and introduce information in an exciting artistic format. And
while I may be overly enthusiastic I find the Information eQuation a
simple and amazing tool. Actually I am so enthusiastic I want to jump
ahead and start working the eQuation. Unfortunately I tried that in the
year 2000 with disappointing results. So this time I'm taking a measured
approach with an expanded history and more detail into the derivation of
the eQuation. At the same time, however, my writing has grown more
controversial. But after reading some of my background perhaps you will
understand. Then again you may find my pain self-induced.
Either way, the history behind the Information eQuation is colorful,
informing, and designed to provide a new perspective on the nature of
information. Though the quick and simple history is that I accidently
formulated the eQuation while attempting to find a software solution for
storing and retrieving the massive amounts of information used in a new
type of service. The business never reached profitability and the software
was never developed though continued investigation proved the eQuation
could be used effectively outside of the computer. However the last
chapter (Smart / Smart Ass) shows how the eQuation might work in a
computer environment.
Collectively the Information eQuation is a three-in-one book: historical
background, artistic eQuations and a fresh perspective on information. Yet
regardless of its intellectual value, this book is intended to be fun and
as such it pokes fun in all directions. Sarcastic, and, at times,
irreverent. My style of communication evolved from years of failures,
defeats and general anguish. Yet far from being a loser these setbacks
tempered my ego. Still the scars of life have not totally healed. In
fact some of those scars have been transferred into an artistic format
that some may find offensive. Nevertheless my sarcasm and observations
are designed to bring question to entrenched dogma be it political,
religious or whatever. I just want you to THINK ABOUT IT. So please do
not take offense.
In essence I am offering a fresh look into old ideas. An exciting mental
journey aided by a communications breakthrough. I'm hoping my information
skill and new artistic format will take you to exciting places. Maybe
I'll open your eyes to new possibilities, new ideas, and new roads to
happiness. But the journey requires an open mind to view the arguments
objectively. Then, and only, then can you understand the validity of a
conflicting point of view. But remember even a valid argument will not
( 2 )
negate a preponderance of evidence. No one is asking you to change your
mind about anything just simply to open it and think.
My journey with the Information eQuation began as a day dream of space
travel that morphed into the idea of a one stop shop information company.
All information, all of the time. Unlike most information companies that
specialize mine would not. I would field any topic and create paths to
all knowledge. Organization was the key. So I would need a library type
of classification system. But older classification systems like Dewey and
the Library of Congress leave much to be desired and were not adequate for
my needs. Therefore I would create a new classification system that treats
information as a single entity. A BIG PICTURE.
Born on the cusp of the personal computer revolution my company would
conglomerate the information hodge podge created by Dewey and the Library
of Congress into a single unit. All information connects in some form or
fashion to all other information. The Dewey Decimal and Library of
Congress classification systems did not take this into account.
As the world becomes more complex information intertwines. For example
the ideas of physical health intersecting with mental health and spiritual
health. Not to mention nutrition and exercise.
Information, however, is a soft commodity and can be easily destroyed.
Few hard and fast rules stand the test of time. Yet older information
may not be replaced, updated, or renewed in any fashion. Just left to
wither. Even worse, multiple sources may contain conflicting information
or even disinformation. Therefore warehousing information (aka libraries)
can be a difficult proposition. Added to this dilemma the best information
remains guarded if not impossible to come by. So I developed information
connections and road maps. So began the Information eQuation.
WHO / WHAT + WHERE / WHEN = WHY?! / HOW
1 2 3 4 5 6
Ah, but wait! The full equation has seven (7) variables. The first six
create ONE UNIT OF INFORMATION. Make that one unit of HARD information.
Hard, indisputable information. Color notwithstanding, and believe me,
some of the examples have enough color for a rainbow. Though aside from
off color references most of the examples will completed with only six
variables. The seventh variable while bringing life to the eQuation
need not be employed to make it work. For further explanation refer to
Chapter 3.
Yet regardless of six variables or seven the Information eQuation is a
construct so pure and simple it will hopefully result in far reaching
consequences. Perhaps reaching as far as becoming the basis for AI. Yet
even more far reaching would be a leap in human intelligence. Simply put
the Information eQuation is INTELLIGENCE ... human or otherwise. Actually
a full accounting would include animal, alien or supernatural, but we will
forego those for now.
