Number theories, pi theories and spiral theories (all a shade of grey), has always fascinated me. There is a pattern to anything in the world if you look hard enough. You can see spirals everywhere, made up by geometric shapes (golden ratio) or number patterns (Fibonacci sequence), the problem is knowing when to stop.
What happens when we let computers loose on the world, and all the built in algarythmns are built to follow sequences based on previous sequences based on previous sequences (you get my point). A book called ‘The making of a fly’ became briefly, the world’s most expensive book, as Amazon had it’s price at £14.3 million, as the algarythmn programmed to update its price from its original price carried on in error.
Computers are stupid and will only do what humans tell them to do, but in the desire for greater effeciency and decreased cost they are being implemented in all walks of life, creating chaos when a human can use rationale thought. The Wall Street Flash Crash on 6th May 2010, was a five minute dip in the markets causing complete chaos, a computer algorithm sold 75,000 stocks with a value of £2.6bn in just 20 minutes, causing other super-fast trading algorithms to follow suit. The need to shed fractions of a second off trading nearly resulted in meltdown. You can see the chaos LulZsec et al have caused with nothing more than mischief.
It is time for companies to realise the merit of the worker and the opinion they have (films and footballers are now decided upon by statistical evidence), not historical knowledge. The more we tend to rely on computers the more we are closing the doors on industry. It is time for another industrial revolution – let the looms be smashed.
Jason E Cooper 