seeking advice from faculty

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 20:31:30 -0500 (EST)
From: cdent@burningchrome.com
Subject: spring and such


Thanks for the comments earlier today about my "spirit". I've
been thinking a lot about what to do next and would definitely
appreciate any thoughts or advice you may have. I'm a little more
than halfway through the MIS degree and I've run out of classes
that I would like to take, so I feel a bit disoriented. I'm not
interested, at least for the next long while, in going back to
work. I want to do more learning, but what environment and
direction is best for that is very open.

My interests can probably be associated with the cognitive,
social, philosophical, linguistic and technological issues
related to cognitive amplification or augmentation (a big pile of
stuff). I tend to think of the individual as the most important
unit of analysis, not organizations, but I'm very aware that
individuals do not exist as brains in a vacuum.

I tend to be an idealist and I'm a big fan of Engelbart. Those
two things tend to go hand in hand. I'm resitant to formalisms
and certainly couldn't be called a positivist, but on the other
hand I tend to cringe at ethnographic study as well. This puts me
in some kind of strange middle ground.

Last fall I wrote a paper for Dillon's class that synthesized a
lot of my thinking, but I certainly couldn't call it a manifesto.
It was very interesting at the time. It may give you some clue to
my orientation. It was rather hastily done:

  http://www.burningchrome.com/~cdent/slis/l542/useTools.htm

Why am I telling you all this? Mostly because I'm looking for as
many opinions as possible on things to do, directions to go,
classes to take, schools to investigate, people to read, that
sort of thing. Any input you may have is appreciated.

Thanks. Time to get back to work.