Here's the tricky part. A single eQuation is one unit of information, but
two or more linked eQuations transforms information into intelligence.
The trick is LOGIC. Since a great many fail to employ this simple trick I
thought to build a company to intermediate.
IQ-2k Information Services > "turn information into intelligence" TM
It's not that many people lack intelligence, they simply lack the informa-
tion to make advanced connections. Some people, however, are wildly
( 3 )
gifted in making difficult connections. Albert Einstien, for example.
But Einstien was more than gifted. Arguably he set the benchmark. Others
like Issac Newton, Keppler, Galileo and DaVinci also come to mind, but my
personal favorite is Benjamin Franklin. Consider the example below.
Ben Franklin inventor of the lightning rod.
WHO WHAT
WHERE / WHEN > the colonies before the revolutionary war.
WHY?! -- because God kept hitting houses with lightning bolts. Oddly
the clergy thought the devices unnatural and against Gods law.
What do you think?! ... Baffled? Confused? Amazed? It may not be E=MC2,
but I'm happy. At any rate, the practical workings of the eQuation are
easy. Ridiculously easy. More importantly no technical or mathematical
skills are required. In fact this book is intended for use by everyone
though some technical jargon and hard to understand examples have been
included. Fortunately the more involved aspects come at the end. I
therefore invite you to skip the slow parts and focus on the artistry, if
nothing else. Hopefully there will be something for everyone. Still it's
the artistry that I am most proud. Art, however, may be too strong.
Perhaps "stylized format" would be a better term. Nevertheless it is the
varied mix of styles and formats that led to the idea of artistic
presentation.
Borrowing from a 1989 Tom Hanks movie (Punchline)..."I'm a word stylist."
A number of advertising campaigns have come quite close to developing the
eQuation format, but never in a way that provides for the integration of
multiple eQuations. In Chapter 3 several multi-eQuation formats will be
introduced as well as the derivation of the Information eQuation. Here
you will see why advertisers fell short of this unique development.
Next in Chapter 2 the ideas prequel to the development of the Information
eQuation will be introduced including microSTAGEII, Parallel Word
Structures and the Information Matrix. Originally the contents of Chapter
2 were noted in the Appendix, however I felt this information too
important. In a like manner Chapter 3 has been expanded and includes
hints towards the discovery of the seventh variable that was found nearly
ten years after the original eQuation. The seventh variable produced a
workable tool and was a long awaited answer for my particular question.
That, however, is only part of the story. Here is the rest ...
October 1987 ... QUESTIONS ANSWERED?! ... later would come Page-by-Page
and then IQ-2k. Information service companies unlike any. More than five
years before the internet, Question Answered?! provided "online" computer
database research and information retrieval to the general public. Think
about it. QUESTIONS ANSWERED! ... any question ... all questions. That
was the PLAN.
Unfortunately not many questions were asked and the woefully under
capitalized business failed. Not to be deterred the company reformed
under a new name: Page-by-Page Information Services. Again woefully under
capitalized, but afloat long enough for the internet to invalidate the
business model. The biggest problem came from name confusion. The
general public often associated Page-by-Page with digital telephone
PAGERs. Sadly the public did not realize that patrons would pay for
information by the page. Hence the name Page-by-Page. Another dismal
failure.
Advertising was extensive though amateur. I targeted the twenty thousand
( 4 )
plus students populating the dozen or so colleges and universities within
the Dallas-Ft.Worth metroplex. A large enough audience, but disappointing
results. Advertising was just one of several problems. Like the internet
today, content and copyright infringement came into question. Though my
real hope was to create an all encompassing THINK TANK free from copyright
trouble. Instead I created a personal health club: legwork, legwork,
legwork. My brain received some exercise but with the limited clientele
not as I would have liked.
As stated, I targeted college students while expecting spill over into the
general public. It was the scale that was unexpected. Anemic at best.
Quite humbling. As a long time college student I should have realized
that, student, and money, are conflicting terms. Still a full third of
those students attended expensive private universities (SMU,TCU, Univ.of
Dallas) and constituted the bulk of my business. So it was back to the
drawing board :(
Yet regardless of any new ideas, information service companies have
existed nearly as long as the invention of clay tablets (circa 5000 B.C.).
