“In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it’s the exact opposite.

-Paul Dirac
20th century physicist and noble laureate.

This is a great idea; that poetry is about what we already know and science is the exact opposite.

Today we have a quote. It is phrase I see and hear a lot when people are talking about the anonymity provided by the Internet. The quote is from a 1993 New Yorker cartoon.

In the cartoon a dog is sitting at a computer telling another dog that “On the Internet nobody knows you are a dog.”

I like this quote because it is often repeated and paraphrased by all types of writer when writing about the Internet. I noticed Brent Simmons of Inessential.com, writing in 2002 referred to the phrase as an old adage.

By the way if you are looking for a great news reader or blog client you should check out Brent’s work:

• NetNewsWire- A news reader for OS X.

• MarsEdit- A weblog editor for Mac OS X that works with various weblog systems: Blosxom, Conversant, Manila, Movable Type, Radio UserLand, TypePad, WordPress, and others.

Also Brent is really responsive to user questions and comments so his work is always getting better.

I am really impressed Peter Steiner, the cartoonist, understood and clearly articulated a fundamental truth of the Internet way back in 1993.

You can take a look at the cartoon or order a sweatshirt with the cartoon on it at cartoonbank.com. Cartoonbank.com is home to many of the cartoons found in the is the New Yorker. From it you can order posters, t-shirts and other paraphernalia emblazoned with New Yorker cartoons.

Remember when I used to do quotes?

Well today we have a quote. It is from an interview with Archibald Leach in 1985.

I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.

Now if you don’t recognize the name, you are not alone. Archie Leach, by sheer will power, became Cary Grant, one the best actors of all time. According to IMDB.com he starred in 75 films, including two of my favorites The Philadelphia Story & To Catch a Thief.

Yahoo! Another request. This one is from Shaners of TheResistanceArmy.com. I hope I do it justice.
Shane suggested the term “zero-sum game.” Now since I haven’t done a quote for awhile I decided to combine zero-sum game with a movie quote.

Bud Fox: How much is enough?

Gordon Gekko: It’s not a question of enough, pal. It’s a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn’t lost or made, it’s simply transferred from one perception to another.

Watching this movie, Wall Street, was the first time I learned about zero-sum games. I don’t think I appreciated the term till I took a game theory class in college.

Essentialy a zero sum game is just as Mr. Gekko describes it. A game or situation with a winner and a loser such that if you add the winner’s take to the loser’s loss you end up with zero. Most games are zero sum- the wins cancel out the losses.

Now not all games or situations are zero -sum. There are also non-zero-sum games and situations. A classic game theory non-zero-sum game is the prisoner’s dilemma. A game in which the sum of the outcomes can range from negative to positive depending on how the players “play.”

Imagine two partners are accused of a crime. If they both deny committing the crime neither will go to prison. If they both testify against the other they will each spend 5 years in prison. In the third scenario, the one that makes the game interesting, one testifies, one denies. In this case one partner goes to prison for a long time and the other for less time or not at all.

Obviously the best game play is for the partners to work together and not testify. But they will be tempted to testify to protect themselves from a lengthy prison term.

A less sinister example can be found on the playground. One kid has a basketball and the other a soccer ball. The kid with the basketball wants to play soccer and the kid with the soccer ball wants to play basketball. They decide to trade balls. In this game both kids win. They both get something they want and give up something they didn’t want.

I think life is better played as a positive-sum game.

Play the Prisoner’s dilemma and test your strategies

Today Larry Bird Turns 48. Today also marks the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The bombing brought the US completely and unequivocally into World War II.

Here is what then President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to say:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of American was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

-President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Although the U.S. had been supporting the allies it was not officially involved in the war up until the 7th. The bombing of Pearl Harbor lead the U.S. to declare war on Japan, Germany and Italy all in the same week, this week, 63 years ago.