Operation: Tabula Rasa

My inbox has been filling up with questions…Questions of all kinds after my last enigmatic post. I can assure you there is a flurry of activity going on behind the scenes as we prepare for Operation: Tabula Rasa.

Tabula rasa, which is Latin for scraped tablet or clean slate, refers to the epistemological thesis that individual human beings are born with no innate or built-in mental content, in a word, “blank”, and that their entire resource of knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world.

Proponents of tabula rasa favor “nurture” in the nature versus nurture debate. Coming from a medical background I like the concept of “nuture”.

Moving on to Computer Models

In computer science, tabula rasa refers to the development of autonomous agents which are provided with a mechanism to reason and plan toward their goal, but no “built-in” knowledge-base of their environment. They are thus truly a “blank slate”.

In reality autonomous agents are provided with an initial data-set or knowledge-base, but this should not be immutable or it will hamper autonomy and heuristic ability. Even if the data-set is empty, it can usually be argued that there is an in-built bias in the reasoning and planning mechanisms. Either intentionally or unintentionally placed there by the human designer, it thus negates the true spirit of tabula rasa.

Alignment for the Winds

With those little tidbits, and there are more, I ask that everyone be patient during this brief transition period. It is one of the more difficult set of acrobatics performed by Revenews and collaborators. With an overall goal of inclusion, dynamic movement, and ultimately an alignment where the winds of change are against all of our backs instead of having to brace for them or worse- fight against them.

With the winds of change behind a boat- a boat will move forward far faster and with less effort. The striking out of my text is a good example of the winds of change, thinking beta, feedback, communication and learning. Without the advice of an experienced hand it is easy to make faulty analogies, assumptions, conclusions or stay “status quo”.

I would be remiss not to add this per Pat Grady and his comments. I am not a sailor, but the logic makes sense.

“sailing faster ~40 degrees into the wind is a result of higher relative wind speed then making the most of lift that results from the winglike shape of the sail. in this way, in smaller boats (and windsurfboards), it’s easy to go much faster than the speed of the wind. i’ve gone ~27 knots into a ~20 knot wind before. downwind, with drag and all, you could go roughly 14 knots top speed. so 27 / 14 means you can go nearly twice as fast into the wind, than with it. sailboats will tac into the wind, alternating 40 degrees into either side of the headwind – so you’re not sailing face into it, but offset from it some.

facing changes head on will get you through them twice as fast. and wayne, everyone who follows your work knows you’re that kind of person. so your analogy needed a sailor’s tweak, that’s all – it’s still true.

Logically the chances of discovering new land are greatly increased…provided you have the right boat and the right sails.

While waiting you may check into- Empiricism and for more reading try some research into John Locke’s (1632-1704) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding written in 1689…

So stand by and keep your thoughts in Beta- and we will take the winds of change no matter what direction they may come.

Changes Made: 03.30.07

About Wayne Porter

Wayne Porter is one of the original founders of ReveNews.com, and served as the CEO and founder of XBlock Systems a specialized research firm on greynets and malware research before being acquired by unified communications security leader, Factime Security Labs. His work includes serving as a panlist at the Federal Trade Commission to shape legislation on software and the creation of two patent-pending technologies for corporate networks. Wayne is a frequent speaker at e-commerce & business events including CJU, ASW and RSA and frequently cited in the press. He has been designated a Microsoft Security MVP three times and is recognized on Google’s Responsible Security Disclosure page- in addition to receiving the first Summit Legend Award. Wayne currently works as a Security Consultant on Social Media and operates a consultancy on digital worlds. His hobbies include reading science fiction, playing chess, fishing, writing, collecting shiny digital gadgets, playing racquetball and studying memetic engineering. He maintains a personal weblog at WaynePorter.com detailing his explorations in security, web 2.0, and virtual worlds.
You can follow Wayne on Twitter: @wporter.

Website: http://www.wayneporter.com