But always specialized. Investment counselors, law firms, ad agencies, and
so on. Questions Answered?!, Page-by-Page, Iq-2k: no specialty. Any
question! Any type of information! ANYTHING!!!!!! Perhaps a company
named "The Burning Bush Information Services" would have been better
received. I mean really! QUESTIONS ANSWERED! ANY QUESTION, ALL QUESTIONS!
Nothing if not grandiose. Perhaps overly so. As for streching the
truth... who cares! Everything is bigger in the United States of Texas.
With ten years of college and three degree paths (engineering, business,
pre-law) I knew I could FIND relevant information. The company was aptly
named though perhaps too ambiguous or too presumptuous. But not so
presumptuous that the answers would come off the top of my head (at least
not at first). On the contrary, answers would come from exhaustive
computer research. If that didn't work, then library legwork - I did alot
of legwork. I was determined to deliver precise authoritative information
thinking it would be freely available.
Still, in time answers would come along with some much needed capital.
Not only that, people tend to ask the same questions so profits would
soar. All I needed was the phone to ring. I would do the research, store
the answers and wait for another patron with an identical problem. That
was the PLAN. All I needed was the phone to ring. And ring it did. Here
and there. Sometimes, maybe. I was headed to the poor house fast!
Stubbornly I did not want to sacrifice the purity of my business model
with the complications that arise with venture capital.
As fate would have it, my first client became an "angel". Commonly known
in financial circles as an altruistic investor. Although I do sometimes
wonder if she played for the "other" team. Still, suffice it to say, I
made good progress with her help. Other team notwithstanding. So big
ideas and the quest for big business led to Questions Answered?! and in
turn the Information eQuation. As product of the 80s I sought fame and
fortune a full decade before the idea of GOBOSH ... GO Big Or Stay Home
(an internet term during the late 90s boom). I was, in fact, ahead of the
curve in many ways save one: to use my business model to attract wealthy
investors and bailout with a bundle of cash before all of the problems had
been solved. Yes, I wanted the cash. But I also wanted to control the
outcome. I wanted to see where all of that information would lead. I
wanted answers.
"Back in the day," (1987) people like Gates and Jobs were fast becoming
the stuff of legends. So, why not me?! I had vision, I had drive, I had
enough knowledge to GOBOSH and do it myself. Sink or swim ... I sank. Yet
( 5 )
despite all that I had, I did not have money. Zero in fact. Moreover, my
business model contained some heretofore unresolved questions. Or what I
like to think of as questions unanswered. Still, the plan was to steadily
grow my business using every available resource. Every spare dime would
go into advertising. All that I needed (and all that I had) was a
telephone. With the plan in place answers would come in time.
My first customer came out of nowhere at the very instant my business was
to open. Definitely a good omen, or so I thought. But she monopolized my
time and all else went on hold. Something I had not foreseen and did not
plan on. That was trouble because I've always been a planner (see
appendix: poem). I was unprepared for spontaneity and it hit me like a
ton of bricks. Oh well, live and learn.
The Hunt for Red October
"What's his plan?" (Fred Thompson) (c)1989
"What's his plan?" (Alex Baldwin)
"Son, Russians don't take a dump without plan." (Fred Thompson)
Fame and most importantly, fortune. That was the plan. And yet I
recognized there were benefits other than money (perhaps I was really born
in Russia). Of course I wanted money. What self-respecting American
doesn't want money. Still, there's the joy of helping another human
being. Then of course was the potential of ... omnipotence. Eventually
all of those questions answered would add up. But what really happened?
... Impotence. God really does have a wry sense of humor, eh? Fortunately
that's not what really happened, but that's what it felt like. So much
for spontaneity. Then again my "angel" may really NOT have been.
I've not become an overbearing magnate of industry (Jobs) or a quelcher of
global competitiveness (Gates), but here's hoping :-) On the bright side,
IQ-2k Information Services still exists. Albeit in name only as its
single product (the AIR_BASE Aviation Information System) has yet to show
a profit. Still, my PLANs were big. My goals, equally ambitious. And
perhaps I am a bit off kilter, but my discovery of the Information
eQuation (IQ) made business failure little more than a monetary
inconvenience. Professional pride notwithstanding. Though again, there
are benefits other than money.
