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7 Koans of Bits
5
The 7 Koans of Bits
What is a bit?
Bits are the foundation of all things digital. They make up all the things that have to do with digital computing. Computer engineers use these bits to create illusions of images and text.
It's all just bits
From your videos to your songs, everything is made of bits. Everything you see on your computer is just an illusion created by computer engineers to show you what you want to see. These engineers create special software to turn bits into text, sound, and images. In reality, computers and the internet were only designed to handle bits, not text and images.
Koan 1:
It's all just bits
The Impact
What's the impact?
Because laws cannot move as fast as technology, not all bits are treated the same. Since telephone companies are common carriers, they cannot pick and choose who does or doesn’t get to use their services. This means for things such as political campaigns; common carriers cannot refuse their service. Although the bits sent through text message and voice message are the same, the same laws do not apply. Text messages are not affected by the common carrier laws however, which allows service providers to refuse service if bits were to be sent through texts.
Perfection is normal
A long time ago, people used to make copies of books by hand. Since errors are a part of human nature, there were flaws in the copies. Now computers can make perfect copies of images and books with almost no flaws because computers take copying to the next level by checking for bits that were damaged in transit and correcting them. Computers can fail sometimes, although it only happens when the internet breaks down or the power goes out. Even if this were to happen, errors would be quickly corrected by the network making the chance of an error even lower.
Koan 2: Perfection is normal
The Impact
What's the impact?
When computers were not as widely available, many counterfeits of music were not as good as the original due to our human nature. This meant counterfeits were not a problem because purchasing the original one was worth the quality. Because of how computers work with copying now, counterfeits are extremely easy to produce at the same quality as the original. This threatens media industries because it is pointless to purchase the original instead of the perfect replica, although it can get people who copy the original in jail.
There is want in the midst of plenty
With the rapid advancement of technology, everything is becoming stored digitally. Because of this trend of storing data digitally, information that is not online will be lost. If it cannot or has not been stored digitally, it might as well never have existed.
Koan 3:
There is want in the midst of plenty
The Impact
What's the impact?
The growth of the internet has caused search engines like Google and Yahoo! to be the first place that people look to when trying to find something. Availability of information can spell success or defeat for a business. If the information cannot be easily and quickly found, it might seem like the information doesn’t exist in the first place.
Processing is power
A computer’s speed is usually measured by how many tasks it can perform in one second. For a long time, the speed of processors was increasing exponentially, doubling every few years. This was called Moore’s law. After 2001 however, processors became so tightly packed that the speeds could not be increased any longer. This doesn’t mean computers have stopped getting faster. All the time, new technological innovations are allowing us to go faster and faster.
Koan 4:
Processing is power
The Impact
What's the impact?
This steep increase in processing power means new technology is being created faster and faster, and it’s also reaching the public faster and faster. These processors allow us to do things that were before straight out of science fiction, like automatic vacuum cleaners.
More of the same can be a whole new thing
When something is growing exponentially, at the beginning it may go unnoticed by everyone. When something grows at such a slow rate, it can go almost unnoticed, all the way until changes start to get noticed by everyone else, but at that point, everyone is too late because the growth has skyrocketed. The thing with exponential growth is that usually you will have no lead time to respond to it, so people who reacted early always cash in.
Koan 5:
More of the same is a whole new thing
The Impact
What's the impact?
People who notice the changes early on can go on and be extremely successful because they ride the exponential growth. However, those who react too late can lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime, causing devastating blows to a company. If a company can’t move as fast as Moore’s Law, then the company is doomed to fail.
Nothing Goes Away
Nothing ever truly goes away on the internet. Everything you do, whether it be purchasing groceries or watching an online video, all the data is stored online. Everything you do and everything you say that’s connected to the internet creates a profile of you. No matter if the data is removed from one database, it’s probably already on two more. Everything that happens online sticks with you for the rest of your life.
Koan 6:
Nothing goes away
The Impact
What's the impact?
Once the databases are leaked, hackers can do anything with your information. They have access to everything about you that has been stored online. They can do anything under your name because they have so much information about you.
Bits move faster than thought
The internet has changed the way people do business. Because of the ease of mobility that bits have, business practices have become focused on outsourcing information because of how cheap it is in certain areas of the world.
Koan 7:
Bits move faster than thought
The Impact
What's the impact?
Since messages are always being sent everywhere at any given time, news can travel fast. Before you know it, everyone knows about everything that is happening because it is so easy to spread information.