There is an old saying—updated for the digital age—that if something is free, you are the product. It is a useful warning, though I am no longer sure it is sufficient. Because now, it seems to me, you may also be the labor. I am reminded, as well, of the older phrase from The Moon … Continue reading You Thought It Was Free
The Land Remembers
Some landmarks enter your life quietly. You pass them often enough that they stop being curiosities and start becoming prompts for reflection. For me, one of those is a tree along a Highway 33 through Bankhead National Forest. I drive past it nearly every day. If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you … Continue reading The Land Remembers
The Economics of Modern War: Factories, Drones, and the Fragile Ecology of Trust
The Price of Interception Modern warfare has developed a strange economic imbalance. A missile interceptor costing several million dollars may be launched to destroy a drone assembled from a few hundred dollars’ worth of electronics. The exchange is tactically successful yet economically unsettling, revealing how the structure of war may be changing. In some recent … Continue reading The Economics of Modern War: Factories, Drones, and the Fragile Ecology of Trust
Attributed Arms in the William Blethyn Pedigree Roll, Part I
Walk into any medieval manuscript or early armorial roll, and you might do a double-take: King Arthur’s shield, a harp-bearing King David, or a double-headed eagle for Charlemagne. How could these figures — many centuries before heraldry existed — have a coat of arms? The answer lies in a fascinating medieval practice: attributed arms. What … Continue reading Attributed Arms in the William Blethyn Pedigree Roll, Part I
The Ecology of Trust: What the Internet Teaches Us About Trust and Civilization
Modern cybersecurity architecture begins with a curious assumption: trust is dangerous. Security frameworks associated with John Kindervag operate from a simple premise—no user, device, or system should be trusted merely because it appears familiar. Every request must be verified and every interaction authenticated. Anyone who has spent time working in cybersecurity eventually notices how easily trust assumptions … Continue reading The Ecology of Trust: What the Internet Teaches Us About Trust and Civilization
Three Paths Through the Same Question
For the past year this site has explored a number of overlapping themes—technology, trust, history, genealogy, and the strange ways information moves through human systems. As the archive grows, a clearer structure has started to emerge. Going forward, posts will generally follow a simple weekly rhythm. Technology and Trust Systems Sunday evenings will focus on … Continue reading Three Paths Through the Same Question
Information as a Weapon
Every semester in one of my cybersecurity courses, I assign my students a short article from 1997 titled Information as a Weapon1. After they finish reading it, I ask them a simple question: Is this article still relevant today? The reaction is usually predictable. The paper was written before social media, before ransomware gangs, before … Continue reading Information as a Weapon