For the curious:
QUESTION: What are the odds of creating a successful business with
virtually no capital and no outside investors?
ANSWER #1: Horrible.
ANSWER #2: Terrible.
I'm a movie buff and not beyond "borrowing" a line or two. Fluidity and
cleverness, I think you'll see, are not my strong suits. And while
information and communication are two sides of the same coin I'm hoping to
keep your attention with my information art. Thankfully I've discovered a
similarity between writing and computer programming. Of course, I grew up
during the days of "spaghetti code" and that can be problematic. In terms
of writing (and programming) you go off on a tangent and it's difficult to
get back.
So where were we?! Fame, fortune, GOBOSH, no money, impotence, movies??
Like I said, difficult. "Angels?" No. Crappy writing? I think it's
best if I just go back to the beginning...
I started programming in 1978 after teaching myself BASIC. My high
school had an on-line teletype terminal (on-line) hooked into a downtown
mainframe. Later in college would come PASCAL and then FORTAN with
( 6 )
punched cards. After college came HP80, then C, and finally HTML. I have
developed four major software projects and several web pages. All
commercial failures. This book, however, is not about computer
programming. This book is the result, or benefit (if you will), from my
programming attempts. In fact all of the major topics of this book (the
Information eQuation, Parallel Word Structures and the Information Matrix)
can be traced to software development ... computer programming. But times
are changing. There seems to be little interest in tinkering in the
garage. And forget about software development in a home office.
Conglomerates are not only stifling competition, they are killing the
competitive spirit. Take, for example, the twenty odd years of software
compatibility gobbled by greed.
Vista(r) ... sucks!!!!!!!!
Legal disclaimer: If I ever get a publisher ... these views are strictly
my own and do not represent those of the publishing company or their
subsidiaries.
Today if you want to buy a new computer you are also buying Microsoft(r)
Vista(r). That means all of your old software and peripherals are
incompatible with your new system. Personally I saw it as a sign: stop
programming and move on. Fortunately I've been writing since the year
2000, give or take. Unfortunately is has taken eight years to reach some
level of proficiency. On the other hand, I've been working with informa-
tion for just over two decades and find it to be the best job ever.
Trouble is, it doesn't pay :( ... So far. Perhaps I should have
specialized.
Ever wonder why you pay a lawyer upwards of $200 an hour? Convenience.
And the fact that people like myself can not practice law without a
license. Nor am I allowed to do any engineering despite my background and
education in both. Not to mention real estate, investment counseling and
psychology. Licensed professions that I have more than a passing interest
and some education. Still, I knew I would not be a licensed practitioner,
but I knew I could help defray some of the cost. Questions Answered?! -
or more correctly, answering questions. That was the plan.
I was therefore motivated to find answers fast. Computer programming was
the logical answer. Still, the aforementioned information applications
transcend computer programming and despite my affinity for the machines I
am not a computer geek. "I'm a word stylist" a.k.a word smith, but it's
all slang. Really I'm an INFORMATION SPECIALIST - a glorified librarian,
if you will. Though part of the job requires INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
Yet more than research or retrieval or communication. I attempt to
understand the information.
Like the Hair Club for Men (old TV commercial) "I'm not only the
president, I'm a client."
It's always a subtle burn when I hear that I'm "a jack of all trades".
Perhaps you are familiar with this saying. The end of that saying is
rarely said and even when it is not implied I still feel the pinch: jack
of all trades - master of none. I am a master of information. As such
I've added or attempted to add multiple layers of meaning and artistic
flare to provide impact and appeal to a wide audience. Had I written
strictly for academics a more serious tone would have been taken, but this
book is for everyone ... the general public. That was, is, and always
will be, the PLAN.
More importantly I believe that answers exist. Answers to solve the most
vexing problems of our time. Global warming, illegal immigration, gay
( 7 )
rights, abortion, corporate malfeasance and more. Answers to ANY question
... ALL questions. Unfortunately people tend to ask the wrong questions
or they expect simple answers to very difficult questions. Furthermore
given todays political climate we are likely to be saddled with these
problems for many years to come. If not for generations.
Now once more, just to be clear: I DO NOT have ALL THE ANSWERS; IT IS MY
JOB TO find THE ANSWERS (information) and STRUCTURE them into a coherent
pattern. Where answers do not yet exist I search for clues, definitions
or some possible connections. The Information eQuation, Parallel Word
Structures and the Information Matrix were created towards that end.
However I found these methods could be altered to do more. These methods
could also be used to turn information into INTELLIGENCE.
What better way to solve a problem? ... Intelligence!
History comes replete with dumb luck (s.g. penicillin, the benzene ring,
the discovery of nylon, the Information eQuation), but finding answers to
problems like the human stem cell debate will not come easily or by
happenstance. Intelligence must be employed. And who says it has to be
human? Of course, aliens (if they exist) have not made their presence
known. And while a great multitude seek divine intelligence there remains
the problem of communication. When people, like myself, say that they
have been visited by the divine they are generally treated with skepticism
and with good reason. So why not artificial intelligence? Given the
rapid development of technology that day is not far away.
Ooops, major turn off; right?! Some words, after all, can not be used in
polite communication. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is one such word.
It's like telling a stranger that you're a Trekkie. Accepted in some geek
circles, but mostly not; oh yeah, "live long and prosper". Do not dismay
this book is not about AI. This book is about information connections and
how you can use the tools herein to improve your own intelligence. I will
however refrain from geek speak and attempt to give a presentation that
all will understand and enjoy. Although I felt obliged to add some
technical language to hold the attention of those more interested in
science than art.
Still, the Information eQuation is an everyday practical tool that will
hopefully motivate you to seek answers. Remember, my sole intent is to
challenge your mind. I want you to stop and THINK. I invite you to
disagree. I do not, however, believe in the senseless brawls that twenty-
four hour news channels pass off as valid discourse. Controversy for its
own sake is meaningless. This book is an exercise in logic. It is not
some controversial religious text or some political tripe intent on
inflaming the masses - Ann - The Information eQuation is a new way of
seeing.
By the way, I am smart, and I'm not a Republican! Nor a Democrat (see
preface).
Nevertheless I have selected several controversial topics to demonstrate
the ability of the Information eQuation. My personal points of view will
be apparent, but I take pains to keep an open mind. I want to be given
something to think about rather than entrenched rhetoric. I know the
rhetoric. Similar to high school debate ages ago - the competition
consisted of the affirmative position and the opposing view. Some times I
affirm. Some times I oppose. Mainly, I bring question to rhetoric. And
while the drama has been kept to a bare minimum I have nevertheless taken
artistic liberties. But like the high school debate my arguments follow a
logical path.
( 8 )
In this book, information is distilled and recombined one unit at a time.
You may not agree with the outcome. Furthermore, you may not follow the
logic, nor understand the premise, but perhaps you can enjoy the free form
expression. This is information art. Hopefully my segmented NOISE into
pop-culture does not distract your ability to read and follow. If you
have been able to follow me so far then you know that I believe that
answers exist. However given the nature of information more than one
answer may exist. Your answers may not be my answers. Yet as an informa-
tion specialist I am always happy to "listen".
When view points differ perhaps new information can be found to cause a
realignment. It's the PROCESS that's critical. You might know it as
logic. Logic is a term adopted from the ancient Greeks: defined as
ordered or systematic patterns of thought. THINK ABOUT IT! A systematic
pattern is a process. But somehow illogic has a process as well. Consider
the very simple example (on the next page) from my engineering days:
The Life of a Building (project) -- by the Input-PROCESS-Output computer
-------------------------------- paradigm
INPUT -- PROCESS -- OUTPUT
|------------------------------------------------------------------
| Application DESIGN Paper-trail
|------------------------------------------------------------------
| Raw materials CONSTRUCTION Engineered structure
| Military DESTRUCTION Rubble
| History RECONSTRUCT_ Symbol
"Why do they call them buildings anyway? They are through building them.
They should call them builts." (Gallagher 1980s)
"If M&Ms melt in your mouth and not in your hands; what do they do, say,
under your arm pits?" (Gallagher 1980s)
What's the logic here? Consider the reconstruction of the twin towers in
New York city. There was design, there was construction, and there was
destruction. Will some kind of reconstruction actually provide a symbol
of our resilience? Maybe, but there will also be a target against that
resilience. This, however, is not the Information eQuation in action.
This is Parallel Word Structures. Art and science. Two sides of the same
coin. Conflicting yet coexisting as the same. Duality.
In summation: this book is part personal history, part visual art, with
some relevant information and a dash or two of gratuitous fluff. O.K.
more than a dash, but like I've said, I have problems! No, had problems.
You know what I mean. Then again, you know some of the history, but as
far as the history goes, I haven't even scratched the surface. Here's
more ...
Consider history. I was 7 when Neil & Buzz landed on the moon. 15, when
Apple brought computing into the home. By my early twenties Big Blue
(IBM) had unwittingly brought order to chaos. The cowboy days of the
personal computer were dead. The PC was born and not out of greed like
most things. Rather by impatience. Bill on the other hand, made out like
a bandit and now Vista(r) may be greed exacting payback. By 1987 the
recently coined "Information Age" hit full stride. "On-line" services
began a prolific frenzy. BBSs were all the rage (prelude to BLOGGING).
Questions Answered?! lay on the cusp of this era ready to take information
to the masses. Though advertising was a problem. Nevertheless I was
prepared.
( 9 )
Part of my competitive advantage was an operating system developed prior
to the release of the Windows(r), but not ready for the mass market. I
completed microSTAGEII for the mass market in 1992 unfortunately
Microsoft(r) had released another Windows(r) version rendering the STAGEII
operating system superfluous. Though I still run STAGEII on most of my
computers. But success waits on no one. I started down another path ...
with the CAProck Geotechnical Engineering Information System. Another
dead end. CAProck took 7 years to program, however a computer crash
costing months of work caused me to shelve that software after an initial
market failure. Programmers take note: backup your work religiously and
document!
At any rate computers set me on the path of big ideas and by the end of
1989, a new decade was on the horizon. "Big" seemed a daily occurrence.
Rapid technological innovation and rapidly changing social structures
defined the times. The Eastern Bloc shattered with the fall of Communism.
The roar of the Asian Tigers deafened the economies of the West and
globalization began a march not seen since Columbus discovered the new
world. Corporate mergers broke new records as did bailouts and failures.
Even then the Information eQuation could have been the "next big thing" or
just a footnote when "big" had become a daily occurrence.
As usual I've jumped way ahead. The real story of the Information eQuation
goes back to ....... Mars.
At one point Mars was a realistic possibility following graduation from
the Air Force Academy, astronaut training and a whole lot of luck. But no
graduation, no training and no dice. But success waits on no one and
without graduation, training or luck I still decided to go to Mars. It
started as a harmless day dream. A plan. First I needed to become
outrageously wealthy. So like Andrew Carnegie and others, I would become
an industrialist. I would create hydrogen from sea water. At that time I
did not realize that hydrogen might be the answer to our future energy
problem. It was just a part of my day dream, and a way to get rocket
fuel, so I went with it. The main problem was generating the electricity
for the electrolysis - so next came the power tower. Horizontal rather
than vertical wind turbines. Stack the turbines in huge high rise
fashion. Think of the wind at 500 to 1000 feet.
So next came Mars. I'm sure you've heard, "getting there is half the
fun," ... it's not. Being there is all the fun! Getting there was a
small effort of will. In no time work was blocked out. School and
financial difficulties, blocked out. Just me and Mars. More than a
simple mission of exploration, it was colonization. But where to start?
Housing? Transportation? Community facilities? Obvious, but no sense
bringing my day job into my day dream. Food & water? Nice, but no.
Where to start?! Eureka! My martian colony would need a sustainable
economy or, more correctly, a self-sustained economy. But how to make it
work?! ... INFORMATION. Information to grow food. Information to produce
water. Information to convert CO2 into O2. Information to teach the
children of the colonists. Information to build a sustainable economy.
What it required was all the information in the world.
Though like all dreams you eventually wake up. For me it was a time
crunch more than a wake up call. Mars had come during a lull; no school
(feb-to-jun 1983). In the spring of 1983 I had plenty of time for
everything including day dreams. I had been academically disenrolled
(polite way of saying kicked out) from the United States Air Force
Academy. I failed "rocket science"... no kidding. Advanced Differential
Equations (slang: Diffy Q 2) - or what I now call "too f_ing difficult".
Kicked out :( -- PTSD -- for the curious: I had the same dream (night)
for nearly two years and varied versions even still. Though, like the
( 10 )
academy, the lull was not to last. School and work took increasingly more
time. I had a full load at school on top of my 40 hour work week. My new
workload would become a receipt for disaster. The start of a horrendous
run of bad luck. There's a great movie line :
"So you've had a run of bad luck," she said.
"A run of bad luck! It's been a f...ing marathon!" he said.
(Kim Basinger & Alex Baldwin - The Marrying Man - )
In true movie fashion he turns his life around and gets the girl. I'm a
sucker for a sappy ending. Perhaps it's because I was born near Hollywood
(not Russia). Who knows what will happen now; I often think my bad luck
may have been the price for having a dream come true. Getting accepted
into the Air Force Academy was an impossible dream. Roughly 50,000 apply
annually. 1000 get accepted. 50:1 odds. Definitely among the worse in
college acceptance. An impossible dream, but also an adolescent dream.
Born of romantic visions implanted by a World War II German ace, Hans. My
talks with Hans were idle banter, but he set the hook and it went deep. I
had just turned 14 and the next four years would be spent in the single-
minded pursuit of an impossible dream (I looked in my mailbox every day
for my academy acceptance letter).
Surprisingly I did attend becoming an impossible dream fulfilled. That's
when the trouble started. I had to choose a major and I did not have a
clue. Nothing appealed to me. I wanted to be an astronaut, but I did not
want to design the spacecraft. I wanted to be a pilot, but again I didn't
want to design the plane. I really enjoyed programming computers, but no
luck there either. Three things shot down almost immediately (astro-
nautics, aeronautics, computer science). I should have followed my
friends lead into psychology, but ultimately I chose Civil Engineering
because it had an architectural drafting course. Big mistake.
I wanted to be a pilot and little else appealed to me. The shock of
being forced out of the academy was severe although I repressed it well.
Still my life was not completely my own until late 1985, but by then civil
engineering seemed a sure thing. It was not. Finally by the middle of
1986 my life was nearly out of control. I had been in college since 1979
and by 1986 I was going in all directions at once. Civil Engineering,
business marketing, computer programming, aerial photography, sailing and
so on. In 1986 I learned the hardest of lifes lessons: do not quit your
job without a safety net.
Fortunately fate would lend a hand. I swallowed my pride and returned to
work under a temporary contract. TIME TO THINK. Unfortunately my
thoughts went in the wrong direction. I dropped out of school, started
Questions Answered?! and became an INFORMATION BROKER. By October 1987 I
had accumulated eight years of college and would make education my target
market. As an information broker I would provide computer database
research for information thirsty college students and small businesses.
Hopefully it would spill over in the general public and it did to a small
extent. Miraculously an "angel" appeared and I was off to a quick start.
Or so I thought.
Nobody had heard of the internet. We were simply ONLINE. I found
databases and located information repositories to cover ALL types of
information. ORGANIZATION WAS THE KEY. What I needed was a capable
information system. A system which could answer ANY question. A system
capable of storing and retrieving millions ... billions of bits of
information. A system capable of handling ALL the information of the
world. And vu-la I would not only get rich I would be one step closer to
Mars! So I started designing an information system with those capabilit-
( 11 )
ies.
As far as I'm concerned in-house is the only way to go. All of the
information of the world readily accessible in one place!! The internet,
by the way, is not the answer we were promised. Lots of information, yes.
Bite size and up. Still, you know what they say about putting all of your
eggs in one basket ... not a good idea. One small but important problem
with the internet is information reliability. Any electronically stored
or transported information can be altered, changed or otherwise distorted.
Beyond that is the possibility of widespread service disruption. Terror-
ists could quite easily cause major world-wide service disruption. There-
fore without libraries or like institutions, information will become the
purview of the wealthy just as it was in the dark ages.
Perhaps you have heard of the present-day "net neutrality" debate: large
corporations are pressing for paid access to bandwidth within the internet
- kind of like a toll road. With paid access large commercial internet
sites would load instantly, but smaller sites without bandwidth would
trickle through. High-speed connection or not. Again information would
become the purview of the wealthy.
And what about Mars? Interplanetary internet? Think of the wait: roughly
an hour at the speed of light (round trip). Dial-up would seem
instantaneous by comparison. In-house is the only way to go. No need to
wait. No service disruptions. No data corruption. Yes .... I often have
time think and dream. So Mars tends to come up, however for the purposes
of this book, that should do it for Mars.
Time, however, continues to be a problem. When I'm not planning or
dreaming, I'm programming. Now, writing. Perhaps when I'm old and grey
with nothing left to do I'll get around to developing artificial
intelligence. Though hopefully the younger generation will beat me to it.
Perhaps some of the information in this book will speed the way. The
Information eQuation did, after all, start as a computer program. But
unlike todays generation I did not grow up with computers. I was in
junior high in 1974 when microprocessors began to debut. "Pong," the
first commercially available "computer" game was among the earliest
applications along with the handheld calculator. "Space Invaders" the
first video game came about three years later.
Initially computer games drove my interest. I bought a programming book
and taught myself BASIC. The programs were unsophisticated and useless,
but a joy to write. Though just a diversion from my single-minded pursuit
(the United States Air Force Academy). Oddly, my love for computers
forced my demise at the Air Force Academy. If only there had been a
college degree specifically oriented to computer programming. BUT NO!!!
%#@&! The closest thing was, and still is, computer science. Wake up!
Programmers don't want to build the damn things. Computer science goes
too deep into electrical engineering and next to nowhere in programming.
The deciding factor for selecting my college major came down to an
architectural drafting class. Big mistake!
I had taken drafting in high school and was fond of architecture.
Therefore civil engineering was as likely a major as any, but I went to
the Air Force Academy to become a pilot. Better yet, an astronaut. So my
attention span waned. Furthermore I became increasingly involved with the
perks of military rank. That too would prove troublesome. I was the CIC
Cadet In Charge (of the command post) in the summer of my third year.
Later when the academic year started I was part of a small group running
command post. Another dream fulfilled. My attention span continued to
wane going virtually to zero. Civil engineering, for all the good it did
me, might as well have been "underwater basket weaving" (popular college
( 12 )
terminology). I missed numerous classes due to my "job" at command post.
When I was in class I didn't listen.
I emersed myself in the world of computer programming. I tuned out my
instructors and turned everything into a computer program. In true
military fashion I would learn by the numbers. It proved disastrous. My
programs had numerous holes since I did not listen in class. I was lucky
to have only failed one class. Still a passing cumulative grade point
average left me ill prepared for the academic review board and their final
decision. So what do you do when a dream has been dashed to oblivion?
Not really PTSD, but a mild similarity. I became a civil engineer. I had
little choice at the time. Maybe fate again. I often wonder.
By the summer of 1983 I was working full-time with full college load to
boot. During this time I collaborated in writing a software package to
speed earthwork calculations. Amazingly as the software became fully
functional the firm I was working for at the time received a major
contract to calculate the earthwork on a 5 million cubic yard project. I
was headed for the big time. Unfortunately personal computers were still
in the cowboy days. HP80 lasted only a couple of years. Computers became
obsolete almost by the time they were sold. The program went nowhere.
Once again my attention span faltered and for much the same reason. With
the door to an air force career closed I found myself in need of ... in
need of ... in need of ... a life. Civil engineering was O.K., but not
the life I wanted. My attention wandered and my grades became erratic.
Some classes I listened. Some not. Today information is my life. Mostly.
So an impossible dream fulfilled and then dashed to oblivion. Then another
impossible dream morphed into life long quest for information. But along
the way I attempted to computerize my attempts and that led to the
Information eQuation. Originally the Information eQuation started as six
individual variables (who, what, where, when, why, how) used to store and
retrieve information. Six individual variables with no connection. No
idea that something might evolve. But I noticed a correlation and equated
WHEN with WHERE. Then WHO with WHAT. Duality. Separate, but the same.
Twenty years ago the relationships seemed clear and the split second I
derived the Information eQuation I knew I had found a fundamental law of
nature. Or at least something of that magnitude.
THE INFORMATION EQUATION
------------------------
WHO / WHAT + WHERE / WHEN = WHY?! / HOW
(W7) - Boundaries are by design.
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Information eQuation (examples)
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